The Right to a Healthy Environment: Get Informed, Get Involved, Have Your Say
This blog post was written by Lily Farinaccio, WHEN’s Policy Analyst.
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) is the primary piece of federal legislation dedicated to protecting both environmental and human health. It was updated for the first time in 20 years in June 2023. As part of this update, it now recognizes that everyone in Canada has the “Right to a Healthy Environment” as provided under the Act (2). CEPA defines a healthy environment as one that is clean, healthy, and sustainable, but what does that really mean for Canadians (1)?
The Government of Canada has recently developed a “Draft Implementation Framework” aimed at describing how the government can uphold everyone’s right to a healthy environment under CEPA. Currently, the federal government is seeking feedback from the public on this framework by Dec 4th, 2024 to inform the creation of the Final Implementation Framework, set to be released in June 2025.
Call-to-Action
This fall, in collaboration with Shake Up The Establishment (SUTE) and Finance, Engage, Sustain (FES), the Women’s Healthy Environments Network (WHEN) is looking to influence the Right to a Healthy Environment Implementation Framework by amplifying the diverse perspectives of equity-deserving youth. While the Implementation Framework affects us all, it is especially important that young people, particularly those from underserved, marginalized and minoritized communities, have the opportunity for their voices to be heard — as they often bear the greatest burdens with respect to experiencing disproportionately higher environmental harms alongside coping with impacts of the climate crisis (4,5).
Our collective will be hosting six public consultations (one virtual and five in-person), and we have also created an online survey for accessible, asynchronous participation. Our consultations will help create a safe space for youth, who require no prior knowledge about this topic, to learn about CEPA, share their views on what a healthy environment means to them, and to provide feedback informing how the Implementation Framework should be designed to ensure that every individual in Canada benefits from the right to a healthy environment.
Apply to Participate in One of Our Consultation Events
We are hosting events in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. You can apply up to 2 days before the listed event date and time for your application to be considered. All participants will be provided $100 in honoraria for in-person events, and $75 for the virtual event, as well as food and drinks throughout. We also have an accessibility fund intended to be used to reduce barriers towards your participation. Successful applicants will be contacted via email to confirm their participation and will be provided information on next steps.
Participate in Our Short Survey
Have your voice be heard! If you can’t participate in one of our events, be sure to weigh in through our short survey by November 20th, 2024. We will incorporate all of the answers we receive as a part of our community-based feedback report being shared with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada after the consultation period.
how is the framework being developeD?
The right to a healthy environment was officially recognized as a part of CEPA in June 2023 (2). Under section 5.1 of CEPA, the federal government is required to develop an Implementation Framework for the right to a healthy environment by June 2025. The Implementation Framework must define the right and set out how it will be considered in decision-making under CEPA (2). The process of developing the Implementation Framework includes the following stages:
STAGE 1 - Summer/Fall 2023: Period of public engagement and information sharing prior to the release of a discussion document.
STAGE 2 - February 2024: Release of a discussion document followed by a period for public commentary and engagement.
WHEN responded during the commentary period, providing recommendations and feedback. We encourage you to read both our submission and the accompanying blog post, and the submission from our colleagues at Shake Up The Establishment (SUTE).
STAGE 3 - Fall 2024 - we are currently at this stage!: Release of the Draft Implementation Framework, elaborating on the substantive meaning of the right to a healthy environment in the context of CEPA, followed by public consultation and feedback.
STAGE 4 - June 2025: Release of Final Implementation Framework.
Image by the Government of Canada
What Does the Right to a Healthy Environment Mean in the Canadian Context?
According to the Draft Implementation Framework, the right to a healthy environment is the right to live in an environment that is protected from harmful substances, pollutants and waste, and where measures taken under CEPA promote a sustainable climate, clean and healthy air and water, and healthy ecosystems and biodiversity (3). Other elements include access to information and effective remedies, participation in decision-making, and respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples (3).
To better understand the right at its present state, there are three central elements to note: guiding principles, scope and reasonable limits, and enforceability.
Guiding Principles
The Implementation Framework will describe how the integration of three principles into CEPA processes will help fulfil the federal government’s duty to protect the right to a healthy environment: environmental justice, non-regression, and intergenerational equity (3). These principles are intended to ensure that the right protects those disproportionately impacted by environmental harms, prevents any backwards steps in regulations, and takes into account future populations and the future state of the environment.
Scope and Reasonable Limits
While the right to a healthy environment sounds great on paper, it has a limited scope, applying only to activities within CEPA’s jurisdiction. This means that the right will not apply to decisions made under other federal, provincial, territorial, or municipal laws, regardless of their impact on environmental and human health. For example, the Pest Control Products Act, which regulates pesticides, will not be required to consider the right to a healthy environment when determining whether to approve the use of potentially harmful pesticides.
The right is not absolute and is further restricted by “reasonable limits.” Decision-makers will look at scientific, environmental, health, social, and economic factors when making decisions under CEPA (3). These reasonable limits have the potential to undermine the value of the right if the federal government prioritizes them over the right itself.
Enforceability
The right to a healthy environment is not a directly enforceable right. While it’s included in CEPA’s preamble, and it will inform CEPA processes, there are currently no new legal avenues to hold the federal government accountable for violating one’s right to a healthy environment.
To increase accountability, there will be an online portal with a dedicated email address where the public can submit questions and feedback related to the protection of the right (3). However, it is not specified that the government is mandated to act on this feedback.
What’s Next?
As previously mentioned, WHEN is collaborating with SUTE and FES to provide comments on the Draft Implementation Framework. Our collective’s feedback will consist of a technical report, as well as a community-based feedback report which will include feedback from youth across the nation, collected via our online survey and public consultation sessions.
We want to hear from you! The Right to a Healthy Environment Implementation Framework under CEPA has great potential, but it is vital that perspectives of youth and other systemically oppressed communities are heard throughout the consultation period and submitted to the federal government, to ensure the Implementation Framework is adequately protecting EVERYONE’s right to a healthy environment.
Get Involved
Interested in sharing your perspectives on the right to a healthy environment framework? Participate in our online survey, and share it with your friends. Submit your survey answers by November 20th, 2024!
Are you a young person who wants to help shape how the right to a healthy environment is upheld in Canada? Apply to participate in one of our consultation sessions!
You can also submit your own feedback on the Draft Implementation Framework, submitting it by email to HealthyEnv-EnvSain@ec.gc.ca by December 4th, 2024. Visit enviroequity.ca to register and stay updated.
Stay connected and informed through our social media! Check out WHEN, SUTE, and FES.
Share this blog post to spread the word!
References
Canadian Environmental Protection Act [Internet]. 1999. Available from: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-15.31/
Environment and Climate Change Canada. Discussion Document on the Implementation Framework for a Right to a Healthy Environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 [Internet]. Government of Canada ; 2024 Feb. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/canadian-environmental-protection-act-registry/publications/right-healthy-environment-cepa.html
Environment and Climate Change Canada. Draft Implementation Framework for the Right to a Healthy Environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 [Internet]. Government of Canada ; 2024 Oct. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/canadian-environmental-protection-act-registry/publications/implementation-framework.html
Sanson A, Bellemo M. Children and Youth in the Climate Crisis. BJPsych Bulletin. 2021 Apr 21;45(4): 205–9.
Venkataraman M, Grzybowski S, Sanderson D, Fischer J, Cherian A. Environmental Racism in Canada. Canadian Family Physician [Internet]. 2022 Aug 1;68(8): 567–9. Available from: https://www.cfp.ca/content/68/8/567#:~:text=In%20the%20context%20of%20environmental