Environmental Bill of Rights would benefit N.B.

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Everyone living in New Brunswick deserves the right to a healthy environment. But did you know that we don’t have this right?

The members of the Environmental Rights Caucus of the New Brunswick Environmental Network (NBEN) have proposed a child-focused Environmental Bill of Rights that would legislate children, and therefore all New Brunswickers and future generations have the right to a healthy environment.

The citizens of Richibucto, New Brunswick, would love to have fresh clean air to breathe so they wouldn’t have to inhale the stench of the Coastal Shell Product plant. Residents cannot go outside their homes without being stifled by the awful smell. They must close their windows to prevent the smell from getting indoors.

Their properties are no longer enjoyable, and the resale value of their homes has plummeted. Some of the residents are therefore suing the company responsible for the stench and poor air quality. They want the plant closed or relocated away from people’s homes.

Kent Clean Air Action Committee spokesperson, Maisie Rae McNaughton, said of the smell: “It’s heartbreaking, it’s breathtaking, it’s harrowing, it’s terrifying. Another year of living as prisoners in our own homes, in our own community.”

Residents filed hundreds of complaints, held protests, signed petitions, talked to politicians, and launched lawsuits against Coastal Shell Product since 2017. The company continues to operate, and its license was renewed by the province early in August. This begs the question, “How can the province continue to allow the plant to operate while ignoring the impacts on residents’ health and wellbeing?”

The people of Saint John have also been harmed and are frustrated by repeated explosions and fires at the American Irons & Metals (AIM). The most recent environmental accident was triggered by explosions with smoke and fire lasting days, causing three schools to be closed, and residents were urged to stay indoors. Previously, two employees have died at this worksite.
Saint John city council passed a motion to close the scrapyard and to “never allow an organization like this to operate on our waterfront or in our city again.”

The impacts of environmental workplace harm created by industrial enterprises and by harmful operations that exist elsewhere, provide proof an Environmental Bill of Rights is urgently needed to reduce and avoid future situations like these from occurring.

Consider the following national and international declarations and recommendations:

The United Nations General Assembly on July 28, 2022 passed a resolution stating “a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right.” This is the first time the UN has declared this right for citizens of the world.

David R. Boyd is a renowned environmental lawyer, activist, and former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment. His research states: having the right to a healthy environment can result in better environmental performance, stronger environmental laws and policies, improved implementation and enforcement, greater citizen participation, increased accountability, and a reduction in environmental injustice.

On June 13, 2023, the federal government made amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which had not been updated since 1999. CEPA is the legislative framework protecting Canadians and the environment from pollution and toxic ingredients. With Bill S-5, Canadians have the right to a healthy environment under Canadian law. Although imperfect, it is a step forward. A healthy environment in this context is defined as “an environment that is clean, healthy, and sustainable.”

The climate emergency is underway right now. Therefore, when our young children worry about the urgency of the climate crisis, adults must act promptly, and responsibly. We must ask ourselves, “What legacy are we leaving our children?” There can be no greater gift to future generations than a world in which, by law, all children can live, grow, and have confidence in their own future.

The hot summer of 2023 that brought wildfires with harmful smoke and floods to all of Canada is only the latest warning we must act before it is too late. Many of us have been impacted by flooding, hurricanes, heatwaves, ice storms, power outages, and poor air quality due to wildfires. The climate crisis humans are responsible for creating must be brought under control before it is too late.

An Environmental Bill of Rights would enshrine the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, consume healthy uncontaminated food, be informed about pollutants and contaminants released into the local environment, and have the right to participate in decision-making affecting the environment.

We are seeking an all-party consensus that everyone in New Brunswick has their right to a healthy environment protected by law. The advantage of having an Environmental Bill of Rights is it is likely to attract people and businesses that value such protection and make New Brunswick an environmental leader in Canada. It will also help our province become more resilient and adapt better to the climate crisis threatening the future for our children and other vulnerable people who need protection. It is time for this Bill to be enacted.

The Environmental Rights Caucus of the NBEN: Sam Arnold, Bonnie Hamilton Bogart, Gordon Dalzell, Denise Melanson, Marg Milburn.