Line 5 transports crude oil through the heart of the Great Lakes, an invaluable cultural resource for residents and visitors to the region who benefit from the connection with the water and the land. The pipeline has already leaked 29 times, spilling over 4.5 million litres of oil and putting 84 percent of North America’s surface freshwater at risk. And yet, Canada continues to prioritize the ongoing operation of the pipeline over this critical global freshwater system.

A global movement to grant rivers legal personhood recently reached Canada, and a local Indigenous leader is asking whether the Gatineau River could be next. Former Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg chief Gilbert Whiteduck said such legal designation would provide the Gatineau River better environmental protection, and he's "pushing" to make it a reality. The movement, which is largely led by Indigenous communities, environmental groups and scientists, is designed to afford rivers and other ecological features stronger legal protections by granting them rights normally reserved for people.

A coalition of environmental groups is taking the fight against an Alberta coal mine expansion to the international stage at the 27th annual United Nations climate conference (COP27) this month. Keepers of the Water is a coalition of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and environmental groups formed in 2006 over concerns about water quality in the Mackenzie River. The coalition has since expanded as more communities come forward with concerns about pollution in their watersheds.