Right to a Healthy Environment

For 25 years, Ecojustice has fought for legal precedents that protect our air, our water and the natural world. In that time, we’ve become all too familiar with the ways Canada’s current patchwork of environmental laws falls short.

Evidence from around the world demonstrates that countries that recognize constitutional environmental rights and responsibilities have stronger, better enforced environmental laws. There is more citizen participation in environmental decision-making and a reduction in environmental injustices, like exceptionally high levels of pollution in poor and marginalized communities.

In April 2020, after extensive campaigning by Ecojustice and our partners, the federal government tabled the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act (Bill C-28) that will modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

For the first time in Canadian federal law, Bill C-28 recognizes that every person in Canada has the legal right to a healthy environment, but Bill C-28 requires amendments to make this right truly impactful.

While recognition of the right to a healthy environment in CEPA is a significant step forward for environmental justice in Canada, amendments to Bill C-28 are needed to remove problematic clauses that allow for the consideration of economic interests in applying the right.

Already enshrined in the constitutions, laws, court decisions or regional treaties of 156 other UN member states, the right to a healthy environment is central to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the right to life, health, food, water and sanitation.

The Charter is Canada’s highest law. It applies to all levels of government and all other laws must conform to it. By enshrining the right to a healthy environment in the Charter, we can align our highest law with our most deeply-held values. More concretely, a Charter right to a healthy environment could prevent harmful rollbacks of environmental laws — like the sweeping changes buried in the 2012 federal omnibus budget bills. It would also make it easier for people living in toxic hotpots like Sarnia’s Chemical Valley to seek justice. Overall, countries that recognize environmental rights in their constitutions have smaller per capita ecological footprints, which is a major win for people and the planet.