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

hauling water

After years of hauling water, a Treaty 3 First Nation celebrates lifting of long-term boil water advisory

After years of hauling water, a Treaty 3 First Nation celebrates lifting of long-term boil water advisory

People in a First Nation in Treaty 3 in Ontario are celebrating a key step toward clean drinking water, as they lifted a long-term boil water advisory at the beginning of December. Advisories have been in effect on-and-off in Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation since the 1990s, said Chief Clayton Wetelainen, but the most recent advisory had been in effect for more than a year. "The people [living in] residential units are glad because they're tired of hauling in water, and the [advisory] has now been lifted," Wetelainen said.

Producers experiencing water shortages in southwest Sask.

Producers experiencing water shortages in southwest Sask.

Farmers and other producers in southwest Saskatchewan are experiencing dry fall weather. The lack of rain in some areas is causing "moderate to severe on-site water shortages," according to the latest provincial crop report. "It's just setting us up again for a questionable start for next spring," Garner Deobald, the president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said. Deobald said most places have seen below average snowfall for the last three or four years. He said the Ministry of Agriculture needs to monitor water quality.

As water sources dry up, towns in southern Quebec sound the alarm

As water sources dry up, towns in southern Quebec sound the alarm

During an unrelenting stretch of dry, hot weather last August, Rachel Mahannah and her husband spent two hours a day hauling water from their other farm a kilometre and a half away, to make sure their dairy cows didn't get dehydrated. The well on the dairy farm, 70 metres deep, had almost run dry. "That was the first kind of red flag that came up for us," said Mahannah, who co-owns Mahvhays dairy farm in Brigham, Que., about 75 kilometres southeast of Montreal.

Canada and Manitoba Changing AgriRecovery Drought Programming to Provide Additional Support to Producers

Canada and Manitoba Changing AgriRecovery Drought Programming to Provide Additional Support to Producers

The governments of Canada and Manitoba are making changes to the AgriRecovery Drought Assistance Program to make it easier for producers to receive funding and to enhance financial compensation, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson announced today. “Manitoba producers are working hard, and our government is committed to ensuring they are fully supported during this difficult time,” said Bibeau. “By making these changes to the AgriRecovery program in the province, we are making it easier for them to access funding that will help them when they need it most.”

A B.C. reserve has been 17 years without safe drinking water. Many don’t even have tap water

A B.C. reserve has been 17 years without safe drinking water. Many don’t even have tap water

Recently elected Xeni Gwet’in chief Jimmy Lulua doesn’t have running water in his own house. He brushes his teeth from a cup. It is a daily reminder of how precious water is to his people — but, he noted, “It’s not by choice.”

“We’ve never been high on the government’s priority list,” he said. “We live in a third world country in one of the richest countries in the world.”

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