Ottawa releases first national environmental racism strategy

The federal government released Canada’s first national strategy on environmental racism and environmental justice on Friday, a five-year plan that commits Ottawa to look at who bears the burden of pollution and other environmental harms when it makes decisions.

Environment and Climate Change Canada published Canada’s National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice 2026-2031 on Oct. 23 in Gatineau, Que. The department called it the first national strategy of its kind in the country.

Under the plan, the federal government commits to reducing environmental inequities in federal decision-making, improving access to environmental information and supporting meaningful participation in decisions, with people’s lived experience recognized, the department said.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said environmental harms and risks “are not always experienced equally,” including for Indigenous, racialized and other marginalized people, in the government’s news release.

Environmental racism is the term advocates use for cases where Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities live closer to polluting sites, such as landfills, industrial plants and contaminated water, than other Canadians. Environmental justice refers to the push for those harms and the benefits of environmental protection to be shared fairly.

The department said the strategy was informed by engagement with communities, Indigenous governments and organizations, environmental justice partners and the public, and that ongoing feedback will guide how it is carried out. It also calls for continued work with every level of government, Indigenous rights-holders and affected communities, since environmental protection is a shared responsibility.

The strategy is required by the National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act, which began as private member’s Bill C-226 and received royal assent on June 20, 2024. Canada News Media reported in September that the strategy had missed its legal deadline.

The news release did not set out new funding or specific measures for individual communities. The full strategy is posted on the Environment and Climate Change Canada website.

The release comes as climate and environmental policy face legal and political tests, including a U.S. Supreme Court climate case involving Suncor and shrinking attendance at the COP31 climate summit.

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Photo: Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin at a news conference in Ottawa on May 28, 2026. File photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby