Having dealt with environmental racism for decades, Canada is now taking a major step to address this issue by passing a bill that ensures all Canadians have access to clean air, water, and earth.
Environmental racism exposes racialized communities – like Black, South Asian, and Indigenous – to health hazards such as toxic waste and pollution from mines, landfills, power stations, and refineries since they are less likely to fight corporations or the government.
“Like systemic racism, environmental racism is something that has been ignored for far too many years. The time has come for us to act to redress the problems of the past and make sure they do not continue,” says Lenore Zann who presented the bill in the House of Commons last year.
The Canadian government intends to collect data on race, locate environmental hazards and health outcomes in affected communities, and review the administration and enforcement of environmental laws in all provinces. People from marginalized and minority communities need to be taken into account to make sure “a lens for equity, diversity, and inclusion is incorporated” in the planning process, says Rosemarie Powell of the Toronto Community Benefits Network, which advocates for community inclusion and participation in development projects.
