We’ve drafted a letter (below) to help you exercise your right, as an Indigenous rights holder, to have a say. You can send this letter to government decision-makers (provincial or federal), or to industry, to request that your procedural rights be respected. Scroll down to find the link to access the letter, along with tips on how to complete and submit it.
Environmental justice is more than an idea—it’s a movement. It’s a movement that recognizes no matter who you are or where you live, everyone deserves clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment to call home. And yet, some communities are far more impacted from pollution, the effects of climate change, and environmental contamination—despite having contributed the least to those problems or having benefited from the industries causing them. Learn more about environmental justice here.
Environmental justice is rooted in the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.
One of 3 key principles of environmental justice is procedural justice, which focuses on who gets a say and whose voice matters. To determine whether a decision is procedurally fair, we ask: are the communities who stand to be most affected by the decision being involved in and benefiting from the decision?
Knowing your procedural rights is key to being able to uphold them. Procedural justice requires that you be given:
- Notice when a decision is being contemplated that could impact your health, wellbeing or the environment;
- Disclosure of information allowing one to understand what is being proposed and how it could impact your rights and interests;
- Meaningful participation opportunities, where you can ask questions, share your perspectives and have your concerns heard and addressed by the decision-makers; and
- Capacity support needed to meaningfully participate (ex. translation services, funding).
Your procedural rights are protected under many legal instruments, including:
- section 2(3) of the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993,
- the Public Participation Framework under the federal Impact Assessment Act
- Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (which Canada has committed to implementing through the the federal United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and its accompanying Action Plan)
Tips when completing the letter:
- In the ‘To:’ field, be as specific as possible to ensure the letter gets to the right person(you can search the provincial and federal government directories to locate the email addresses of government employees, or google the company name to find their contact information)
- When describing the decision being contemplated, explain how you came to know of the issue
- Do not include any personal or confidential information, other than your own name and email address
- If you need assistance, reach out to us at info@naturesdefence.ca
Instructions:
- Open the letter here (the letter should open in a new tab on your web browser)
- Complete the letter by filling in the text boxes
- Click the ‘print’ icon in the upper right hand corner
- Check to make sure the ‘Destination’ says ‘Save as PDF’
- Click the ‘Save’ button in the bottom right corner
- Save the letter to your computer
- Send an email to the appropriate person
A. Subject line: “Request to participate”
B. Body: “Please see attached letter requesting that my procedural rights, as an Indigenous rights holder, be respected.
C. Attach the PDF letter
The information contained in this post and template letter is legal information only. It is not legal advice nor a replacement for legal advice.