Ingrid Waldron’s Road to Racial and Environmental Justice Through Community, Law, and Collective Action

Growing up in Montreal, young Ingrid Waldron never imagined drafting what would become this country’s first environmental justice legislation. Bill C-226 acknowledged the historical roots and lived realities of environmental racism. Deeply committed to health equity, Ingrid’s research led to her 2018 book and the award-winning documentary There’s Something in the Water. Both stressed the need for everybody to have a voice in environmental decision-making, especially when the places we call home can make us sick.

Speaking with co-hosts Kai Chan (professor and Canada Research Chair at UBC) and Nancy Kang (professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Manitoba), Ingrid describes her ongoing drive to challenge interlocking systems of oppression. She highlights the inspiration provided on her career path by various resistance communities, especially activist women. Together, we explore the nexus of race, gender, health, and environment; how Indigenous and racialized communities have long been denied justice in Canada; and how this new law could seed real transformation.

There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous & Black Communities (book)

There’s Something in the Water (documentary)

The ENRICH Project

Annotated Transcript, with Links