CEGC 2: Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy: Aamjiwnaang First Nation & Hamilton

Nadine Ibrahim; Christine Moresoli; John Donald

CEGC 2: Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy: Aamjiwnaang First Nation & Hamilton

Aamjiwnaang First Nation

How Oil Refineries are Harming a First Nation Community

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formally known as Chippewas of Sarnia) is a First Nations community of about 2500 Chippewa (Ojibwe) Aboriginal peoples (900 of which live on Reserve) in the southern region of Sarnia. It is located adjacent to several petrochemical plants in an area which is also known as “Chemical Valley”. The proximity of the community near these petrochemical plants has significant impact on the health of the community. Since the 1990s, there has been a decline in the proportion of male births, with 33% of the birth between 1999 and 2003 were male (Mackenzie et al., 2005). This is a rare phenomenon and while there could be several potential causes, the constant exposure of the population to chemicals is considered a contributing factor. A gas leak on February 7, 2014, from the Esso Imperial Oil Refinery resulted in the release of 500 kilograms of hydrocarbon gas with the population experiencing symptoms such burning eyes, dizziness and nausea (Sean Craig et al., 2017). The very next day, Plains Midstream, a fractionation plant nearby that makes propane, also had a spill. A kilometre away, the concentration of benzene (a carcinogen) reached a dangerous level of 50.2 ppb (Sean Craig et al., 2017). There are over 500 government reports of similar industrial spills and leaks in the area over a 2 year period (Sean Craig et al., 2017). While the air quality in Sarnia was once the worst in Canada, with 21 micrograms of PM10 particles per cubic metre of air (CTVNews.ca Staff, 2011), the region has come a long way since then due to more stringent regulations. However, the petrochemical operations in this region require major changes to achieve the triple bottom line of sustainability.

References

Aajimwnaang Resource Centre right next to Dow Chemical in Chemical Valley by TheKurgan licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aajimwnaang_Resource_Centre_right_next_to_Dow_Chemical_in_Chemical_Valley.jpg#filelinks
Statistics Canada. 2018. Aamjiwnaang First Nation [First Nation/Indian band or Tribal Council area], Ontario (table). Aboriginal Population Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-510-X2016001. Ottawa. Released July 18, 2018. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/ dp-pd/abpopprof/index.cfm?Lang=E

Hamilton

Industrial Sector of Canada Braces for Climate Change

Hamilton is one of the biggest cities in Canada with a total population of 747,545 as of 2016 (Government of Canada, 2016). Hamilton has the highest greenhouse gas emission in the Greater Toronto area with 15 tonnes CO2 eq/capita, which surpasses the Region of Peel with 8 tonnes CO2 eq/capita. The industrial/energy and transportation activities in Hamilton accounted for around 90 percent of all greenhouse emissions within the city in 2017 (Lu, 2017). In 2013, the city of Hamilton announced a series of objectives set for 2020, 2030 and 2050 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, 50 percent, and 80 percent respectively; this plan uses the year 2005 as the reference (Hamilton, 2021). The goal for 2050 is to ensure that the amount of greenhouse gas emitted will be less than or equal to the amount leaving the atmosphere. In 2019, it was reported that the 2013 original plan is meeting expectations since greenhouse gas emission was reduced by 42 percent compared to 2005 (Hamilton, 2021). Despite this, the industrial sector had a lower reduction of its emissions, around 34 percent from 2006, which is lower than the 42 percent average reduction and the transportation sector reported a slight increase in greenhouse gas emission (Rankin, 2019). Thus, it would be extremely difficult to obtain the desired greenhouse gas emitted to greenhouse gas released ratio by 2050, when two of the biggest sources of carbon emission categories: industrial and transportation are reduced at a lower rate than the other sources.

References