CRE EXPLAINS: THE
CLIMATE
INDIGENOUS
CRISIS
&
CLIMATE
JUSTICE
CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS POLICY AND RESEARCH
APRIL 2022
CONTENT WARNING This paper discusses climate disasters, land pollution, and environmental racism. Please use the number below if you need support, or visit
www.hopeforwellness.ca
to chat online with a counsellor.
1-855-242-3310 - available in Cree, Ojibway, Inuktitut -
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BACKGROUND The past several years has seen an uptick in extreme weather events, climaterelated disasters – such as the flooding and forest fires in British Columbia last fall and summer – and record-breaking high and low temperatures.
Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world are disproportionately impacted by climate change and are some of the most vulnerable to climate disasters and extreme weather.
Extractive practices on the land are partly to blame for some extreme weather events – for example, the logging industry and clear cutting of old growth forests in BC contributed to extreme flooding.
Indigenous youth and grassroots movements have taken the lead in addressing climate change and bringing climate justice to the forefront of the conversation.
In this edition of CRE Explains, we’ll sum up the government’s current
The Lytton, BC fire was “virtually impossible without human-caused climate change” and scholars have suggested that the BC floods were “at least exacerbated by a warming climate”.
commitments when it comes to climate change, how laws have or haven’t been used to protect land and water, and how Indigenous youth are already leading
During the floods in BC in 2021, 9 First Nations communities were under evacuation order, forcing
climate justice movements.
many people to leave their homes. Nooaitch First Nation was cut off by the flooding and community members were left without power for days.
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While making up about 5% of the
Indigenous peoples protect about 80% of the world’s biodiversity. world’s population,
Much of that protection is led by Indigenous women, with about
half of
the land guardian programs
in
Canada being Indigenous woman-led. At the same time, about two-thirds of proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are Indigenous-woman led.
Learn more
about IPCAs here!
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA'S RESPONSE TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS In the most recent
Speech from the Throne,
PM Trudeau insisted that protecting the
environment and growing the economy go hand-in-hand, and that protecting lands and oceans will help curb biodiversity loss.
During the Speech, Trudeau said that “the Government will continue to strengthen its partnership with First Nation, Inuit and Métis to protect nature and respect their traditional knowledge”. Trudeau also committed to creating the Canada Water Agency, which would be responsible for managing Canada’s water sustainably and equitably.
The Speech also included a promise to help prevent and prepare for climate disasters and extreme weather events, such as fires and floods, through
National Adaptation Strategy.
Canada’s
Budget 2021 also included climate action funding for Indigenous communities. This funding, totalling $1.3 billion, includes support for things like: Managing the impacts of extreme weather Improving food security in the North, including Inuit Nunangat Helping communities transition from diesel energy to cleaner energy Helping to protect biodiversity by creating more protected areas and conservation areas.
In October 2021, PM Trudeau appointed Québec MP Steven Guilbeault to serve as Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Guilbeault is a founding member of Équiterre and worked in senior leadership of the Québec chapter of Greenpeace.
The federal government has also said that they want to renew nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous peoples, and has
climate plan w i l l a d v a n c e I n d i g e n o u s c l i m a t e S o m e actions t h e y ’ v e c o m m i t t e d t o i n c l u d e :
said that their leadership.
Recognizing the unique needs of Indigenous peoples Respecting self-determination Meaningful engagement Incorporating Indigenous voices in climate action Including Indigenous leaders in governance tables
JOINT COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE ACTION
Joint Committee on Climate Action – l e d b y t h e In 2020, the
Assembly of First Nations and the Government of Canada - released their
third report ,
discussing how
Indigenous communities are and can be leaders in climate justice.
In the report, the Committee says that First Nations-led solutions are key in addressing both decolonization and climate change.
The Committee outlines five priority areas for responding to climate change, which are centered around Indigenous involvement in policy making and creating an intersectional and intergenerational conversation around the topic.
Some MPs have tried to
CLIMATE JUSTICE, ANTI-RACISM, AND THE LAW
push for climate justice and fight systemic racism by introducing legislation like
Bill C-230,
which
would have created a national strategy to redress environmental racism.
The bill was introduced by former Nova Scotia MP Lenore Zann (Liberal) to respond to Canada’s history of environmental racism against BIPOC folks. A couple of examples of this being:
Grassy Narrows, ON :
Mercury contamination from the Reed Paper Mill in Dryden
has been affecting the community for many years.
Africville, NS :
Construction of fertilizer plants, factories, open dumps, and more
near the community of Africville caused the displacement of residents.
consider the connections between race, socioeconomic status, and exposure to environmental risks, and then assess how environmental laws are enforced in each province. The goal of Bill C-230 was to
Before the Bill could move through all the stages needed to become law, an election was called, which means it would need to be re-introduced in parliament.
INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT In November 2021 at COP26, Canada made some commitments related to reducing emissions and shifting away from fossil fuels in order to help curb climate change (
check out the full list
here ) .
Conference that has happened.
Canada is also part of the
Pact ,
COP26 stands for “Conference of the Parties 26” , m e a n i n g i t w a s t h e 2 6 t h
Glascow Climate
which was an agreement reached at
COP26 - nations in the Pact have agreed to work together in reducing emissions to limit the
Each COP sees representatives from many countries coming together to discuss climate change and collective tactics for combating it. COP26 took
global rise in temperatures to just 1.5 degrees.
place in Glascow, Scotland.
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INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT (CONT'D) These commitments are increasingly important, as the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development has identified Canada as “the worst performer of the G7 nations in the fight against climate change”, and oil and gas are major contributors to this, producing 26% of Canada’s emissions in 2019.
Many critics also called out Trudeau
for not including more substantive plans for
relieving Canada’s economic reliance on the oil and gas industry, and for only focusing on capping emissions and not capping production.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE ASSEMBLY FIRST
OF
NATIONS
At their Annual General Assembly in 2019, the AFN declared a
Climate Emergency” ,
“First Nations
saying that climate change has created a state of
emergency for the land, water, animals, and people. At the first-ever First Nations Climate Gathering hosted by AFN in 2020, the Chiefs-in-Assembly called for action that reduces emissions by 60% below 2010 levels by 2030.
The current target
set by the federal government is to
reduce emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030.
INUIT
TAPIRIIT
KANATAMI
In 2019, the ITK announced their
National Inuit Climate Strategy ,
outlining
five priority areas for Inuit Nunangat in staying resilient and being able to sustain their way of life through climate change. These priority areas are 1) knowledge and capacity building; 2) health, wellbeing and the environment; 3) food systems; 4) infrastructure; and 5) energy. Inuit Nunangat is recognized as an area that will be very hard hit by climate change as sea ice and permafrost melts, which will bring significant challenges to the Inuit living in that area with being able to live traditionally.
LES
FEMMES
MICHIF
OTEPEMISIWAK/ WOMEN
OF
THE
Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak
(LFMO) has said that climate change
has deeply impacted Métis traditional ways of life and is causing great anxiety in many citizens. LFMO asserts that Métis women are climate change leaders and hold key
METIS
NATION
traditional knowledge in tackling climate issues, and advocates for Indigenous communities to be included in climate conversations using a distinctions-based approach.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE CONT'D MÉTIS
NATIONAL COUNCIL
The Métis Nation has been working with the federal government to include the Nation’s priorities in climate initiatives, programs and policies. Some examples of priorities identified by the Métis Nation are capacity building, collecting Métis traditional knowledge, research and data collection for Métis-specific policy, environmental stewardship, and renewable energy.
CONNECTING CLIMATE CHANGE & COLONIALISM In July 2021, Eriel Tchekwie Deranger published a
Yellowhead Institute brief
arguing that
“colonization caused climate change, and Indigenous rights are the solution”.
The brief calls out the federal government for silencing Indigenous folks advocating for climate justice, particularly in that the government has failed to engage and consult with Indigenous communities in creating climate action plans.
Going forward, Deranger suggests including Indigenous communities fully as partners in decision making, having Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQIA+ in leadership roles, upholding the 94 Calls to Action set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, addressing inequalities created by colonialism, and addressing colonialism and capitalism as the root causes of climate change.
“Indigenous peoples, first and foremost, are meant to have a seat at these climate tables. Our structural exclusion is in direct conflict with the Liberal government's
commitments
reconciliation.” - Eriel Tchekwie Derange, Yellowhead Institute
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to
CRE LOOKING AHEAD Indigenous and BIPOC communities are, and will continue to be, hit the hardest by climate change in Canada and around the world. On top of this, youth will inherit the climate change decisions made today, as well as the many consequences of warming temperatures and extreme weather events.
Ensuring the ethical, accountable incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into climate justice spaces and environmental decision-making can only strengthen the solutions implemented to mitigate climate change. With UNDRIP in the process of being implemented in Canada, clear guidelines could be set and followed regarding how to respectfully gather and incorporate this knowledge, without using exploitive and extractive practices
Read more about the
environmental rights embedded in UNDRIP here! Indigenous youth are already leaders and strong advocates when
On March 22, the NDP agreed to
it comes to climate justice,
support the Liberal government in
especially in understanding climate change as yet another harm caused by colonialism and capitalism. At the national level, CRE will work to
exchange for working on shared policy priorities, including climate change and reconciliation. Some
hold the government accountable
key shared commitments to address
for making space for youth to lead
the climate crisis include:
climate justice at the federal level.
Advancing measures to achieve CRE will continue to advocate and create space for Indigenous youth to lead meaningful action around the climate crisis, environmental justice and policy.
significant emissions reductions by 2030 Identifying ways to achieve netzero emissions no later than 2050 Developing a plan to phase-out public financing of the fossil fuel industry
INDIGENOUS CLIMATE JUSTICE LEADERS Indigenous Climate Action:
ICA is an Indigenous-led climate justice organization, aiming
to bring Indigenous voices to the forefront of climate conversations.
Indigenous Climate Action Pod:
A podcast series by Indigenous Climate Action that
highlights youth, teachings, and climate justice.
Ecojustice:
Ecojustice is Canada’s largest environmental law charity. They represent and
support Indigenous communities and grassroots organizations in taking governments and polluters to court.
Youth Climate Lab:
YCL’s work is focused on helping youth rebuilding systems to create a
climate-resilient world.
Land(ing) Back:
A podcast from Youth Climate Lab and 4Rs Youth Movement featuring
young Indigenous folks making waves in climate justice.
The Climate Reality Project Canada:
CRP is an international organization working within
Canada. They focus on education and grassroots action as the solution to climate change.
Indigenous Climate Hub Resource Library:
Many resources on climate change and
Indigenous climate justice are available here in different forms of media.
More Indigenous youth and women/femmes leading in climate justice to follow! Autumn Peltier (Anishinaabe) Amelia Telford (Bundjalung, South Sea Islander) Molly Wickham (Gidimt’en) Brian Pottle (Inuk) Larissa Crawford (Afro-Caribbean, Métis)
SOURCES & FURTHER READING After a year of climate disaster, B.C. grapples with the urgent need to adapt to its dangerous future (2021), The Narwhal, Ainslie Cruickshank
An Act respecting the development of a national strategy to redress environmental racism (2021), Parliament of Canada
Assembly of First Nations Bulletin – AFN Climate Strategy & survey (2021), Assembly of First Nations
Bill C-230 marks an important first step in addressing environmental racism in Canada (2021), The Conversation, Angela Lee and Heather McLeod-Kilmurray
Budget 2021 a healthy environment for a healthy economy (2021), Government of Canada, Department of Finance Canada
Canada’s environment watchdog blasts government for going from ‘failure to failure’ (2021). National Post, Christopher Nardi
Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy (2021), Government of Canada
Canada’s pledges exceed from COP26 commitments (2021), Business Intelligence For B.C., Nelson Bennett
D e n e K ’ é h D i d
ī
N
ī́ʼ
S
ū́ g é h ʼī n
M
ā ’ :
Indigenous women are blazing a conservation trail (2022),
APTN, Natasha Bulowski
The Glascow Climate Pact – Key outcomes from COP26 (2021), United Nations
Intact forests, safe communities (2021), Sierra Club BC, Peter Wood
Making the promised Canada Water Agency a reality (2021), Policy Options, Corinne Schuster-Wallace and Robert (Bob) Sandford
National Inuit Climate Change Strategy (n.d.), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Net zero emissions by 2050 (2022), Government of Canada
Speech from the Throne (2021), Government of Canada
Questions or comments about this issue of CRE Explains? Message us at
centre@canadianroots.ca CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS POLICY AND RESEARCH