Essay On Environmental Racism

Environmental racism is the social injustice represented by the disproportionately large number of health and environmental risks cast upon peoples of color in the communities in which they live. On a national scale, nothing illustrates Canada's startling environmental inequities more clearly than the lack of access to clean drinking water in First Nations Communities. First Nations homes are 90 times more likely to be without safe drinking water than other Canadian homes. This lack of access to clean water not only highlights a dangerous health risk to First Nations communities, it is also a denial of First Nations’ access to cultural and social practices involving water; in effect, this neglect by the government of British Columbia is a …show more content…
It highlights that not all Aboriginal communities have access to federal funds, naming Métis and Innu communities suffering from poor water quality. The report also highlights challenges in the data on Aboriginal peoples' access to safe drinking water and water and sewage systems, including issues with the definition of 'community water …show more content…
The lack of access to clean water in First Nations communities is nothing less of a human rights violation and a warning sign of the lack of environmental justice. Evidently, environmental racism found in the marginalized communities is a due to continuous lack of action from the government, at both the provincial and federal level. This type of negligence and ignorance towards indigenous people causes health impacts as well as loss of culture amongst the community. To sum up, the lack of water rights for British Columbia’s First Nations communities elevates not only human rights issue but more importantly issue that has consequences towards culture and