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To: Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Legault

Stop environmental racism in Kanehsatà:ke!

Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault,

The G&R Recycling facility in Kanehsatà:ke, Québec, has been reported to contain toxic waste without permits or precautions to prevent spillage into the environment. Health experts cited in the Toronto Star identify this waste as a threat to human health and environmental watchdog groups warn that these toxins may eventually taint waterways that affect the lives of millions of citizens.

Sadly, the G&R site is no isolated incident. Throughout our country, there is a shameful legacy of unregulated and dangerous waste sites allowed to operate on Indigenous lands and adjacent to the homes of Canada's racialized populations.

At a time when Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples is a national priority and a growing consensus is building around the need to act on environmental racism, we the undersigned are calling on you today to mobilize the vast resources of the federal government to immediately secure and decontaminate this dump site in Kanehsatà:ke and others like it.

We also ask the federal government to put forward concrete plans to enact the measures addressing systemic environmental racism as proposed in the now-defunct Bill C-230. Strong policies and the political will to act on them are needed to prevent future sites similar to G&R, from harming the health and well-being of coming generations of Indigenous and racialized citizens.

Sincerely,

The citizens signing this petition along with allied groups listed further below.

Why is this important?

BIPOC folks bear a disproportionate share of the impacts of pollution in Canada, while being the least responsible for creating it. The dump site in Kanehstatà:ke, which is filled with toxic settler construction waste, is a clear example of what is known as 'environmental racism' and must be cleaned up as soon as possible! **For full disclosure of research and dump data, see the website listed further below on this petition page.

This call to action is currently supported by the following organizations across Québec and Canada:

350 Canada
350 Montreal
Action cancer du sein du Québec / Breast Cancer Action Quebec
Action Environnement Basse Laurentides
Amnesty International Canada (English Speaking)
Amnistie internationale Canada (francophone)
Association des étudiant.e.s diplômé.e.s du département d'histoire de l'Université de Montréal (AÉDDHUM)
Association québécoise des médecins pour l'environnement (AQME)
Black Environmental Initiative
Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment/ Association canadienne des infirmières et infirmiers pour l'environnement (CANE-AIIE)
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) - Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP)
Centre justice et foi
CFMS HEART
Chrysaliid Design
Ciel et Terre
Climate Justice Laurier
Climate Justice Montreal
Climate Pledge Collective
Coalition Alerte à l'enfouissement Rivière-du-Nord
Coalition Verte / Green Coalition
Collectif La ville que nous voulons
Com'femme
Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain-CSN
Créat’heure Éducative
David Suzuki Foundation / Fondation David Suzuki
DAWN Canada
Divest McGill
Earth Action Inc.
Eau Secours
Eco-Art Workshop Program
Environmental Defence
ENvironnement JEUnesse
Extinction Rebellion Québec
Fondation Filles d'action / Girls Action Foundation
Fridays for Future Toronto
Front commun pour la transition énergétique
Front commun québécois pour une gestion écologique des déchets (FCQGED)
Gidimt'en Checkpoint
GreenFaith Montreal
Groundswell Projects
Ilot centre de crise de laval
Indigenous Climate Action
Indigenous Land Defence Across Borders
Intre-G Productions
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
L'R des centres de femmes
La CEVES
Le Collectif Soignons la justice sociale/The Caring for Social Justice Collective
Les enjeux de l'insecticide Bti sur la biodiversité
MARE (Mouvement d'action régional en environnement)
Mères au front
Mères au front Rosemère et les environs
Mères au front de Rouyn-Noranda et leurs alié.e.s
Mères au Front Vaudreuil Soulanges
Montreal Quaker Meeting
Mouvement d'éducation populaire autonome de Lanaudière (MÉPAL)
Mouvement d'éducation populaire et d'action communautaire du Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean (MEPAC)
Mudgirls Natural Building Collective
Mutant Akademy / Revolt Motion
Nature Canada
Nature Hudson
No More Silence
Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace
OPIRG Toronto
Organisation of Urban Planning Students at McGill
People's Health Movement Canada - Mouvement populaire pour la santé au Canada
Planners Network-Montreal Chapter
Pour le futur Montréal
Pour Nos Enfants / For Our Kids Montréal
Prevent Cancer Now
Projet accompagnement solidarité Colombie
Quit RBC / Lâche RBC
Ralliement contre la pollution radioactive
RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs)
Raven Knits Design
Recherche Indépendante de retraité.e.s en Écologie
Regroupement d'éducation populaire en action communautaire des régions de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches
Regroupement écocitoyen de Sainte-Marthe-sur-Le-Lac
Relais-femmes
Research for the Front Lines
Réseau Alternatif et Communautaire des Organismes (RACOR) en santé mentale de l'île de Montréal
Réseau d'action des femmes en santé et services sociaux
Réseau des femmes des Laurentides
Réseau des Tables régionales de groupes de femmes du Québec
Réseau Québecois Action Santé Femmes (RQASF)
Save Fairview Forest - Sauvons la Forêt Fairview
Seniors For Climate Action Now! SCAN!
Sierra Club Québec
Small Change Fund
SOS territoire
Stand.Earth
Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine
Table de concertation du mouvement des femmes de la Mauricie
Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal
Table régionale des organismes volontaires d'éducation populaire (TROVEP) de Montréal
Table ronde des OVEP de l'Estrie (TROVEPE)
The Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health Project
True North Insight - Voie boréale
Union paysanne
Voix juives indépendantes - Montréal
Women's Healthy Environments Network

How it will be delivered

With the 103 supporting groups and a sufficient number of citizen signups, we will be taking this issue to national media while also leveraging the petition to mobilize a cross-partisan coalition of MPs from the Liberal, NDP and Green parties as a task force pushing for cleanup of the dump and adoption of concrete measures to fight instances of environmental racism across the country.

Links

Updates

2022-04-05 01:45:43 -0400

5,000 signatures reached

2022-04-04 19:14:13 -0400

1,000 signatures reached

2022-04-04 16:45:23 -0400

500 signatures reached

2022-01-27 20:54:22 -0500

100 signatures reached

2022-01-26 22:45:49 -0500

50 signatures reached

2022-01-21 09:49:34 -0500

25 signatures reached

2022-01-20 13:22:07 -0500

10 signatures reached