Episode 42: The Right to a Healthy Environment

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Canadians value their natural environment. Nine out of ten worry about the impacts of environmental degradation on their health. Nine out of ten are concerned about climate change. Eight out of ten believe that Canada needs stricter environmental laws and regulations. And 95 percent of Canadians consider access to clean water a basic human right.

So, do Canadians actually have a constitutional right to live in a healthy environment? According to David Boyd, the answer is no (at least, not exactly), but he explains why they should in his new book The Right to a Healthy Environment: Revitalizing Canada’s Constitution.

On this episode of the podcast, we speak with David Boyd about Canadian environmental rights.

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Guest:

David Boyd

Works Cited:

Sean Kheraj, Canadian History & Environment

Borrows, John. Canada’s Indigenous Constitution. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010.

Boyd, David R. The Right to a Healthy Environment: Revitalizing Canada’s Constitution. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2012.

Music Credits:

“Le Duel” by Arnaud Condé

“Transition” by Eric Bowers

“Chowny Rencontre Velvorn” by Arnaud Condé

Photo Credit:

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with Prime Minister The Rt. Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau signing the Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982” Credit: Robert Cooper / Library and Archives Canada / PA-141503

Citation:

Kheraj, Sean. “Episode 42: The Right to a Healthy Environment” Nature’s Past: Canadian Environmental History Podcast. 17 March 2014.

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Sean Kheraj

Associate Professor and Vice-Provost Academic at Toronto Metropolitan University

Sean Kheraj is a member of the executive committee of the Network in Canadian History and Environment. He's an associate professor in the Department of History and Vice-Provost Academic at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research and teaching focuses on environmental and Canadian history. He is also the host and producer of Nature's Past, NiCHE's audio podcast series and he blogs at http://seankheraj.com.

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