Marginalized communities are often the hardest hit by pollution and environmental contamination. The United Nations echoes this statement by noting that “marginalized groups, and Indigenous peoples in particular, find themselves on the wrong side of a toxic divide, subject to conditions that would not be acceptable in respect of other groups in Canada” [1].

The most prominent example of environmental racism in Canada is the case of Chemical Valley. Aamjiwnaang First Nation and residents of Sarnia, Ontario are situated in what is known as Chemical Valley, a region that houses 40% of Canada’s chemical industry [2]. The industrial facilities in Chemical Valley emit more greenhouse gasses than British Columbia’s entire industrial sector and pump out 1,800 kg of air pollutants per resident of the region [2].

The environmental state of Chemical Valley has led to devastating impacts on the health of its residents. Cancer causing chemicals, such as benzene, are found in the air surrounding the region at a level 44% higher than what is considered safe [3]. Further, birth rates have been altered from the high pollution levels in Aamjiwnaag First Nation such that there are two female births for every male birth [4].

Chemical Valley’s impact on marginalized people is far from the only case of environmental racism in Canada. Some other examples include:

• The dumping of regional waste in the African-Canadian community of Africville, Nova Scotia [5]
• The mercury contamination of rivers in the Anishinaabe community of Grassy Narrows [6]
• The continued neglect of the Federal Government to provide clean drinking water to First Nations communities [7]

There is some hope to change how environmental racism plays out in Canada, but your support is needed is needed now more than ever. 

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA,1999) will be amended in coming months. Unfortunately, the strong lobbying power of polluting industries (e.g., oil and gas) have influenced how CEPA may be amended. Particularly, the proposed amendment is written such that environmental rights “may be balanced with relevant factors including social, economic, health, and scientific factors” [8]. 

In using this wording, the Federal Government is providing a loophole to industries to continue polluting our air, land, and water using the argument that industrial activities are necessary for the Canadian economy. 

Our environmental rights cannot be balanced with economic considerations. Environmental contamination is not only degrading ecosystems, but it is causing serious human health crises in marginalized communities across Canada. 

If CEPA were amended without the loophole that environmental rights may be balanced with economic factors, all Canadians would be granted the right to a clean and healthy environment. A properly amended CEPA is desperately needed for marginalized communities who have been subjected to dangerously-high levels of pollutants and have been neglected by the Federal Government for decades. 

Demand your right to a healthy environment today by signing this petition. Tell the Federal Government that your environmental rights outweigh the need for economic growth.

Want to go a step further?

• Send a letter to your MP via email using this letter template
• Share the petition widely!

Reference list available here