Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Chief Rickard has announced last night that Garden River First Nation has received $2.8M to upgrade the water lines in the community. The original lines were installed 50 years ago with minimal resources and funding. The upgrades will include the Ojibway subdivision, including the Green Sky, Gemah and Shingwauk Street area. “This project will continue to protect one of our most sacred gifts and necessities of life- access to clean and safe water for our people. Our goal is to strive for future infrastructure improvements throughout the community,” Chief Rickard comments in the press release.
