Canadians' new right to a healthy environment

Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths

We talk to ⁠Dr. Elaine MacDonald⁠ about a major update to Canada's most important environmental law and why it’s a big win for generational fairness.

The House of Commons recently passed landmark legislation overhauling the Canadian Environmental Protection Act for the first time in decades and recognizing the right of every individual in Canada to a healthy environment. Not only that, Bill S-5 tasked the federal government with upholding the principle of intergenerational equity in the bill’s implementation.

Dr. MacDonald was one of the bill's champions and is Ecojustice’s Healthy Communities Program Director. She’s an environmental engineer who applies her expertise to work related to air quality, water pollution, and toxic substances.

Highlights

“We need to be protecting the environment for all generations, including future generations. So it really instills a kind of long-term thinking into government decision making,” Dr. MacDonald says. “Even within existing generations…when they're assessing substances for regulation under CEPA, they need to be thinking about all the generations that are currently here, from children to elderly people.”

Learn more

• Ecojustice: Working to bring CEPA into the 21st century
• From our Substack: A step forward for intergenerational equity
• Government of Canada announces passage of Bill S-5: Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act
• Dr. David Boyd’s book, The Right to a Healthy Environment: Revitalizing Canada's Constitution
• UN passes universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment