Last week, I noted that none of the main Âparties — those likely to form the next government — have yet recognized and accepted the scale of the global ecological crises we face, to which Canada contributes disproportionately. Nor have they Ârecognized the implications for 91Ô´´s and the rest of humanity, including the threat these Âcrises pose to our human rights.
David Boyd, a B.C.-based Âenvironmental lawyer and currently the UN Special ÂRapporteur on human rights and the Âenvironment, noted in a recent blog posting: “Among the human rights being threatened and violated by the global environmental crisis are the rights to life, health, food, a healthy environment, water, an adequate standard of living, and culture.” Which is why he is a leader in the efforts to Âestablish the right to a healthy environment in Â91Ô´´ and international law.
Regrettably, Canada remains one of the few countries in the world that does not Ârecognize that people have the right to a healthy environment — and that we also thus have a duty to protect nature and ensure the environment is healthy.
Admittedly, in April 2021, the ÂLiberal Âgovernment introduced Bill C-28, which would have amended the 91Ô´´ ÂEnvironmental Protection Act to include the recognition of the right to a healthy Âenvironment. But the bill, while welcomed as a good start by important health and Âenvironmental organizations, was also Âcriticized by them as too weak.
Problematically, the right to a healthy environment would only be in the Âpreamble to the act, with no clear legal powers to ensure it is fully implemented. Even worse, the bill stated that this right “may be Âbalanced with relevant factors, Âincluding social, economic, health and scientific Âfactors.” In other words — well, you sort of have that right, but not if economic or other factors are considered more important. Thus making money could triumph over your need for a healthy environment — as it has done for many years.
Anyway, Bill C-28 failed to proceed beyond first reading and was not even debated, indicating how little importance Parliament gives to this vitally important issue.
So one question to ask your candidates is: Do you and your party recognize that Â91Ô´´s have a right to a healthy Âenvironment, that this right is not subject to modification for economic or other reasons, and that you will commit to introducing and/or supporting legislation to enshrine the right to a healthy environment and, Âultimately, to include it in the 91Ô´´ ÂConstitution?
Another way in which Canada’s lack of interest in and support for the right to a healthy environment manifests is that ÂCanada did not support a March 2021 Âstatement put forward at the UN Human Rights ÂCouncil calling for “international Ârecognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.”
The statement was proposed by the governments of Costa Rica, the Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia and Switzerland and Âsupported by almost 70 countries. Canada was not alone in failing to support it; other unsupportive major planet-harming Âcountries were the U.S., the U.K., Australia, China, Russia and India.
The statement was, however, supported by 15 major UN organizations, from the International Labour Organization to UNICEF and the World Health Organization, all of whom recognized that the “rights of present and future generations depend on a healthy environment.” It was also supported by more than 1,000 civil-society, child, youth and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations.
Happily, there is a growing global Âmovement not only to recognize the right to a healthy environment, but to create a Global Pact for the ÂEnvironment. The pact, which the UN has been Âconsidering, would be a legally binding global Âinstrument Âestablishing “the right to a sound Âenvironment and the duty to care for the environment.” But ultimately, Boyd Âsuggests, “the right should be added to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
So a second important — indeed vital — question you should ask your federal candidates is whether they will support the adoption, globally, of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and its addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If they and their party are seriously concerned about the wellbeing of this and future generations, they must answer “yes.”
Dr. Trevor Hancock is a retired professor and senior scholar at the University of ÂVictoria’s School of Public Health and Social Policy.