The Daily UbuntuFeatured
Environmental racism, right here
Who breathes the smoke, who lives next to the dump? Environmental racism raises the question of "us" on the scale of a whole territory.
Read the articleThread 04 / 07 · Stories
Climate and our relationship to the land.
The land does not belong to any one of us: together, we belong to it.
The thread
Who breathes the smoke, who drinks the contaminated water, who has shade in summer? Environmental racism, and paths of reciprocity.
13 articles · each in four movements: a scene, a documented case, a voice, a question
All articles
housing
The neighbourhoods drawn in red
In the 1930s, maps decided which neighbourhoods deserved credit. Their red lines still weigh on the land we live on.
ReadIndigenous
Breathing next to Chemical Valley
In 2024, benzene spikes led Aamjiwnaang, near Sarnia, to declare a state of emergency, then to a pilot project against environmental racism.
ReadCanada
A law to name what we breathe
Since 2024, a federal law has required Canada to study environmental racism and build a national strategy, expected in the fall of 2026.
ReadIndigenous
A'se'k, the harbour given back to the sea
For 53 years, a mill discharged its wastewater into a Mi'kmaw estuary; the community won an end to the discharges and a major cleanup.
ReadIndigenous
Tap water, a right for whom?
Dozens of First Nations still live under long-term water advisories; a historic settlement shows that change is possible.
ReadIndigenous
The river that gives life
At Grassy Narrows, mercury dumped upstream poisoned fish and families; decades of struggle have won commitments to repair.
ReadMontreal
July 2018, the heat that isolates
The 2018 heat wave caused 66 deaths in Montreal, mostly among people who were alone or ill: neighbourly solidarity saves lives.
ReadMontreal
In whose shade?
In Montreal, tree shade is unequally shared between neighbourhoods; new plantings now target the hottest areas.
ReadQuebec
The Paix des Braves, as equals
In 2002, Quebec and the Cree replaced years of lawsuits with a nation-to-nation agreement on the territory and the forest.
ReadIndigenous
Idle no more
In 2012, four women from Saskatchewan launched Idle No More to defend water and treaties; round dances spread across the country.
ReadIndigenous
The community freezer
In Nunavik, nearly eight in ten people experience food insecurity. Yet almost everyone gives or receives food: here, game is shared before it is sold.
ReadIndigenous
When the land burns, where does home go?
In 2023, forest fires ravaged 4.5 million hectares in Quebec. In Eeyou Istchee, Cree families lost much more than timber: traplines, camps, part of their memory.
Read