Environmental Racism in Canada
Can you imagine that just because of your race, you’d have a greater chance of residing near a toxic waste site? Environmental racism is the sanctioning of toxic pollution sites near lands where black, indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) reside. A 2020 report written by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics states that BIPOC communities in Canada have been disproportionately exposed to toxic chemicals and pollutants because of a lack of enforceable environmental rights (i.e. the right to a healthy environment), political and financial difficulties in fighting polluting industries and societal pressures such as the need for employment. Also, the report says that “Indigenous and racialized people in Canada tend to be locked in a vicious, inter-generational cycle of poverty, to which their disproportionate exposure to toxic substances contribute.”
Examples of Environmental Racism in Canada
Author Ingrid Waldron documents cases of environmental racism across Canada in her 2018 book entitled “There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous & Black Communities”. Some examples are provided below.
Consider the Sydney, Nova Scotia tar ponds where the Sydney Steel Corporation operated between 1901 to 1988 with no pollution controls and released over a million tons of toxins into what used to be hunting and fishing grounds for Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples. As a result of the toxins, Sydney was reported to have the highest cancer rate in Canada and was called the most toxic site in Canada. In the mid-1970’s air pollution in the area was found to be 2,800 to 6,000 percent higher than national standards. The site has since been cleaned up and open to the public since 2013 but local residents are still concerned about the impacts of the toxins left behind.
Another serious example can be found in Aamjiwnaag First Nation near Sarnia’s chemical valley which possesses about 40% of Canada’s chemical industry. The first nation carries Ontario’s highest air pollution load. Health impacts include 22% of children on the reserve having asthma compared to 8.2% in the neighbouring areas.
Consider the example of Africville, Nova Scotia which decades ago was a community of those of African descent exposed to toxic waste while denied basic services like water and sewers. In the 1950s, the City built an open-pit dump in the area considered by many to be a health hazard. The land was taken from its residents in the late 1960s for an infrastructure project. Subsequently, many environmental hazards were situated in the area including a fertilizer plant, a tar factory, a slaughterhouse, and a stone and coal crushing plant. An official apology with compensation was provided by the City of Halifax in 2010 but many former residents who were evicted argue that this is insufficient given what they had to face.
Next, consider the Grassy Narrows First Nation where industrial pollution released in the nearby English-Wabigoon river system in the 1960s has resulted in a staggering 90 percent of residents having mercury poisoning symptoms. This includes neurological problems ranging from numbness in fingers and toes to seizures and cognitive delays. Former Grassy Narrows leader Steve Fobister had been fighting since the 1980s to get proper treatment for his community for cleanup efforts until he died in 2018 at the age of 66 as a result of mercury poisoning.
Success Stories
BIPOC communities have successfully been able to fight to keep toxins away from their communities. Success stories include a 2017 commitment by the Ontario government to finally begin remediation of the English-Wabigoon river system near Grassy Narrows – but the cleanup has not happened yet. The federal government has promised $200 million for the building and operations of a mercury treatment centre to help members of the Grassy Narrows community. Another major victory was the cancellation of the Energy East pipeline which was intended to bring tar sands from western Canada to refineries in the east. The proposal was fought by indigenous communities who were concerned about the risk of a toxic spill affecting their lands.
A positive development is support from politicians for the fight against environmental racism due to the push from researchers, BIPOC communities, and environmental groups.
On December 3rd, 2020 Bill C-230 – to address environmental racism across Canada – was introduced by Liberal MP Lenore Zann (from Cumberland—Colchester, Nova Scotia) for second reading in the House of Commons. The bill would require a national strategy to redress environmental racism and has provisions to collect health data related to communities that have been affected by environmental racism, make sure that communities affected have access to clean air and water, funding and compensation for affected communities as well as other measures.
Also important in the fight against environmental racism at present is a piece of legislation under review known as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). This act is “aimed at preventing pollution and protecting the environment and human health”. The federal Liberal government committed to strengthen CEPA after their re-election in 2019. Unfortunately, CEPA does not at present include the right to a healthy environment – something the 2017 Parliamentary House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development recommended – which, if done, would require a safe, clean and healthy environment for all residents including BIPOC. In concrete terms, it would include a right to clean air, safe water and food as well as a stable climate. Environmental organizations such as Blue Dot – a Canada-wide group fighting for the right to a healthy environment to be included in Canada’s constitution – want the right to a healthy environment affirmed in CEPA.
According to the UN, at present “155 countries have legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to a healthy environment.”
A right to a healthy environment with clean air and water means that BIPOC communities would not suffer from nearby new toxic pollution sites and that any existing sites would be cleaned up to a state comparable to what non-BIPOC communities face.
Conclusion – Ways to Act
At present, the best way you can fight environmental racism is by calling or sending a tweet or email to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, the Minister of the Environment, and your MP encouraging them to support Bill C-230 and to update CEPA to include the right to a healthy environment. You can also sign a petition supporting the right to a healthy environment at https://davidsuzuki.org/action/canadian-environmental-protection-act/.
Right now BIPOC residents and others near these toxic pollution sites are in a constant state of fear for their health and safety. This is something that no Canadian should have to contend with.
