Canada prides itself on being a global leader in human rights, climate action and multicultural inclusion. Yet environmental harm in this country is racialized.

Black, Indigenous and marginalized communities are disproportionately subjected to environmental hazards such as proximity to landfills, toxic waste sites, industrial pollution and unsafe water systems. This environmental racism is a consequence of historic policy decisions, economic disparities and uneven development.

The 2024 passage of Bill C-226, the National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and to Advance Environmental Justice Act, marked a significant milestone because it officially acknowledges these discriminatory practices. The act requires the minister of environment and climate change to formulate, by June 2026, a national strategy to achieve these goals.

However, the mere acknowledgment of these issues is insufficient for achieving true environmental justice. If the national strategy is limited to documenting environmental hazards and generating reports, it may inadvertently reinforce existing injustices rather than alleviate them.

Canada’s history is replete with instances of governments recognizing structural inequalities without making meaningful change. Therefore, achieving true environmental justice necessitates not just recognition but also actions to address and correct these longstanding injustices.

Three key steps would help: introduction of environmental hazard exposure tax credits for workers in high-risk industries; a targeted green reskilling fund for Black workers and communities that have historically been overrepresented in hazardous industries; and ensuring that communities bearing the environmental burdens of infrastructure developments such as data centres and logistics hubs also share in the economic rewards.

Where the burden falls

Ingrid Waldron’s definition of environmental racism encompasses not only the exposure to environmental hazards but also the limited political capacity of marginalized communities to resist the establishment of hazardous industries near their living areas.

For example, Indigenous communities,........

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