Black History Month: Unions demand action on environmental racism

Canada’s unions are marking Black History Month by calling for an end to environmental racism.

A 2020 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights noted prevalent discrimination in Canada’s policies and laws related to hazardous substances and wastes, stating: “there exists a pattern in Canada where 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 elsewhere in Canada.” This pattern is called environmental racism, and it has a long history in Canada.

Residents of African Nova Scotian communities like Africville, Shelburne, and Lincolnville have been subjected to it – exposed to sewage systems, landfills, toxic waste, and other pollutants placed in their communities.

This is not just a part of history. Environmental racism springs from deep and ongoing structural inequities that have left communities with few resources and protections over many generations. Today, Black workers and communities continue to live with the consequences of economic and social policy decisions rooted in systemic racism that have resulted in their greater exposure to environmental hazards.

Policy decisions often disregard the long-term environmental, social, and economic costs shouldered by the communities most impacted by these decisions. For Black, Indigenous, racialized, and marginalized communities, the outcome has been exposure to higher rates of pollution and contamination, causing great harm and reducing life expectancy. These communities are paying a high price for unjust policies impacting access to employment, income, housing, and health care.

“Climate change only deepens the injustices of environmental racism, and while all workers are increasingly dealing with its effects, not all of us are feeling it equally. Black workers are also contending with longstanding structural inequities, including discrimination and anti-Black racism and the income inequality that stems from these. This causes Black workers to be more vulnerable to the climate crisis on all fronts – both on the job and at home,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President.

With the development of its first-ever National Strategy on Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice, the federal government has an historic opportunity to make lasting change by ensuring meaningful consultation with Black workers and communities, as well as with Indigenous and racialized workers and communities; allocating sufficient funding for community-led solutions and investing to protect and create good, sustainable union jobs by aligning solutions with strong occupational health and safety protections; responding to urgent needs while also addressing systemic environmental racism; and collecting and using disaggregated race-based data to develop good policy that effectively addresses risks and structural inequalities. 

Black workers’ survival and well-being depend on equitable access to good, safe jobs, as well as government action to address the root causes of income inequality and the climate crisis. Join our calls and send a letter today to the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature and urge government to take swift action to develop and table the National Strategy and combat environmental racism faced by Black workers and communities.

And sign up to learn about, receive updates and get involved in our Future That Works campaign, a worker-centred campaign for a sustainable, equitable and climate-resilient future!