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 Petrochemical Operations are Affecting a First Nation Community

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formally known as Chippewas of Sarnia) is a First Nation community in the southern region of Sarnia of about 2500 Chippewa (Ojibwe) Peoples (Statistics Canada, 2018). It is located adjacent to several petrochemical plants in an area also known as “the Chemical Valley”. The proximity of the community to 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). The poor air quality was documented by Larsen et al (2022), indicating much higher levels than the provincial averages for six known or suspected carcinogens in 2015-2016. The government of Canada has taken measures to correct the poor air quality by issuing an order to ensure that petrochemical facilities are limiting the release of the carcinogen benzene (Government of Canada, 2024).

References

Aajimwnaang Resource Centre right next to Dow Chemical in Chemical Valley by The Kurgan 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
Government of Canada. 2024-05-28. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Protections for the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and Sarnia from benzene emissions officially extended for two years.. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2024/05/protections-for-the-aamjiwnaang-first-nation-and-sarnia-from-benzene-emissions-officially-extended-for-two-years.html.
Larsen K, Black, P, Palmer, AL, Sheppard , AJ, Jamal, S, Plaine S, Peters, C. 2022. Screening-level assessment of cancer risk associated with ambient air exposure in Aamjiwnaang First Nation. International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 32 (2): 1055-1066.
Mackenzie, CA, Lockridge, A and Keith, M. 2005. Declining Sex Ratio in a First Nation Community. Environmental Health Perspectives. 113 (10): 1295-1298.
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 with a total population of 747,545 as of 2016 (Government of Canada, 2019), has the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Greater Toronto area with approximately 15 tonnes CO2 eq/capita, which surpasses the Region of Peel with approximately 8 tonnes CO2 eq/capita (Lu, 2017). This is explained by the significant industrial activities in Hamilton representing around 68% of all GHG emissions within the city in 2017 (Lu, 2017). The city of Hamilton has set a series of objectives to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% in 2020, 50% in 2030, and 80% in 2050 with the year 2005 as the reference. GHG emissions in 2017 had decreased by approximately 33% compared to 2005 with reduction of GHG emissions in the industrial sector while GHG emissions of the commercial and transportation sectors had increased (Rankin, 2019). Thus, significant efforts from all sectors will be required to achieve the desired GHG reduction by 2050.

References