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

mercury contamination

Trudeau's broken promise of clean water for First Nations

Trudeau's broken promise of clean water for First Nations

In 2015, Justin Trudeau promised that if elected he would end boil-water advisories in First Nations communities within five years. “We have 93 different communities under 133 different boil-water advisories,” said at the time. “A Canadian government led by me will address this as a top priority because it’s not right in a country like Canada. This has gone on for far too long.” That top priority was abandoned last October when the government admitted that they would not make the mark. They have given no updated timeline for when this national travesty will end.

Canada votes to collect data to document 'environmental racism'

Canada votes to collect data to document 'environmental racism'

Canada will collect data on the impact of siting a disproportionate number of polluting industries and landfills in areas inhabited by racial minority communities, federal lawmakers voted Wednesday. The bill aims to tackle "environmental racism," where Indigenous, Black and other racial minority communities are exposed to higher levels of dirty air, contaminated water or other toxins and pollutants. One of the most famous cases is in the Indigenous Grassy Narrows First Nation community in Ontario, where residents have since the 1960s suffered health impacts from mercury contamination produced by a former pulp and paper mill.

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