proactive

At the 'tail end' of 2021 flood recovery, Fort Simpson, N.W.T., looks to the future

At the 'tail end' of 2021 flood recovery, Fort Simpson, N.W.T., looks to the future

On a sunny Tuesday evening in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., Derek and Julia Erasmus cook up a dinner of waffles and sausages as their two young daughters play outside.  Watching them, you wouldn't know just how difficult the past two years have been. They were one of 10 families who lost their house when the community flooded in 2021. "It's kind of just a huge life-changing event," Derek said. "We kind of thought we were going to retire in that house some day … then those plans were all gone after that."

Boissevain-Morton Wants Reduced Water Usage

Boissevain-Morton Wants Reduced Water Usage

The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton wants area residents to cut back on the amount of water they use each week. Due to high temperatures and low precipitation, water levels at Boissevain’s water source, the Boissevain Reservoir, are below normal. As a precautionary measure, the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton is asking residents and businesses to consider reducing all water usage. Specifically, they ask that residents reduce water usage for residential landscaping.

Clean water for First Nations critical during the COVID-19 pandemic: Activists

Clean water for First Nations critical during the COVID-19 pandemic: Activists

Activists in northeastern Ontario fighting for safe, clean water in First Nations communities across Canada are getting tired of broken promises. After five years and millions in spending, the Liberal government announced in early December that it would not fulfill its commitment to end all long-term water advisories on reserves by March 2021. Although some progress has been made – 97 advisories have been lifted since November 2015 – there’s still a long way to go. There are 59 active long-term water advisories in 41 communities across the country, and activists maintain that clean water should be a priority for the federal government, especially during a global pandemic. “Water is a basic human right, and nobody should have to beg for it. This is wrong, and it’s come to the point where I think it comes down to racism,” said Autumn Peltier, a teenage water-rights activist from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island.