Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

federal election

Indigenous leaders want ‘meaningful action’ from next gov’t. Here are the promises so far

Indigenous leaders want ‘meaningful action’ from next gov’t. Here are the promises so far

In 2015, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau promised to lift all long-term drinking-water advisories by March 2021. He admitted in December the deadline would be missed, but lifted more than 100 long-term drinking water advisories over five years. In March, Liberals committed to ending all advisories but did not set a new deadline. Roughly 50 long-term drinking-water advisories in 31 First Nations are still in place. In their platform, Conservatives say they will end long-term drinking water advisories by targeting high-risk water systems and work with Indigenous communities to find new approaches to provide clean drinking water in the long term. The NDP promises to fully fund the services and infrastructure for clean water in order to end water advisories. The party pledges to support Indigenous-led water management training programs and water system operations, and will fund on-reserve emergency management and prevention.

Water agency must focus on current crises

Water agency must focus on current crises

The Liberal Party of Canada promised during the 2019 federal election to create the Canada Water Agency. During its first 20 months in office, it has repeated the pledge in ministerial mandate letters, in the 2020 speech from the throne, and in the most recent federal budget. This repetition has provided a pretty clear indication of just what the elected government has in mind. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) is repeatedly cited as, if not a blueprint, at least a model that the new agency should emulate. While co-ordinating the diverse water programs now spread over several government departments, agricultural water issues are seen as a major focus of the CWA, with those issues being linked to climate-change adaptation.

Ford: We don't have to be activists to end plastic water bottle pollution

Ford: We don't have to be activists to end plastic water bottle pollution

It’s called the elixir of life. No, it’s not scotch, it’s water. Without it, we all die. If it’s contaminated, water carries diseases too arcane for a modern world, yet cholera, typhoid and dysentery still exist, causing millions of deaths each year. It’s understandable that clean, potable water is a global concern. But here? A couple of hours drive from Bow Glacier, the source of our drinking water? We talk about climate change, about environmental concerns and about reducing our carbon footprint. And we do this while swigging water from plastic bottles.

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