Ottawa and Quebec must take concrete action in terms of environmental justice, while disadvantaged communities are increasingly exposed to environmental risks related to climate change.
This is what a report published Monday by the Suzuki Foundation and its partners recommends, considering the fight against climate change from the angles of equity, public health and human rights.
The report cites the example of the Notre-Dame district in Rouyn-Noranda, which is suffering the effects of pollutants from the Horne Foundry, as well as the Ray-Mont Logistiques project, which risks being a source of nuisance for residents.
The organization and its partners believe that the time is right for action centered on environmental justice if we want to obtain more effective and sustainable results, particularly in terms of adaptation.
“This report offers concrete courses of action so that Quebec stops ignoring communities that face a disproportionate environmental burden,” said Sabaa Khan, Executive Director for Quebec and the Atlantic at the David Suzuki Foundation. .
“It is time to decompartmentalize these situations and take political action to put in place governance based on environmental justice in Quebec,” said Léa Ilardo, climate policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation.
“Taking into account environmental injustices will be particularly important in the future in order to ensure the social acceptability of certain GHG reduction measures,” added lawyer Michel Bélanger, co-founder of the Center québécois du droit de l’ ‘environment.