Governmental Fiduciary Failure in Indigenous Environmental Health Justice: The Case of Pictou Landing First Nation

Abstract

From 1967 until 2020, [Community] has had 85 million litres of pulp and paper mill effluent dumped every day into an estuary that borders the community. Despite long-term concerns about cancer in the community, a federal government appointed Joint Environmental Health Monitoring Committee, mandated to oversee the health of the community, has never addressed [Community] concerns. In this study we accessed the 2013 Canadian Cancer Registry microfile data, and using the standard geographical classification code, accessed the cancer data for [Community], and provided comparable data for all Nova Scotia First Nations, as well as the county, provincial, and national population level data. We determined that digestive organ cancers, respiratory organ cancers, male genital organ cancers, and urinary tract cancers are higher in [Community] than at all comparable levels. Female breast and genital organ cancers are lowest in [Community] than at all other comparable levels. We note the limitation of this study as not being able to capture cancer data for off-reserve members at the time of diagnosis and the lapse in availability of up-to-date CCR data. This study demonstrates that cancer data can be compiled for First Nation communities using the standard geographic code, and although not a comprehensive count of all diagnoses for the registered members of [Community], it is the first study to provide data for those who lived in [Community] at the time of diagnosis. Moreover, it highlights the lack of capacity (or will) by Joint Environmental Health Monitoring Committee to uphold their fiduciary duty.

From “trust” to “trustworthiness”: Retheorizing dynamics of trust, distrust, and water security in North America

“…Our pressing task is to track the disastrous effects that occur when ongoing colonialism transforms into crisis. (Murdocca, 2010: 397) In this case, as in many First Nations, the fiduciary obligation on the part of the Crown is fundamentally rooted in unequal colonial relationships, which involve First Nation dependency on the Federal Government to deliver services and address infrastructure deficits (Lewis et al, 2020). The inequitable hydro-social system inherent in the fiduciary relationship between the Crown and First Nations is maintained by unequal political and governing systems that perpetuate injustice (Hill, 2021).…”

Knowledge hierarchy and mechanisms of power in environmental impact assessment: Insights from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project

“…In the case of Muskrat Falls, the formation of a research partnership between Harvard University researchers and the Nunatsiavut Government led to the establishment of the IEAC and ensured that the values, interests, and stakes of downstream community members were incorporated into recommendations made to decision makers. Additional success was found in the case of Pictou Landing First Nation, in which a knowledge coalition between Dalhousie University researchers and the Pictou Landing Native Women's Group was formed to assess the health impacts of effluent dumping from a pulp and paper mill, whose findings convinced the government to stop effluent flow and remediate the site (Castleden et al 2017; Lewis et al 2020). In the Pictou Landing First Nation case, researchers noted the importance of access to health data, researcher expertise, strong relationships between communities and researchers, and conducting research that is relevant to communities (Lewis et al 2020).…”

“…Additional success was found in the case of Pictou Landing First Nation, in which a knowledge coalition between Dalhousie University researchers and the Pictou Landing Native Women's Group was formed to assess the health impacts of effluent dumping from a pulp and paper mill, whose findings convinced the government to stop effluent flow and remediate the site (Castleden et al 2017; Lewis et al 2020). In the Pictou Landing First Nation case, researchers noted the importance of access to health data, researcher expertise, strong relationships between communities and researchers, and conducting research that is relevant to communities (Lewis et al 2020). In terms of the Harvard‐Nunatsiavut HHRA, this was equally important as its success was built on access to Labrador Inuit health data, the reputation of Harvard University, and the fact that the research was conceptualized and implemented with Labrador Inuit.…”

“…Finally, this case highlights the distinct challenges that the impacts of development place on human health, especially when health and wellbeing are connected to land use by Indigenous peoples and settlers alike. It is often difficult to quantify health impacts, particularly when the full scope of risks is unclear and there are multiple conceptualizations of what constitutes health (Negev 2012; Baka et al 2019; Lewis et al 2020). There is a need for more research into how different conceptualizations of human health may influence the outcome of regulatory processes, and how non‐Western conceptualizations of human health may be integrated into the regulatory process.…”