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.
The US Supreme Court curtailed the federal government's authority to protect its wetlands from pollution in a decision on Thursday. The court voted only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to larger streams, lakes and rivers would come under federal protections. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressed its disappointment. It is the second case in two years where the court limited the EPA's ability to regulate pollution.
