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The Inherent right to a healthy environment$· Clean

-_water, Fresh air and Healthy Food.

In October. and November 2014 David Suzuki and the David Suzuki Foundation crossed Canada on a tour to ignite a movement that would see environmental rights enshrined in the Canadian constitution. The n:iovement is underway and individuals, groups, and municipalities are standing up for the right to a healthy environment.

The Blue Dot movement is a grassroots movement that aims to see the right to a healthy environment, including the rights to fresh air, clean water, and safe food , enshrined in our Canadian constitution. The movement has started with people like you standing up and saying they believe in our inherent right to a healthy environment. The growing movement of Canadians is calling upon their local communities to pass municipal declarations respecting people's right to live in a healthy environment. Already, dozens of communities across Canada have mobilized, and many have already passed municipal declarations for the right to a healthy environment. Community by community, this movement will inspire decision-makers across our provinces and territories to take notice.

With so many communities calling for action from all levels of government, the next step is to have our· provinces follow suit and pass environmental bills of rights. When seven out of 10 provinces representing more than 50 per cent of the Canadian population have recognized our right to a healthy environment we turn toward the ultimate goal: amending the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Recognition in the Charter is the final step in protecting the right to clean air, fresh water and healthy food for all Canadians. This ensures that we all benefit from a healthy environment, world-class standards and a say in the decisions that affect our health.

ISSUE

Nine out of 10 Canadians are concerned about the impact of environmental degradation on their health

and the health of their children1~and with good reason. The World Health Organization estimates

environmental contamination, including polluted air and water, c~uses as many as 36,000 premature

deaths annually in Canada. 2 Preventable environmental hazards contribute up to 1.5 million days in

hospital annually due to cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, cancer, and birth defects alone. 3 The

environment has a tremendous influence on our health and well- being/4

Municipal governments make decisions that affect transportat ion, housing density, waste disposal and other issues relate.d to the quality of the environment. Local governments also have the power to pass

bylaws to protect resident s from environmental harm. A municipal declaration recognizing the right to

a healthy environment would show support for residents' rights to clean air, water and safe food, signal

municipal leadership in building a healthy, sustainable communit y and draw at tention to the Canadian · Constitution's silence on environmental issues.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The David Suzuki Foundat ion and partners recommend that the municipality:

1. Officially recognize the right to a healthy environment, through a municipal declaration or equivalent; 2. Respect, protect and fulfil l the right t o a healthy environment within municipal boundaries; and

3. Encou·rage provinc)al and federal action to protect the right to a healthy environment for all Canadians.

BACKGROUND

Over the past 50 years, the right to a healthy environ.ment has gained recognition faster than any other

human right. More t han 110 governments around the world, have already recognized their citizens' right

to live in a healthy environment through bylaws, declarations, legislat ion, charters and constitutional

provisions. In the Unit ed States, over 150 local governments have passed ordinances that recognize

citizens' _r.ight to a healthy environment and protect them from a range of harmful practices.s The

rights protected by these legal instruments include breathing clean air, drinking clean water, consuming . 1 McAllister, A. 2010a. A Backyard Field Guide to Canadians. Vancouver: McAllister Opinion Research; Hoggan and Associates. 2009.

Sustainability Research Initiative. Vancouver: James Hoggan and Associates. 2 World Health Organization. 2008. National Estimates of Environmental Burden of Disease - Canada. Geneva: Wor ld Health

Organization. 3 Boyd, D. R. and S. Genuis. 2008. "The Environmental Burden of Disease in Canada: Respiratory Disease. Cardiovascular Disease.

Cancer, and Congenital Affl iction ." Environmental Research 106: 240-49. 4 Boyd, D. 2012. The Right to a Healthy Environment. Vancouver: USC Press. 5 Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Community Rights. http://www.celdf.org/section.php7id=423

Model Municipal Declaration Th~ Right To A Healthy Environment

Updated September 2015

Whereas the [municipality] understands that people are part of the environment, and that a healthy

environment is inextricably linked to the well-being of our community;

Whereas the [municipality] recognizes the mutual importance and interconnectedness of a healthy

environment, a strong economy and a healthy society as we move toward sustainability;

Whereas the [municipality] recognizes that environmental protection is a fundamental va lue held by its citizens;

Whereas the [municipality] recognizes that our world and all of its inhabitants are faced with the growing and

increasingly urgent impacts of climate change, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity;

Whereas the [municipality] recognizes the importance of protecting citizens' health from environmental hazards

such as air pollution, contaminated food and water, and toxic chemicals;

Whereas the [municipality] has a structured sphere of influence and a defined jurisdiction;

Whereas in proclaiming this declaration, Council is articulating public policy principles, but not creating or

guaranteeing any lega l rights or obligations;

Whereas the [municipality] supports the recognition of the right to a healthy environment in the Canadian

Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

Whereas the [municipality], through the Official Community Plan and its policies, reflects the values of its ,

citizens and demonstrates a commitment to protecting the environment and moving toward a more sustainable

future;

Now therefore the Council of [municipality] declares that:

1. All people have the right to live in a healthy environment, including the right to:

breathe clean air;

drink and access clean water;

eat safe and healthy food;

access nature;

know about pollutants and contaminants released into the local environment; and

participate in decision-making that .will affect the environment.

2. Within its jurisdiction, the [municipality] has certain authority to respect, protect, fu lfill and promote

these rights and commits to encouraging the respect, protection, fu lfillment and promotion ofthese

rights.

3. The [municipality] shall apply the precautionary principle by taking measures to prevent the degradation

of the environment and protect the hea lth of its citizens where threats of serious or irreversible damage

to human health or the environment exist.

4. The [municipa lity] will consider costs to human health and the environment when evaluating reasonably

foreseeable costs of proposed actions and alternatives.

5. By [date], the [municipality] will specify objectives, targets and timelines and actions t he [municipality]

will take, within its jurisdiction, to address t he residents' right to a hea lthy environment under section 1,

including priority actions to :

a. distribute environmental benefits and burdens within the municipality, preventing the

cumulative hea lth impacts of exposure to environmental contaminants;

b. ensure infrastructure and development projects protect the environment, including air quality;

c. address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing adaptation

measures;

d. responsibly increase density;

e. prioritize walking, cyc ling and public transit as healthy and economical modes of transportation;

f. prioritize infrastructure and protected water sources for the provision of safe and accessible

drinking water;

g. promote the ava ilability of safe, loca l foods;

h. reduce solid waste and promote recycling, re-use and composting;

i. establish and maintain accessible green spaces in residential neighbourhoods, and protect and

conserve nature in public open spaces;

j . attract and invest in green businesses, green energy, clean tech and jobs of tomorrow.

The [municipality] will review t he objectives, targets, timelines and actions every five (5) years, and

measure progress towards fu lfilling this declaration; and

The [municipa lity] will consu lt with residents as part of this process.

6. The [municipa lity] will send letters to the provincia l government and to the federal government calling

for the development of provincia l and federa l legislation that recognizes the right to live in a healthy

environment.

Model municipal declara t ion for the right to a healthy environment

Article from the Morning Star newspaper

rights ' urged TOM FLETCHER 'B'i~~kJi~~;···· · ····· · ····················

Over vocal ·objections from some representa­tives, local politicians have narrowly endorsed a -call .. for an "environ-mentaf bill of rights" for B.C. .

Cilling it ~an idea whose tirile has come" Richmo~d Coun. Harold Steves sponsored the motion . at the UBCM . convention. It : calls for recognition ofa right to "live in a liealthy envi~ ronriient, including the right to dean·. air, clean water, ·dean food . and vibrant ecosystems:'

Steyes reminded del­egates of a swnmer ·,of smoke from forest fires and a drought that saw' his Cache Creek farm run ·.out of water. He noted the bill of rigJ:its has . been supported by 36 mW1icipalities aroW1d B.C., ~fter a tour of local councils by the David · Suzuki Foundation's Blue LDgt.campaign~-· ___ : .. .. --