Early Engagement and Ongoing Collaboration

SUTE, FES, and WHEN have been involved in this process from the outset, providing feedback during the pre-consultation phase on the federal government’s Discussion Document in early 2024. Consequently, both SUTE and WHEN authored reports providing feedback on the discussion document as part of the public consultation period. SUTE’s report featuring equity-centred & community-informed feedback was endorsed by WHEN, Green Ummah, Community Climate Council, FES, Sustainable Youth Canada, and CoSphere. WHEN’s comprehensive technical report (and corresponding blog post) was similarly endorsed by SUTE, Breast Cancer Action Quebec, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the Coalition for Environmental Rights, and features recommendations from an intersectional feminist perspective. 

“Leading this process and enabling minoritized and marginalized youth to have their voices heard in shaping national environmental health policy is the task of a lifetime,” says Manvi Bhalla, Executive Director of SUTE. These consultations offer an opportunity to gather critical youth input on a national framework that will ensure environmental protections for all, with a particular focus on those who are disproportionately impacted by environmental health inequities—populations facing disproportionately higher exposure to pollutants and toxins, alongside barriers in accessing environmental benefits.

How to Get Involved

1. Apply to participate in one of our public consultation events: tinyurl.com/rthe-events 
1. Calgary, AB – Saturday Nov 2nd, 6-9pm (Application due Oct 31)
2. Vancouver, BC – Sunday Nov 17th, 1-4pm (Application due Nov 15)
3. Toronto, ON – Wednesday Nov 20th, 5:30-8:30pm (Application due Nov 18)
4. Montreal, QC – Saturday Nov 23rd, 1-4pm (Application due Nov 21)
5. Halifax, NS – Sunday Nov 24th, 6-9pm (Application due Nov 22)
6. Virtual – Sunday Dec 1st, 1-3pm EST (Application due Nov 29)
2. Can’t attend an event? Share your thoughts through our online survey: tinyurl.com/sute-rthe! Deadline for your input to be included is November 20th, 2024

For more information and background on the right to a healthy environment under CEPA, check out the article “The Right to a Healthy Environment: Get Informed, Get Involved, Have your Say” by Lily Farinaccio, available on WHEN’s website here.

Who Can Participate

If you are between the ages of 18-35, we invite you to participate in our high-impact consultations across the country!

• No prior knowledge needed; our team will provide information on-site
• $100 honoraria for participation in our in-person events (3 hours long) and $75 for participating in the virtual event (2 hours long); all times include breaks
• Accessibility funds available to support needs (e.g., local travel, childcare)
• Food and beverages provided at all in-person events (V/GF friendly)

The application will be open on a rolling basis for each event, until 2 days before each event date/time. Successful applicants will be contacted for next steps via email. 

Quotes from Select Leadership:

Anna Huschka (she/her), Director of Policy Interventions, Shake Up The Establishment (Age 23):

“Youth deserve agency and power over policy decisions so they can help create futures for themselves in which communities and environments are not only surviving, but thriving. The right to a healthy environment under CEPA is such an important policy that is going to directly shape what these futures look like, and it’s so exciting that we are able to develop and submit specialized feedback that prioritizes the concerns and interests of youth. We are grateful to bring together such a powerful team of youth from SUTE, WHEN and FES to be able to create opportunities for others to join us in influencing the policies that will affect us most.” 

Manvi Bhalla (she/her), Executive Director & Co-Founder, Shake Up The Establishment (Age 26):

“Shake Up The Establishment has been leading by example in creating spaces for youth to engage in policy work to help have a say in shaping their present-day, and futures, for the past five years. Now, to be leading a process that enables youth, particularly marginalized and minoritized youth, the opportunity to show up authentically amongst their peers and have their perspectives be heard meaningfully to help shape national environmental health policy is the task of a lifetime. Given the ambitious scale of this critical work, Shake Up The Establishment is thrilled to be able to collaborate with the highly skilled teams at FES & WHEN in designing & executing this project. Together, the young leaders engaged in this work possess a wealth of subject-matter knowledge, technical expertise and the necessary experience and skills in convening enriched, safe and inclusive gathering spaces to ensure the success of this work.”

Lily Farinaccio (she/her), Policy Analyst, Women’s Healthy Environments Network (WHEN) (Age 22):

“The Right to a Healthy Environment under CEPA is a critical federal policy with immense potential, but that potential won’t be realized unless those who face disproportionate burdens and effects of environmental harm are given the opportunity to have their voices heard. WHEN is proud to collaborate with SUTE and FES on this meaningful project. We’re grateful to help provide a platform for equity-deserving youth from intersecting identities to share their perspectives and help shape national policy to ensure it meets the needs of all communities.” 

Kanisha Acharya-Patel (she/her), Board Director and previous Law Reform Specialist, Women’s Healthy Environments Network (WHEN) (Age 28): 

“Recognizing the Right to a Healthy Environment under CEPA is a big step forward in the environmental justice movement. However, the Right is not without flaws and the development of its implementation framework provides a critical opportunity to the public to have their say. Amplifying the voices of youth, women, BIPOC and other marginalized populations is necessary if the Right is to meaningfully advance health and environmental equity, so I’m very excited for WHEN to be working with SUTE and FES to facilitate community engagement on this important issue.”

Kat Cadungog (she/her), Executive Director, Finance, Engage, Sustain (FES), (Age 28):

“Today, with one-third of Canada’s population under the age of 30, engaging young leaders is not simply a moral responsibility – it’s a strategic opportunity to access fresh perspectives, creativity, and innovative ideas. Decisions made today are intrinsically linked to the livelihood of youth in a way that differs from older generations, making youth uniquely positioned as moral authorities. A national youth consultation on the Right to a Healthy Environment under CEPA is an important step towards youth inclusion by the Government of Canada. We are so excited to be in the company of SUTE & WHEN to embark on this project towards a world where youth perspectives are meaningfully honoured and woven into the exciting framework.”

Contact Information

Elaine Li, Director of Communications, Shake Up The Establishment

Email: [email protected] (please CC Manvi Bhalla, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Shake Up The Establishment at [email protected])

About Us

Shake Up The Establishment (SUTE) is a national youth-led registered not-for-profit organization (#1190975-4) dedicated to advancing climate justice across what is currently known as Canada. We use an intersectional approach to promote non-partisan political advocacy, craft accessible evidence-informed educational resources to improve climate and environmental literacy and work to collaborate directly with underserved and structurally vulnerable communities to address injustices. Our founders dreamt up, organized and registered this organization upon Treaty 3 lands, belonging to the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas Peoples. We are humbled to follow the lead of Indigenous-led efforts towards the protection and stewardship of the lands currently known as Canada, since time immemorial.

For more info, visit ShakeUpTheEstab.org.

Our platforms: Threads / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / LinkedIn / Establish Podcast

Finance, Engage, Sustain | Financer Engager Soutenir FES is a youth-led youth-serving organization, with a mission to create a sustainable future by empowering youth, changing lifestyles, and amplifying powerful youth projects. Our intended impact is to see that by 2030, the Canadian climate movement will be successfully implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies needed for a climate-resilient and fair Canada, through the influence and action of youth leaders. At FES, our focus is on supporting youth-led projects that make a difference in the face of the climate crisis we face together. We provide training, resources, and other support to see youth-led projects grow nationwide, mainly through The Youth Harbour and N:OW for Net-Zero. FES has existed since 2012 and became a registered charity in 2017 (Charitable No. 801430307RR0001)

Women’s Healthy Environments Network (WHEN) is a non-profit charitable organization (Charity BN #119262533RR0001) focused on advancing intersectional environmental justice and health equity for women*, BIPOC communities and other disproportionately impacted populations. We aim to educate the public and decision-makers about environmental health as a key determinant of public health, and advocate for the prevention of toxic substance exposures and related health effects. WHEN has been a trusted source of credible tools and information on emerging environmental health topics since 1994. By developing public education materials, hosting and speaking at community events, and participating in meetings with diverse stakeholders, we teach individuals how to reduce their risk of illness and injury that can occur from the products we use, the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. We engage in law and policy reform to better protect disproportionately impacted communities from environmental risk and shift the responsibility of preventing toxic substance exposures from the individual to the government. *WHEN advocates for all women, trans and cis, and for gender-diverse people with ovarian reproductive systems, recognizing that both sex and gender affect one’s vulnerability to environmental harm. WHEN is located on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples that is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. WHEN is committed to advancing environmental justice and supports the full and unqualified implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

For more info, visit womenshealthyenvironments.ca

Our platforms: Instagram / LinkedIn