What We Heard Report: Strengthening Canada’s Approach to Developing a National Strategy to Address Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice

Authors: Anna Huschka (she/her), Keara Allen (she/her), Akino Milligan (she/her), Manvi Bhalla (she/her)

Editors: Elaine Li (she/her), Jaidah-Leigh Wyatt (she/her), Farron Rickerby-Nishi (she/they), Victoria Lewis (she/her)

Designer: Paige Stampatori (she/her)

About the draft National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice 2026-2031

In June 2024 National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act passed, which mandated that the Government of Canada publish a National Environmental Justice Strategy within 2 years of the Act passing. As laid out in the Act, the Strategy must include a study of the link between race, socio-economic status, and exposure to environmental hazards, and measures that the government can take to address environmental racism and injustices. From June 26, 2026 to August 10, 2026 the Government of Canada opened a public consultation on the draft National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice 2026-2031. The Government of Canada dedicated no funding towards community consultations on the draft Strategy, despite being mandated to engage with all interested parties according to the Act. The final Strategy is expected to be published in the Fall of 2026.

About our Collaboration

Shake Up The Establishment, Black Environmental Initiative, Pacific Association of First Nations Women+, Sacred Earth, and Women’s Healthy Environments Network co-hosted a virtual two-hour event on July 22, 2026, 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET/5-7pm AT via Zoom to bring together government officials working on developing the strategy and community-serving groups to work together to maintain accountability on the progress of the Strategy. 

Participant Feedback 

Participants expressed that…

1. The government’s consultation timelines are insufficient, inequitable, and rushed. 
2. The government’s overall communications and community engagement during their consultation process is limited and inaccessible.  
3. The government’s lack of dedicated resources or funding to pay consultation participants, support the implementation of the Strategy’s goals, and build capacity of the individuals and collectives already working to enact environmental justice in the communities they serve across Canada, is extremely concerning. 
4. The government’s approach to the dissemination of information and the study’s findings in the draft Strategy pose a significant barrier to comprehension, citing the incoherent writing, ambiguous implementation plans, faulty data collection methods, and non-existent accountability measures.
5. The framing of environmental equity in the draft Strategy study was too narrow in scope and critical issues interconnected with environmental racism were marginalized. 
6. Environmental justice is a highly interconnected issue that affects many different sectors, and that the government must therefore mainstream environmental justice across all departments. 
7. Environmental justice should be a priority, and the government must treat it as such. 
8. Organizations need to work together to involve as many affected communities as possible in advocating for strong environmental justice policies. 
9. The current lack of research and government-collected data on environmental justice issues, such as the impacts of hazardous sites on children, and cumulative, long-term impacts of hazards like air pollution and waste, is frustrating. 

Key Recommendations 

1. The government should use multiple and accessible communication channels to promote the draft Strategy itself, and openly share the process for how communities can provide public comments, including plain-language summaries of the draft Strategy tailored to social media. 
2. The government must compensate the very communities the draft Strategy is meant to support and dedicate long-term and reliable funding to help build the capacity of community-serving organizations who are already spearheading various environmental justice initiatives in the communities they have deep relationships with. 
3. The government must avoid using ambiguous and non-committal language throughout the draft Strategy, and instead, explicitly convey their goals, plan of action, practical outcomes, and clear measures to monitor their progress. 
4. The Strategy needs to explain what environmental justice looks like, and how to advance it, especially in equity-denied and racially-minoritized groups.
5. The government must not only recognize the racial and ethnic diversity of impacted communities across Canada, but also learn from these communities with lived experience on how best they can engage with them to help them thrive. 
6. The government must explicitly recognize Black communities as a distinct, racially-minoritized population in the Strategy. 
7. The government must actually listen to and learn from impacted communities, and use their knowledge, lived experience, and the solutions they share to design a more equitable and capacity-building Strategy.
8. The government must host more consultation and engagement opportunities for affected communities (i.e. low-income communities; newcomers, immigrants, and refugees; workers; children and youth and/or the organizations that serve them; seniors; racialized communities; northern, remote, and isolated communities; and Indigenous communities).
9. Environment and Climate Change Canada must add legally-binding accountability measures in the National Environmental Justice Strategy.
10. The government must fund community-centred environmental justice work in addition to their own efforts.

About our Organizations

Shake Up The Establishment 

Shake Up The Establishment is a national nonprofit working to advance intersectional climate and environmental justice by fostering civic participation and youth leadership; driving systemic change through evidence-based research and non-partisan policy advocacy; and shifting public narratives through creative arts-based campaigns. We centre collaborative, community-led solutions for just, equitable, healthy, and sustainable futures.  

Website: https://shakeuptheestab.org/ 

Black Environmental Initiative 

The Black Environmental Initiative is a non-profit organization promoting black-led environmental education, community energy and green jobs programming. For the National Environmental Justice Strategy, BEI is focused on highlighting Black and racialized communities unique perspectives, promoting opportunities for partnership and advocating for a resourced path forward.

Website: https://beinitiative.com/

Pacific Association of First Nations Women+ 

The PAFNW+ is an East-Side based, Indigenous-led, non-profit with operations stemming across British Columbia and the Yukon. Their work spans many areas including Indigenous language learning, arts and culture, Elder care, mentorship and cultural immersion for Indigenous foster youth, homecare services, grocery and hot meal support, clothing collection, upcycling and redistribution, and other structured and drop-in programming areas. Their work evolves alongside community and they are excited to now be a member of the SUTE network.

Website: https://www.pafnw.ca/

Sacred Earth 

Sacred Earth is an Indigenous women-led organization that partners with Indigenous communities to advance a just transition and build resilience in the face of climate change. We provide support for community-led climate solutions and clean energy infrastructure; conduct Indigenous-centered research; provide training and educational resources; and advocate for equitable climate policy and Indigenous sovereignty.

Website: https://www.sacredearth.solar/

Women’s Healthy Environments Network 

WHEN is a non-profit charitable organization that educates the public and policy makers about environmental health as a key determinant of public health, and advocates for the prevention of environmental health harms. We recognize climate change and environmental degradation as major environmental health challenges, which disproportionately affect vulnerable communities, and support solutions that are designed to build more resilient communities. 

Website: https://www.womenshealthyenvironments.ca/