Any government response to climate change must take into account the well-being and needs of marginalized communities, in addition to giving them a voice, says a Deloitte Canada report released Wednesday.
Indigenous, racialized and low-income communities are those who suffer the most from climate change, highlights the professional services firm in the report Achieving climate equity in Canada. Mobilize the whole government. “When we think of disadvantaged urban areas, it is often in these neighborhoods where there is the most population and where there are a lot of heat islands,” says Cindy Loridon, head of the sustainable development and climate change at Deloitte Canada.
In interview at Duty, she points out that when decision-makers address the issue of ecological transition, it is often a question of reducing greenhouse gases and carbon neutrality, but rarely of the human aspect. According to her, Ottawa must do more to move towards climate equity, so that every person — regardless of race, gender or income — benefits from a clean environment and has access to the resources necessary to protect themselves from the repercussions of climate change. climatic changes.
Mme Loridon thus emphasizes that Environment and Climate Change Canada should not be the only federal department involved in the process. “We really want it to be an action that goes beyond just one or two actors,” she specifies.
Breaking down working in isolation
Cindy Loridon also raises the need for the federal government to establish working groups with Indigenous people regarding climate equity. “They have an important stone to contribute to the building,” she maintains.
Marginalized communities often don’t have the same platform as other groups to make themselves heard, she says. “Hence the importance of bringing them to the table [de décision] through community organizations, but also through the different associations that exist to ensure that they have a voice. »
When it comes to climate, making decisions in isolation should be avoided, says Mme Loridon. “When we don’t look at how the system is impacted by these decisions, we can take a step forward somewhere and a step backward elsewhere,” she warns.
The document unveiled on Wednesday is also the first in a series of reports concerning climate equity. “We are trying to provide a point of view on this issue, because we see that it is something that is still little addressed in Canada,” she explains.