A/HRC/45/12/Add.1 communities in low- and middle-income countries raise similar concerns regarding the harmful effects of Canadian extractive industries (see sect. V below).71 48. Systemic racism has contributed to the overrepresentation of indigenous and racialized people in the criminal justice system.72 Furthermore, as they live on the fringes of protection from toxics, indigenous and racialized communities are more likely to be exposed because they lack enforceable environmental rights, typically do not have the political or financial means to challenge powerful polluting industries and often face societal pressures to accept such industries because of the need for employment, among other factors. Adding insult to injury, “lifestyle choices” associated with poverty are cited to dismiss, discredit and even blame victims of discriminatory toxic exposure who develop diseases and disabilities, instead of placing the burden on polluting actors to demonstrate that they did not contribute to adverse health impacts. 49. For example, some indigenous peoples living amid the oil sands in Alberta are in relative poverty, which begs the question as to whether the oil sands industry is really as beneficial to the local communities as has been postulated.73 50. There are very limited mappings of the intersection of pollution and poverty in Canada. The commitment of Ontario to developing an online platform for public community reporting is welcome.74 While civil society has tried to fill that gap,75 that has not sufficed and a parliamentary committee has recently called for mandatory, robust mapping at the federal level to support the identification of hotspots requiring priority attention. The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation could be helpful in such an initiative. C. Age 51. Every child has the right to life and Canada must ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.76 Canada has an obligation to prevent childhood exposure to toxics, including through consumer products and contaminated air, water and food, to ensure the full realization of children’s rights.77 52. Children are more likely than adults to absorb toxic contaminants. Children living in poverty, in substandard housing conditions and with lower nutrition levels, are even more prone.78 Children in indigenous communities, which tend to be relatively poor, face elevated risks of exposure compared to children in non-indigenous communities. 79 Studies have revealed that in northern Canada children in indigenous communities, whose diet relies heavily on wild foods, had higher blood mercury levels compared with other populations.80 Moreover, the impact of toxic chemicals on malnourished children is even more acute than on children with proper nutrition. Identifying and protecting children whose bodies bear such enormous toxic burdens must be a priority. 53. Canada has an obligation to provide every child the opportunity to be heard. All children capable of forming their own views should be supported to express those views in 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 CERD/C/CAN/CO/21-23, paras. 21–22. www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/jf-pf/2019/may01.html. Brenda L. Parlee, “Avoiding the resource curse: indigenous communities and Canada’s oil sands”, World Development, vol. 74 (October 2015), pp. 425–436. Submission by the government of Ontario (2019); www.ontario.ca/page/open-default-new-wayforward-ontario. See https://cela.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/633B_PWSES_TOfacts.pdf. Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 6. A/HRC/33/41. www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/lead-toxicity. Margo Lianne Greenwood and Sarah Naomi de Leeuw, “Social determinants of health and the future well-being of Aboriginal children in Canada”, Paediatrics and Child Health, vol. 17, No. 7 (August– September 2012), pp. 381–384. Catherine McLean Pirkle, Gina Muckle and Melanie Lemire, “Managing mercury exposure in northern Canadian communities”, Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 188, No. 14 (October 2016), pp. 1015–1023; submission by Keepers of the Athabasca (2019). 11