ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM AND INJUSTICE

Environmental harms are not experienced equally.

Across Canada, Indigenous Peoples and other equity-denied communities (including Black and racialized communities, low-income communities, people living in geographically isolated or remote areas, and other communities facing systemic barriers) can experience disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards and toxic substances, while having less power and fewer opportunities to influence the decisions that shape their environments.

These inequities are rooted in historical and ongoing systems of colonialism, racism, displacement, and socioeconomic inequality. Indigenous communities in particular have and continue to experience profound environmental harms connected to the dispossession of lands, resource extraction, pollution, and the disruption of relationships with land and water.

Climate change is further intensifying exposure and inequities, as extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, changing ecosystems, and other climate-related impacts can place additional and disproportionate burdens on communities already facing environmental and social inequities.

Canada’s National Strategy on Environmental Justice

On June 20, 2024, Bill C-226, the National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act, received Royal Assent and became law. The government is required to consult individuals, organizations, and communities, and table the Strategy within two years.

The draft Strategy was released on June 26, 2026, and the government opened the public consultation for just 45 days, from June 26 to August 10. This limited window provided communities and organizations with relatively little time to review a substantial draft strategy, consult with their communities, and develop meaningful submissions.

In July 2026, WHEN co-hosted a virtual Building Momentum session with Shake Up The Establishment, Black Environmental Initiative, Pacific Association of First Nations Women+, and Sacred Earth. The session was designed to increase awareness of the federal policy engagement opportunity among community-serving organizations, and gather feedback and insights on the federal government's approach to the draft Strategy. Our report is coming soon!

An Intersectional Approach to Environmental Justice

WHEN believes Canada's approach to environmental justice must recognize that environmental harm is shaped by intersecting social, economic, political, geographic, and identity-based factors. Race, Indigeneity, socioeconomic status, gender, sex, disability, age, immigration status, geography, and other factors can intersect to influence both exposure to environmental hazards and people's ability to participate in environmental decision-making.

An effective National Strategy must go beyond identifying environmental racism as an isolated issue. It should address the interconnected systems that produce and perpetuate environmental inequities, while recognizing the distinct experiences, rights, knowledge, and priorities of different communities. Indigenous Peoples must be central to this work, with engagement grounded in Indigenous rights, self-determination, and meaningful consultation and cooperation. A national strategy cannot adequately address environmental injustice without thorough, accessible, ongoing, and appropriately resourced engagement with the communities most affected.

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