Fast talk on environmental racism in Canada – Summary report

Integrating Indigenous knowledge “So when you see the things that are happening around the world, you see the women that are Indigenous to that land to come forward first because of the responsibility to protect the water for their community, and their people but also the animals and the flyers and the swimmers and all life, the plants, everything that needs that water to live.” – Expert participa. [...] This honours the relationships past generations have had with the environment and preserves the integrity of the environment for the generations to come. [...] Role of data “Monitoring is when you systematically institutionalize communities, empower them, provide the education, provide the resources, provide the funding, so that they can take the measurements day in and day out forever.” – Expert participant Many experts raised the importance of data collection and the role data plays in understanding the severity and reality of environmental racism. [...] 13 Recommended actions for the CHRC The Fast Talk experts shared suggested various concrete actions for the CHRC to consider: Advocating with government Legislative matters The experts highlighted the role of the CHRC in advocating for the adoption of relevant federal legislative bills currently before Parliament: Bill C-226 and Bill S-5. [...] The different ideas reported by the experts will inform the CHRC’s future actions in our work to help address and raise awareness about the current and future state of the intersections between environmental racism, climate action and the human right to adequate housing.