provincial standards

City seeks to borrow $15M for treatment plant

City seeks to borrow $15M for treatment plant

Brandon City Council will introduce a bylaw to borrow $15 million for the final phase of upgrades to the municipal water treatment plant at its next meeting. In January, Premier Heather Stefanson announced that Brandon would be receiving a further $15 million from the province toward the project on top of the $38 million it had already provided.

Canada must upgrade flood-control infrastructure to avoid food security disaster: senators

Canada must upgrade flood-control infrastructure to avoid food security disaster: senators

Flood mitigation infrastructure that did not meet provincial standards caused British Columbia’s agriculture sector to lose $285 million, according to a new Senate report. The study, “Treading Water: The Impact and Response to the 2021 British Columbia Floods,” released on Thursday included testimony and previous analysis on local infrastructure, which concluded 87 per cent of dikes in the province’s Lower Mainland were in “less than fair condition,” and 71 per cent of dikes were expected to “fail simply by overtopping.”

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES — Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking.

Unsafe to drink

Unsafe to drink

Serpent River’s woes resemble those of the 90 other Canadian reserves under drinking-water advisories. But there is a cruel twist: This water treatment plant is barely a year old. It is a small yet impressive modern facility, a bewildering but orderly arrangement of pumps, piping and gauges.