IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
The City of Iqaluit says testing shows a high concentration of fuel in a tank that supplies water to the Nunavut capital, but long-term health effects are not a concern.
Officials at a news conference Friday said the fuel could be diesel or kerosene.
"The results of water quality testing showed exceedingly high concentrations of various fuel components in the sample collected from that tank," said Amy Elgersma, the city's chief administrative officer.
Residents of the community of 8,000 people were told Tuesday not to drink tap water after it was discovered it may be contaminated by fuel.
The Nunavut government has been flying in shipments of potable water, while many residents have collected fresh water from a nearby river.
Elgersma said the city has isolated and bypassed the contaminated tank, and its water is being pumped out into trucks and transferred to holding tanks so it can be treated.
Once the tank is emptied, the city will conduct an investigation to determine how contaminants entered it, she said.
Water in the city's treated reservoir, which is downstream from the treatment plant and is the last point before water delivery, showed levels "well within health limits," Elgersma said.
"This part is very good news."
The city is also flushing its water distribution system to remove contaminants. The process is to continue for another 48 hours, then residents will get instructions to flush their home pipes by running their water for 20 minutes.
Iqaluit's hospital, the only one in the territory, will only be doing emergency surgeries for now, over concerns about sterilizing tools with contaminated water. One-time-use instruments are to be utilized as much as possible.
In addition, the city is doing an environmental assessment around the water treatment plant to look for possible contaminants in the soil.
The cause of the fuel contamination has not yet been determined.
Nunavut's chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, said whatever the cause is, it didn't happen naturally.
"It could be an old spill that's been liberated with (thawing) permafrost. It could be damage to the infrastructure … there's a number of things. But it's not natural," he said.
Patterson also said there does not seem to be any health risks to Iqaluit residents who drank contaminated tap water.
"The best evidence we have available right now is the risk of long-term health effects is not a concern at this point," he said.
Residents who consumed "heavily contaminated water" may have had headaches, diarrhea and upset stomachs, he said.
Carcinogens were not found in the water, he added.
Residents may be able to start drinking tap water again in the middle of next week, Patterson said, depending on more test results.
Some residents had reported smelling fuel in their water last week, but city officials said regular testing came back clear.
Elgersma said the city sent water samples away on Oct. 4. but city staff didn't have proper testing kits and the lab in Southern Canada told them to send samples in other testing bottles.
"These samples likely lost potency during transport ... the city the next day ordered specialized kits," she said.
Testing and monitoring is to continue over the next several months, she added.
The road to the Sylvia Grinnell River will be closed for maintenance for up to 12 hours starting Saturday afternoon. The Nunavut government said in a statement the work needs to be done so city water trucks can continue to use the road.
The dirt road is "too rough" for the water trucks and needs to be worked on during the day before frost sets it, the statement said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2021.
------
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
In the quiet and leafy Vancouver neighbourhood of South Cambie, best known for its botanical garden, playoff fever is about to set in.
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favourably on his own policies and actions
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
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.