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.
Atmospheric rivers have been making headlines over the past couple of years. At their worst, they have been the cause of major flooding in California as well as devastating flooding in B.C.’s interior in 2021 — along with even more flooding in the province this past winter. And many experts have noted that global climate change caused by burning fossil fuels is making these events worse.
Pope Francis‘s upcoming visit to Canada’s Arctic territory of Nunavut draws attention to a focal point for global climate change, with sea ice disappearing fast and permafrost thawing. Francis, who arrives in the capital Iqaluit of predominantly Indigenous Nunavut on Friday, is in Canada to apologize in person for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in abuses that residential schools inflicted on Indigenous children.
