Environmental Racism in Canada

Shelburne, Nova Scotia

Shelburne Nova Scotia overcame environmental racism. The Morvan Road landfill had been located and polluting Shelburne, a African Nova Scotian community since the 1940’s. Furthermore, the community’s roots date back to Black Loyalists who were evacuated during the revolutionary war of 1776. Moreover, the area was being affected because there was an open plot of land, so the other side of the town decided to use the area to open a landfill to put all their waste and trash there. The landfill was composed of industrial, medical and residential waste all being burned in one massive pile. Many people had cancer and other diseases because of the landfill. In addition, the air was also peing polluted due to the burning of all the waste. In 2016, the people of Shelburne formed a group called the South End Environmental Injustice Society aka SEED. SEED is a non-profit group that addresses the social and health effects of the landfill. Finally in late 2016, 75 years after the creation of the landfill, it was shut down due to the community's efforts and the environmental racism ceased to exist.

Shelburne

Grassy Narrows First Nation

Grassy Narrows

The Grassy First Nation is still feeling the effects of environmental racism. Between 1962 and 1970, Dryden Chemicals Ltd. dumped mercury into the English-Wabigoon river system, the river that runs through the entire community’s drinking water. Mercury is a very poisonous element that can kill humans, animals and more. Very soon the people of the Grassy Narrows First Nation started to feel the effects of the poisonous water. Furthermore, the fish population decreased very significantly, yet the government did nothing about it. The Grassy First Nations were told to simply stop eating fish which caused the commercial fishery to close in 1970. Moreover, the unemployment rate went from 5% to 95% within a year, and even though Dryden Chemicals Ltd. closed in 1976, the community was still concerned about the contamination of the waters. Finally in 2020, 44 years after Dryden Chemicals Ltd. closed down, the federal government decided to fund a care home for the Grassy First Nation for those who suffered and are still suffering from mercury poisoning. The government also agreed to provide the Grassy First Nation with long-term funding for the maintenance of the long-term care facilities. Thus, Grassy Narrows First Nations experienced environmental racism to the fullest extent.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ghs5essDocRWGeiZsw2cbJkyBOAYrCPE_9mR1SBGjfc/edit

Sites

Lincolnville, Nova Scotia

Lincolnville

Lincolnville has got it tough due to environmental racism. African Nova Scotians in Lincolnville have lived near a first and second generation landfill since 1947 and 2006. It seems anywhere a black or indigeonous community locates, a landfill or area of waste follows. Furthermore, the area used to be a dumping ground before the black layaltist were driven out of their oroiganl homes and into Lincolnville. Pretty big coincidence in my opinion. In addition, the community was and is still concerned about traces of carcinogens, a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue such as cadminum, phenol and toluene. Moreover, it has been found that the communities drinking water and surface water is contaminated. As a result, many of the residents were developing cancer. Once people started getting cancer, the community knew they had to do something about it. They launched the Save Lincolnville Campaign, a community-led initiative that was created to close down and remove the landfill which it did in 2006, 32 years after the landfill was discovered/created. In conclusion, environmental racism got the best of the small town of Lincolnville and its people.