WERC-CÉDT makes submission on draft National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice

WERC-CÉDT recently made a submission to the Environmental Justice and Racism Team at Environment and Climate Change Canada on its draft National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice. WERC-CÉDT’s central submission was that the Strategy needs to adopt a broad conception of environmental racism, and specifically one that includes temporary foreign workers.

Many migrant agricultural workers enter Canada through the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. These workers are mostly racialized, and have additional intersecting vulnerabilities: workers may depend on an employer for their job, immigration status, housing and transportation.

Migrant agricultural workers are exposed to serious, cumulative environmental harms: extreme heat, poor air quality, exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, and extreme weather events. These risks to workers are compounded by poor housing conditions with inadequate ventilation, lack of personal protective equipment, and barriers to enforcing health and safety protections due to their precarious employment and immigration status.

WERC-CÉDT's position is that the National Strategy must concretely address the environmental harms experienced by this vulnerable population. Read WERC-CÉDT's submission here.