Latest news with #NorthernFirstNations
Global News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Global News
Manitoba wildfire impacts on First Nations prompt calls for environmental justice
During the past month of wildfires in Manitoba, thousands of people were displaced from Northern First Nations. For climate disasters, this is not unusual. Clayton Thomas-Müller, co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action, says First Nations are often located near both environments vulnerable to climate change and the industries that contribute to it. 'When we look at where Canada's most toxic, climate-wrecking, water-poisoning industries tend to be, they tend to be adjacent to Indigenous communities,' says Thomas-Müller. 'So, when we think about environmental racism in our country and systemic racism, Indigenous peoples are most certainly at the top of impacts.' What's more, First Nations often don't have the firefighters or equipment to respond to a massive blaze. Researchers call this a lack of environmental justice: when people bear the effects of climate change without being meaningfully included in climate response and policy. Story continues below advertisement Deborah McGregor, who leads the Indigenous Environmental Justice project at York University in Toronto, says Indigenous peoples are often inserted into policies, but not at the centre of them. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'They don't seem to be geared toward supporting actual First Nations governance — what I call First Nations climate governance — which is you're going to have agency in terms of how you're going to address climate change in your community and what those impacts might be,' says McGregor. She adds there are plenty of programs and grants that nations can apply for, but there's a desire for deeper collaboration. MacGregor says there should be more initiatives focusing on Indigenous knowledge, such as Parks Canada's advisory circle on cultural burning for forest management. 'You can't manage forests in the way that you did. Indigenous peoples are not even part of forest management in most places in Canada.' Grand Chief Kyra Wilson of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says as fire seasons start earlier and become more destructive, it is no longer enough to deal with disasters when they happen. Governments must take a more proactive approach, with First Nations at the table. 'We've been saying, we understand the lands and we understand what we need in the communities, and we don't want to be reactive anymore,' says Wilson.
CBC
31-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
First Nations community members trapped as only airport closed due to smoke
Thousands of residents of remote northern First Nations closed in by wildfires are still waiting to be evacuated. On Thursday, the armed forces were able to help transport a few hundred community members out of Pukatawagan. However, on Thursday night, the airport — the only way out — was closed due to smoke.
Vancouver Sun
05-05-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Opinion: Restrictions on the harmful forever chemicals all around us are long overdue
Article content We are witnessing the early stages of a public health emergency. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), aka 'forever chemicals,' are ubiquitous in our daily lives — and their severe, long-term health consequences could impact generations to come. Article content Article content This situation demands immediate and decisive action. Yet even now, plastics and chemical companies are working hard to weaken upcoming federal regulations. So, as physicians, we are sounding the alarm. Article content Article content PFAS chemicals can be found everywhere: in our cookware, clothing, cosmetics, furniture, pesticides and food packaging; and are accumulating in our water, soil and air. As a result, PFAS are now detectable in the blood of 98.5 per cent of people in Canada. Article content Article content The chemicals are linked to a growing list of serious health issues, including cancers, liver damage, cardiovascular disease, low infant birth weight, thyroid disease, immune system dysfunction, infertility, asthma and more. A recent study identified the first link between PFAS accumulation in the central nervous system and clinical and biological markers of Alzheimer's disease. Article content Exposure and harm are highest among certain at-risk populations, making this an environmental justice issue. Babies, children and teenagers are at greatest risk from PFAS' endocrine-disrupting properties, which can permanently alter their developing bodies and brains. Young children also absorb more contaminants per body weight. Article content Article content Indigenous peoples in the North are exposed to especially high levels of PFAS. The chemicals bioaccumulate in the body tissues of living organisms, including the Arctic marine mammals that Inuit and Northern First Nations depend on for food. PFAS are also used in the process of 'fracking' for gas, impacting the mostly Indigenous, racialized and rural communities nearby. Article content Why is PFAS so widespread, when there is an overwhelming scientific consensus about their dangers? The answer lies in an industry with too much influence on the government regulatory systems that should be protecting us. Article content Industry has known about the harms of PFAS for decades, but hid their data from regulators and the public. While plastics and chemical companies have been making billions in profits from PFAS, the world has been incurring trillions in health and cleanup costs. These costs are estimated at up to $9 billion for Canada alone. Article content We're in a make-or-break moment to change all of this. In 2021, the Canadian government finally committed to action on PFAS. The process is underway to list and regulate PFAS as a harmful class of chemicals under the updated Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Yet even now, plastics and chemical companies are lobbying to weaken these upcoming regulations.
