ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM AND INJUSTICE

Environmentally hazardous sites (including landfills and polluting industries) are disproportionately located in areas inhabited by Indigenous and racialized communities, which increases their exposure to harmful toxic substances. This is environmental racism, and is perpetuated by the fact that these communities lack political power and have historically been excluded from environmental decision-making. Under Bill C-226, Canada is committing to developing a National Strategy to advance environmental justice and assess, prevent and address environmental racism. Through this bill, Canada is recognizing that environmental risks are not uniformly distributed and certain populations are more likely to experience environmental injustice. The bill became law on June 20, 2024.

WHEN is advocating for the federal government to apply an intersectional approach when developing the National Strategy in order to adequately protect those who experience greater environmental risk than the general population due to race, culture, socioeconomic status, geography, sex, gender and other intersecting identity factors. This approach is necessary if the National Strategy is to meaningfully advance intersectional environmental justice.

Learn more: 

• WHEN’s brief to the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources regarding the importance of developing the National Strategy through an intersectional lens. 

• “Addressing Toxic Racism: Bill C-226 and Indigenous Communities’ Disproportionate Exposure to ‘Forever Chemicals’”

• The Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice’s resources regarding Bill c-226 

• The Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health (ENRICH) Project is a collaborative community-based research and engagement project on environmental racism in Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities. Visit their website for access to resources and calls for action.