CEGC 4: Inclusive, safe, and sustainable cities: Aamjiwnaang First Nation & Toronto

Nadine Ibrahim; Christine Moresoli; John Donald

CEGC 4: Inclusive, safe, and sustainable cities: Aamjiwnaang First Nation & Toronto

Aamjiwnaang First Nation

Industrial Activities, Air Quality and Risk of Cancer

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formally known as Chippewas of Sarnia) is located in the southern western region of Ontario on the outskirt of the city of Sarnia. The population is about 2500 Chippewa (Ojibwe) Peoples (with 900 living on Reserve). The name Aamjiwnaang, (pronounced am-JIN-nun) means “at the spawning stream.” The Aamjiwnaang First Nation is located on the St-Clair river, directly adjacent to region with a long history of petrochemical activities and refineries. The First Nation has integrated well with the industry which has provided ample job prospects but has experienced adverse health effects. The St-Clair River has been identified by Health Canada as an area of concern within the Great Lakes region since 1987 due to higher pollution exposure and potential health risks. While there has been significant progress made over the years with monitoring programs, reduce frequency of spills and declining concentration of contaminants, there remains issues to be addressed, including sediment remediation and the completion of habitat restoration. A recent study by Larsen et al 2022 in collaboration with the Aamjiwnaang First Nation reviewed and analyzed locally publicly available air quality information from 2015-2016 and 1995-96 data sets. Their analysis indicate that some known carcinogens including benzene are much higher than provincial averages which needs to be addressed.

References

Larsen K, Black P, Palmer AL , Sheppard AJ, Jamal S , Plain S and 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 (5): 1055–1066)

Toronto

A Concrete Jungle Where Heat Is Stored Up

When you ask a non-Canadian to name a city in the Great White North most will probably come up with the same answer, Toronto. It could be that it is simply Canada’s largest city with a population of 2.6 million people (Statistics Canada, 2016). To accommodate for this large population and resulting workforce, more buildings, and higher buildings are needed for them to live and work in. Although Toronto is a beautiful city, it faces a problem due to its’ dense urbanization. Toronto having the third-highest number of skyscrapers in North America (Ricci, 2020) and a whopping 5,400 kilometres of roads (City of Toronto, n.d.). Toronto, like many other cities, suffers from what is known as the Urban Heat Island effect (Allen, 2013). The effect is prevalent in a city like Toronto that has a high density of buildings and roads leading to a “higher temperature relative to outlying areas” (EPA, n.d.). This is because the city replaces natural landscapes with infrastructure made of materials such as concrete and asphalt which “absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies” (EPA, n.d.). In extreme cases, the heat can result in an additional 12 degrees Celsius (Allen, 2013). Heatwaves are getting worse and almost 120 premature deaths a year in Toronto have heat as a contributing factor (Allen 2013). This urban heat, along with the overall rising temperature of the planet will result in temperatures that will cause harm to Toronto’s population and especially to those in less wealthy areas that do not have access to nearby parks and green areas.

References