Today, the Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, announced nearly $2.4 million in research funding to help deepen our understanding of the social, cultural, and economic impacts of plastic pollution on Indigenous communities. This initiative, launched in partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, will support six Indigenous-led and co-led projects over two years.
In addition to examining the effects of plastic pollution on wildlife, the environment, and human health, these six projects will provide training and mentorship opportunities for students and emerging scholars, helping to build capacity at the intersection of Indigenous Knowledge systems, social sciences, and environmental research.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is funding the following projects:
- Dr. Max Liboiron, Memorial University of Newfoundland, will collaborate with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in the Yukon to create a community-run program to track plastic pollution on their land and waters.
- Dr. Heather Igloliorte, University of Victoria, will collaborate with Northern Indigenous artists, scientists, and Knowledge Keepers to raise awareness about how plastic pollution affects Northern communities.
- Dr. Darlene Sanderson, University of Northern British Columbia, will work with the Tsilhqot'in Nation to better understand how plastic pollution affects the local water and the community's well-being. The project will create a scalable framework for use by other Indigenous communities.
- Dr. Nil Basu, McGill University, will collaborate with Indigenous partners to study how plastic pollution affects Indigenous peoples, identify barriers to their participation in plastics governance, and create a national Indigenous network on plastics pollution.
- Dr. Stephane McLachlan, University of Manitoba, will collaborate with Indigenous communities across Manitoba to study how plastic pollution affects the lands and waters of First Nations communities in Manitoba and support intergenerational learning.
- Dr. Nicolas Brunet, University of Guelph, and the community of Arviat, Nunavut, will map where plastic pollution is found on their territory and how it affects the community's well-being, food systems, and ecosystems. This will help develop an Inuit-led plan to reduce the impacts of plastic pollution that other Arctic communities can benefit from.
The project results will support Canada's comprehensive plan to reduce plastic waste and pollution, help inform decision-making, and guide future science.
