We are grateful for the clean air that we breathe, the fresh water that we drink and the food that sustains us. We are grateful for the environmental assessments and regulations in place to make sure that these fundamental necessities of life are preserved. We thus write with concern about potential legislation aimed at stripping away protections of clean air, water and soils.

Not all Canadians have access to these necessities. Past major projects have polluted water supplies, with 39 communities suffering from long-term drinking water advisories. Past major projects have and continue to release cancer-causing toxins, with increased disease prevalence in surrounding areas. Past major projects have contributed to 24,000 federally-identified contaminated sites. Past major projects have had long-lasting impacts on access to food, negatively impacting the health of salmon, eel, caribou and many other species. In almost every case, the harms have disproportionately impacted Indigenous communities.

As scientists who have worked on........

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