From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
When staff at Iqaluit's Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre heard the news last week that water from the city's distribution pipes wasn't safe to drink because of fuel contamination, they knew some people weren't going to be able to get the precious liquid themselves.
The city set up two distribution sites where people could fill up jugs with potable water, and many were able to drive to the nearby Sylvia Grinnell River and collect it themselves to boil for drinking.
But Rachel Blais, executive director of the food centre, which runs a meal service and other community programs, said many people don't have vehicles. Others, she said, have kids or work multiple jobs and don't have time to get water.
"We know that we have a lot of community members who are experiencing homelessness, or don't have access to transportation, or have disabilities or mobility issues, people who are elders, people who have children at home, the list goes on," Blais said in a phone interview Sunday.
The Nunavut capital's 8,000 residents were told on Tuesday not to drink the tap water after complaints started flooding in that it smelled of fuel.
City officials later said testing revealed a high concentration of various fuel components in a tank that supplies the water. The city has isolated and bypassed the tank, and once it is emptied and flushed, the authorities will investigate where the contaminants came from.
Tap water can still be used for bathing, showering, laundry and washing dishes, according to the city.
Blais said the first thing her group did was post a message on Facebook asking if anyone needed help getting water. They got calls and emails immediately, and at first their staff and members of their pre-employment training program filled the need. They then applied for and received emergency funding from Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Community Food Centres Canada to hire a full-time driver.
That driver now fills water jugs at the city's distribution points, or goes to the river himself if the lines are too long, and brings them to homes in a cargo van. Deliveries are also made to other community groups like the local women's shelter.
The water that's needed isn't just for drinking. The city is also advising people not to cook with or clean food with tap water.
"We've got a lot of community members who have a lot of people in their households -- a lot of children in their households -- and they need a lot of water," Blais said.
Another challenge, she said, was that local stores ran out of water jugs right away. Some of the people who needed water delivered couldn't afford the jugs anyway, Blais added. So starting Monday, she said they'll be delivering water in large Rubbermaid totes.
The Nunavut government has also been flying in shipments of potable water. Agnico Eagle Mines delivered approximately 15,000 litres of water to Iqaluit on Friday and Saturday as well.
Nunavut's chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson said last week that there does not seem to be any health risks to Iqaluit residents who drank contaminated tap water, and that people may be able to start drinking it again in the middle of this week depending on more test results.
Patterson said the contamination didn't happen naturally, and could be from an old oil spill that's been released with thawing permafrost.
The city said its water-engineering consultants suspect that contaminants outside of the plant, that are located in the soil or groundwater, have entered the tank from the exterior.
Blais noted the water situation in Iqaluit is not unusual in many Canadian Indigenous communities, where boil-water advisories are the norm. Climate change and the city's growing population are other threats to water security, she said.
Iqaluit is very lucky to have the Sylvia Grinnell River so close, she said.
"If we didn't have access to that clean water source, I don't know what the situation would have been."
-- By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.