Report Annex: Responses from the Canadian Government I. Crown

Report Annex: Responses from the Canadian Government

I. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

II. Environment and Climate Change Canada

III. Health Canada IV. Indigenous Services Canada

V. Natural Resources Canada

VI. Ontario Government

VII. Yukon Government

I. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

September 29, 2020

Dear Ms. Deif and Ms. Rall:

Thank you for your letters of June 29 and July 6, 2020, addressed to the Honourable Carolyn Bennett and Parliamentary Secretary Gary Anandasangaree, regarding Human Rights Watch’s research on climate change and the right to food. As Minister of Northern Affairs, I have been asked to respond on their behalf.

I recognize the important work being done within your organization on food security and climate change and appreciate you sharing your findings. As demonstrated, food security is a complex and multijurisdictional issue requiring a range of collaborative solutions. Human Rights Watch plays an important role in ensuring that Indigenous rights to food are recognized and respected.

The Government of Canada launched the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework in 2019. It is a strategy developed between multiple federal departments, provinces and territories, and Indigenous governments to address the economic, social, environmental, infrastructure, and climate change needs of northern communities. This Framework outlines goals and objectives toward a shared vision where northern and Arctic people are thriving, strong, and safe. One of the objectives is to ensure the Canadian Arctic and northern ecosystems are healthy and resilient, addressing environmental challenges that have an impact on Arctic and northern environments and peoples.

Enclosed in this letter, I have provided responses to the questions outlined in your correspondence addressed to Parliamentary Secretary Anandasangaree. I look forward to ongoing opportunities to work collaboratively on shared initiatives.

Sincerely,

Hon. Daniel Vandal, P.C., M.P.

Enclosure: Questions and Answers

1. How is your Department currently monitoring, or supporting communities to monitor the ways in which climate change is impacting First Nations’ right to food, including access to harvested foods and healthy, store-bought food? - Do you monitor distinct impacts on marginalized groups within a community, at the intra-household level, like women, children, older people, and people with disabilities? - Where are results of the monitoring reported? How do communities receive this information?

Climate change is a complex issue, and Canada’s whole-of-government approach spans multiple departments playing an important role in monitoring environmental change. Within Crown‒Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, there are a number of programs which support environmental monitoring in collaboration with Indigenous communities: - The Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program supports community-led projects to monitor climate and the environmental effects of climate change on traditional lands and waters. This program is distinctions-based and has specific funding for First Nations. As of June 2020, the program has supported 42 community-based monitoring projects led by First Nations. A number of these projects relate to tracking changes in important country foods, such as fish, caribou, and berries. These projects generate critical knowledge on the impacts of climate change at a community-level to inform local climate adaptation efforts. - The Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program funds climate change adaptation projects in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. The program has funded numerous projects related to climate change and food access including the following projects - Yukon: - Linking a Changing Climate with a Changing Traditional Diet: Maintaining Our Nutrient Intake in Yukon; - Kluane Watershed Salmon Climate Change Adaptation; - Permafrost Mapping and Food Security Vulnerability Assessment in Jean Marie River First Nation; - Carcross-Tagish First Nation Food Security Adaptation Project: Community Garden Next Steps; and - Climate Change Preparedness Program: Traditional Food Security Project. - Northwest Territories: - Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation to address barriers to local food production in communities across the South Slave and Dehcho regions; and - Effects of climate change on subsistence hunting in the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok.

- Nunavut: - Building sustainable winter fisheries for Nunavut communities through SmartIce; - On-the-land knowledge exchange with Pangnirtung Young Hunters Program; and - Adaptation plan for fish habitat in Qamani’tuaq and Taloyoak. - Nunavik: - Maintenance and enhancement of char streams in Nunavik; and - Harvested food safety in Quaqtaq. - Nunatsiavut: - Instructing ocean literacy through kayak camps. - The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) is the longest continuous research program in the Canadian Arctic and is recognized as a best practice model for involving Northerners in research and the integration of scientific and traditional knowledge. The goal of NCP is to reduce and eliminate contaminants in traditionally harvested foods and, thus, links closely to health and food security. NCP is run in collaboration with Indigenous organizations and provides information that assists individuals and communities to make informed decisions about their food use.

Projects are community-driven, and each project is responsible for deciding how best to share the results with the community.

2. What policies or programs has your Department put in place to support First Nations in adapting to current and projected climate impacts on traditional food sources and access to store-bought food, including impacts to health and culture? - For example, what support is your department offering to First Nations looking to develop alternative local sources of food production? - Please provide program names, details or documents, if available. - How do climate impacts and food security monitoring results inform your department’s food policies and programs? For example, do you tailor measures to address how marginalized people already experience different levels of food insecurity and how they will be impacted by climate change? Similarly, how do the health impacts of pre-existing disparities in First Nations’ access to healthcare resources inform your department’s food policies and programs?

Strengthening local food systems and improving access to food locally is central to food security. That is why Nutrition North Canada introduced a new Harvesters Support Grant in 2019 which supports Indigenous harvesting, food preservation, and food sharing activities in keeping with Indigenous customs and cultural practices. The Grant

helps alleviate the high cost of hunting and harvesting by providing $8 million dollars per year across 108 eligible isolated communities to improve access to traditional/country food. The Grant provides flexibility in funding to recipient land claim, self-government, and Indigenous organizations, allowing communities to determine their individual needs. Research and innovation projects are eligible under the Harvesters Support Grant, providing an opportunity to recipients to invest funding into understanding climate impacts on traditional food sources.

Important partnerships between Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and recipient Indigenous organizations have been formed throughout the design and delivery of the Harvesters Support Grant. These relationships have fostered broader discussions on food security, food sovereignty, and the challenges communities face around food access and availability. Communities have concerns over how climate will impact both the physical access into the communities with changing road conditions that can limit the ability to transport food and other goods, but also climate impacts on access and availability of traditional/country food. The Department continues to work closely with these Indigenous partners to continue to evolve a long-term vision for food security in isolated northern communities and to support solutions that improve access and availability of food in the North.

Other federal programs exist across the Government of Canada that aim to address local food security, including programs around local food production. For example, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provides the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, a five-year, $50 million initiative that aims to establish and/or strengthen local food systems through investments in local food infrastructure, targeted at community-based and non-for-profit organizations. More information can be found at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s website at: https://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/agricultural-programs-and- services/local-food-infrastructure-fund/applicant-guide/?id=1563476002321#toc1.0

3. How do projections for climate change in First Nations inform adaptation planning? - At department level, provincial office level, in communities? Is your Department putting in place contingency plans for climate change- induced food shortages? - Please provide examples, documents or other relevant information. - Where does this planning take place within the Department? - What steps is your Department taking to address the decreasing viability of winter roads as a transportation option for some remote communities, given the importance of this mode of transport for reducing costs of living in remote communities, including costs of food? - What is the status of the Northern Adaptation Strategy and is there any equivalent planning underway for communities south of 60?

Remote communities in the North face challenging access issues. They depend on an extended and vulnerable supply chain consisting of surface (road, rail, and sealift) and air delivery of food, fuel, and crucial supplies with limited storage infrastructure.

Utilizing supply chains effectively is essential for the timely distribution of food and other essential items to the North.

Isolated communities are supported by the Department in accessing food and essential items through the Nutrition North Canada program. For a community to become eligible, it must lack year-round surface transportation (no permanent road, rail, or marine access), excluding isolation caused by freeze-up and break-up that normally lasts less than four weeks at a time. These communities have also been classified as “fly-in.” Communities must also meet the territorial or provincial definition of a northern community, have an airport, post office, or grocery store, and have a year-round population according to the national census.

The Department closely monitors community isolation and the supply chain, acting effectively when surface transportation is disrupted. Interruptions to these supply chains have had an impact on non-isolated communities such as Churchill, Manitoba, where a rail line closure isolated the community for 18 months in 2017‒2018. Together, the Government of Canada’s Nutrition North Canada program and the Government of Manitoba’s Access to Food in Remote Manitoba (AFIRM) program worked together to subsidize an extended list of food and other basic items. While the rail line is now back in service, CIRNAC is aware of the potential for further communities to lose access to year-round surface transportation entirely or face extended periods of isolation as a result of climate change, making them eligible for Nutrition North Canada.

The adaptation of the winter road network is also essential to ensuring that remote First Nations continue to have access to goods, including healthy store-bought foods, at lower costs. The First Nation Adapt program supports First Nation communities in assessing the risk that climate change is posing to community infrastructure, including winter road networks, to ensure that they can continue to be used safely and effectively.

In addition, the program is working with federal partners and academics on research aimed at gaining a better understanding of ice dynamics to support the improved construction, maintenance, and operations of over-ice segments of the roads and is also co-funding work to develop ice-reinforcement technologies to make these segments safer. A better understanding of ice dynamics also ensures that communities are able to continue to access traditional hunting, trapping, and fishing routes safely in the context of a changing climate.

The Department recognizes the importance of the winter road network for remote communities, providing an essential alternative to air freight. As a result, Nutrition North Canada introduced a surface transportation subsidy, giving eligible communities the ability to transport eligible non-perishable goods by winter road, sea lift, or barge at a subsidized cost of $1.00 per kilogram.

Establishing northern climate change priorities supports the North’s ability to take effective action on climate change. A change in direction on the Northern Adaptation

Strategy took place in 2018 as other initiatives came to replace this work. In 2019, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami led the development of the National Inuit Climate Change Strategy, the Government of the Northwest Territories developed the Northwest Territories Climate Change Strategic Framework and Action Plan and the Government of Yukon developed the Our Clean Future strategy. In the South, the Assembly of First Nations declared a climate emergency and held a climate change gathering in March 2020. They are working on developing a National First Nations Climate Change Strategy.

4. Has CIRNAC been collecting information on NNC retailers’ profit margins over time as the Auditor General recommended and, if so, what have been the conclusions or takeaways of this data? - Does the government have a limit on what is an acceptable profit margin in this context? - Have there been any audits of NNC retailers conducted since 2016 and, if so, will they be published online as has been done for earlier audits? - What is the status of the “Northern-based Compliance and Audit Review Committee” announced in August 2019?

In 2014, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada completed an audit of the Nutrition North Canada program to determine if the program is meeting its objective of making healthy foods more accessible and affordable and to ensure the program is demonstrating that the full subsidy is being passed on to consumers. Four recommendations were made to the program. Of these it was included that the program clarify that retailers must provide all the information on eligible items, including current profit margins and profit margins over time, to determine whether the retailers are passing on the full subsidy to consumers. Since 2014, the program has implemented all four recommendations.

As a result of recommendations from the Auditor General, the Department collects information on the retailers’ and suppliers’ distribution of the Nutrition North Canada subsidy. In the interest of transparency, the program uses a third- party auditor to collect and review information submitted by retailers and suppliers registered with the program.

Retailers and suppliers submit monthly claims that outline how many kilograms of eligible items they shipped to eligible communities. These claims are reviewed to ensure the subsidy was applied correctly. The program then reimburses the retailer or supplier for the amount recommended by the third- party auditor.

A sample of these registered retailers and suppliers are selected each year to undergo a compliance review in order to ensure that they are complying with the terms and conditions of the program and that the subsidy is being passed onto consumers in full. These compliance audits have taken place each year since the program’s inception. Compliance reports for audits conducted since 2016 are to be released and published on the Nutrition North Canada website in fall 2020.

As a part of the standard funding agreement between Nutrition North Canada and the registered retailer or supplier, the Department monitors information on the current profit margins and profit margins over time.

Despite measures taken, the program continues to hear from Northerners regarding compliance of the retailers and suppliers, concern over the high food prices, and that the subsidy is not being passed on in full. As a result, the program committed to facilitating a Northern-based Compliance and Audit Review Committee.

Since the announcement, the program has been canvassing Indigenous partners for feedback and recommendations on Committee membership and objectives. Engagement with Indigenous partners has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. Is CIRNAC monitoring the implementation of recent reforms made to the Nutrition North Canada subsidy? - What are the results with regard to any changes in access to and affordability of healthy store-bought food? - Where has this monitoring been reported? - Are there plans to further reform the NNC subsidy to reflect the increasing impact of projected climate change on food costs and access? - How are the 2019 NNC reforms communicated to First Nations? - And have changes in payment flexibility for direct orders had any impact on the extent to which this option is being utilized by individual community members?

CIRNAC monitors the implementation of recent reforms made to the Nutrition North Canada subsidy. The program publishes regular reports on the website on prices and the volume of food shipped to the North. However, this information only provides details from the retailer/supplier perspective. As a result, the program works closely with Indigenous partners through the Advisory Board, the Indigenous Working Group, the Inuit‒Crown Food Security Working Group, and the Harvesters Support Grant recipients. These partners provide community-level feedback, including how recent reforms are being felt in the communities.

Since the program launch in 2011, monitoring of the program has revealed that there has been a steady increase in the Nutrition North Canada subsidized foods shipped to eligible communities, with a 49% increase in kilograms of eligible food shipped from March 2011 to March 2019. Over this time, the program has helped maintain food prices in isolated communities. On average, in communities eligible for Nutrition North Canada, the cost of the Revised Northern Food Basket (a nutritious diet for a family of four for one week) in March 2019 was 1.03% less expensive than in March 2011, prior to the launch of the program. As compared to the south, prices increased by 10.5% during the same time period.

Most recently, the program announced a one time financial investment of $25 million into the subsidy program to ensure that access to nutritious food and essential items is maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement also included an expanded eligibility list to include items, such as hand sanitizer and soap. The program has received initial feedback from some Indigenous partners, retailers, and suppliers and is closely monitoring this investment through information reported by retailers and suppliers. The increase in subsidy rates resulted in lower prices for numerous food items and also offset any significant price increases in the communities. For example, in Iqaluit, the price of a 10 kilogram bag of flour dropped from $21.49 to $11.49, representing a 47% reduction.

While the program was established to improve affordability and accessibility of nutritious foods, and while it does offer measurable improvements, it was not designed to address the full range of complex issues leading to food insecurity. Improving food security in the North will require collaboration and coordination from multiple government jurisdictions and stakeholders.

Direct/personal orders provide an alternative option for residents in eligible communities to purchase food from southern suppliers rather than their local store. The changes in payment flexibility vary depending on the individual southern supplier; however, the overall use of personal orders has steadily increased since 2017‒2018.

Nutrition North Canada communicates program changes to eligible communities through social media and through Indigenous partners. Registered retailers and suppliers are also notified of any program reforms. However, the program consistently hears that Northerners have not been made aware of program changes, or more generally, are not aware of the Nutrition North Canada program and how it works. By partnering with recipient land claim, self-government, and Indigenous organizations of the Harvesters Support Grant, the program has built new relationships that has improved communication between the program and eligible communities.

For the most part, communities are made aware of the program through the direct involvement of Indigenous and northern program partners. Enhancements to Nutrition North Canada are informed by regular contact with northern leaders, Nutrition North Canada’s Advisory Board, its Indigenous Working Group, and the recently established Inuit–Crown Food Security Working Group. In turn, northern and Indigenous partners help to promote the program across all 116 eligible communities. This work is enhanced by community engagement sessions and regular outreach.

During the implementation of Nutrition North Canada’s new Harvesters Support Grant, the program engaged with recipient organizations on a broad range of food security issues. This has included concerns over climate change and food security in the North. Specifically, recipients are concerned over changing winter road conditions that limit access to the community and further reduce the ability to transport food and other essential goods using alternative methods to air,

which has high freight rates and food spoilage. The program continues to work closely with Indigenous partners and is considering potential options that help address these concerns.

II. Environment and Climate Change Canada

Dear Ms. Deif and Rall,

Thank you for your letter of July 3, 2020, in which you highlight the research undertaken by Human Rights Watch with First Nations on climate change and its impacts on their rights to food. I also would like to acknowledge receipt of your letter and recommendations to the Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. I recognize the important work accomplished by your organization and commend you for your contributions to help protect Indigenous peoples’ rights. Climate change is a multifaceted phenomenon that impacts all aspects of Indigenous peoples’ lives. Your research helps document the unique circumstances faced by First Nations and contributes to ensuring there is a collective understanding of how best to address some of the most adverse consequences in a First Nations context. You will find responses to your questions in annex 1. I understand that other government officials, including from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Health Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and Natural Resources Canada have received similar letters. Where possible, we coordinated our responses across federal departments to help minimize the number of duplicative responses sent to your organization. Together, the responses to your questions and early findings reflect the expertise of the implicated departments. Should you be interested in a follow-up conversation on any of these questions, I encourage you to contact Dennis Price, Executive Director of External and Indigenous Relations on my team ([email protected]). Warm regards, Matt

Matt Jones, Assistant Deputy Minister Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office Environment and Climate Change Canada

Annex 1: Environment and Climate Change’s response

Question 1: How is your department currently monitoring, or supporting communities to monitor, the ways in which climate change is impacting First Nations’ right to food, including access to harvested foods and healthy, store-bought food? • Do you monitor distinct impacts on marginalized groups within a community, at the intrahousehold level, like women, children, and older people? • Where are results of the monitoring reported? How do communities receive this information? Through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Food Security and Climate Change in the Canadian North initiative, the federal government has committed $6.8M to build capacity for multidisciplinary research on the health effects of climate change on food security for northern communities, with a particular focus on Indigenous peoples’ health. This initiative, which stems from Budget 2017 investment for the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, includes meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities and aims to support the development of programs and policy to address this important issue. As Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is the lead federal department for monitoring the impacts of climate change on First Nations’ right to food, please refer to the response provided by the Honorable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs for additional information.

Question 2: How do projections for climate impacts in First Nations, including impacts on food, inform adaptation planning? • What is the status of the Northern Adaptation Strategy and is there any equivalent planning underway for communities south of 60? Both past and future warming in Canada is, on average, about double the magnitude of global warming. Northern Canada has warmed and will continue to warm at more than double the global rate. The effects of widespread warming are already evident in many parts of Canada, and are projected to intensify in the future. This includes more extreme heat, less extreme cold, longer growing seasons, shorter seasons of snow and ice cover, earlier spring peak streamflow, thinning glaciers, thawing permafrost, and rising sea levels. Indigenous and northern communities are uniquely impacted by these changes. The rapid warming in Northern Canada has disrupted access to communities, threatened cultural sites, and affected people’s ability to practice traditional activities such as hunting and foraging. Given increasing climate change impacts, adaptation is a priority for all levels of government in Canada. Adapting to the current and future impacts of climate change is a central priority in advancing climate action and must occur in tandem with mitigation efforts. The Government of Canada continues to work closely across all levels of government and sectors to build Canada’s resilience to climate change. Adaptation planning is informed by the latest peer-reviewed information, including those highlighted in Canada’s Changing Climate Report 2019, and robust, ongoing engagement with Indigenous Peoples. Establishing northern climate change priorities supports the North’s ability to take effective action on climate change. A change in direction on the Northern Adaptation Strategy took place in 2018 as other initiatives came to replace this work. In 2019, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami led the development of the National Inuit Climate Change Strategy, the Government of the Northwest Territories (NWT) developed the NWT Climate Change Strategic Framework and Action Plan and the Government of Yukon developed the Our Clean Future strategy. In the South, the AFN declared a climate emergency and held a climate change gathering in March 2020. They are working on developing a National First Nations Climate Change Strategy. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is the lead department for adaptation planning in the North. Please refer to the response provided by the Honorable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs for additional information on the Northern Adaptation Strategy. 12

Question 3: How is ECCC planning to ensure that Canada meets its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Pan-Canadian Framework given the current gap between pledged emissions reductions and current projected emissions for 2030? • How is ECCC planning to ensure emissions reduction efforts are able to compensate for continued federal investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, such as the purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline? Since 2016, the Government of Canada has been working with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to implement the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. This plan outlines over 50 concrete measures to reduce carbon pollution, help us adapt and become more resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, spur clean technology solutions, and create good jobs that contribute to a stronger economy. In addition, the Government of Canada has made historic investments to drive climate action and protect the environment - $60 billion has been committed between 2015 and 2019. Canada’s climate plan puts the country on the path towards meeting our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The Government of Canada’s 2019 projections show a widespread decline in projected emissions across the economy, reflecting the breadth and depth of the Pan-Canadian Framework. In fact, the policies and measures now in place, including those introduced in 2019, are projected to reduce emissions by 227 million tonnes in 2030, the greatest drop in Canadian history. We are also taking steps to reduce emissions in the energy sector. For example, the Government of Canada has regulated methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, which will reduce carbon pollution by about 16.5 million tonnes in 2030. In addition, as part of its targeted support for sectors particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada will provide up to $1.72 billion to clean up orphan and/or inactive oil and gas wells in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, creating and maintaining thousands of jobs and generating lasting environmental benefits. In addition, the Government of Canada will provide up to $750 million to create a new Emissions Reduction Fund to reduce emissions in Canada’s oil and gas sector, with a focus on methane. This fund will provide primarily repayable contributions to conventional and offshore oil and gas firms to support their investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate conditions have also been built into new financial support for businesses, as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility will provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic were not being met through conventional financing, in order to keep their operations going. Recipient companies will be required to commit to publishing annual climate-related disclosure reports consistent with the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, including how their future operations will support environmental sustainability and national climate goals. The science is clear: global emissions must reach carbon neutrality by 2050 to limit warming to 1.5°C. The Government of Canada recognizes these findings and agrees that more work is needed. The Government is committed to implementing its climate plan, while strengthening existing and introducing new climate actions to exceed Canada’s 2030 emission reduction target. Environment and Climate Change Canada is also leading government-wide efforts to develop a plan to set Canada on a path to achieve a prosperous net-zero emissions future by 2050. This includes setting legally binding five-year emission-reduction milestones based on the advice of experts and Canadians. In 2019, as part of ongoing climate actions, the Government of Canada committed to implement a number of new measures to help us reach these ambitious targets. This includes a commitment to plant 2 billion trees to help sequester carbon emissions; retrofitting 1.5 million homes to improve energy efficiency and save Canadians money on their monthly energy bills; making it easier for Canadians to purchase and drive zero-emission vehicles; and supporting northern, remote, and Indigenous communities as they transition from diesel to renewable energy systems.

Question 4: What steps did ECCC take to assess the impact of the federal carbon pricing program on food prices in First Nations? • What was the conclusions of those assessments? • How have those conclusions been shared with the public or specific affected First Nations communities? Pricing carbon pollution is an essential part of the Government of Canada’s ambitious plan on climate action; it is a critical tool to reduce emissions and drive innovation. Pricing carbon pollution is generally viewed as one of the most economically efficient ways to creates incentives for individuals, households, and businesses to choose cleaner options. In October 2016, the Prime Minister announced the Pan-Canadian Approach to Pricing Carbon Pollution (the federal benchmark), which gave provinces and territories the flexibility to develop their own carbon pollution pricing systems and outlined criteria all systems must meet to ensure they are stringent, fair, and efficient. The federal government has developed a federal carbon pollution pricing system for provinces and territories that request it or that do not have their own system that meets the federal benchmark. Under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the federal carbon pollution pricing system has two parts: • a regulatory charge on fossil fuels (the fuel charge); and • a performance-based pricing system for industrial facilities, known as the output-based pricing system (OBPS). The federal fuel charge currently applies in Ontario, Manitoba, Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut. The federal OBPS applies in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Nunavut, and partially in Saskatchewan. Other provinces and territories are implementing their own carbon pollution pricing systems. In jurisdictions where the federal fuel charge applies, the fuel charge on fossil fuels generally applies to fuel used, delivered or imported into the jurisdiction and is generally paid by fuel distributors and fuel producers. The final users of the fuel, including Indigenous Peoples, do not pay the federal fuel charge directly. However, the fuel producer or distributor likely passes the cost through to consumers in the retail price. In provinces and territories that requested the federal carbon pollution pricing system, the net direct proceeds from the federal fuel charge are being returned directly to the government of those jurisdictions. These proceeds may be used as the provincial or territorial government sees fit. Returning proceeds from carbon pollution pricing helps with affordability while maintaining the incentive to pollute less. In provinces and territories where the federal backstop system applies because they have not otherwise met the federal benchmark stringency requirements, the bulk of net direct fuel charge proceeds are being returned directly to individuals and families in those jurisdictions, including members of First Nations, through Climate Action Incentive payments. Climate Action Incentive payments include a 10-per-cent supplement to the baseline payment amounts for individuals and families who reside in small and rural communities, in recognition of their specific needs. Most households receive more in Climate Action Incentive payments than the increased costs they face due to federal carbon pollution pricing. The remaining proceeds from the federal fuel charge in these provinces is be used to support certain sectors, including small- and medium-sized enterprises, municipalities, universities, schools, colleges, hospitals, not-for-profit organizations, and Indigenous communities in these provinces, through programs like the Climate Action Incentive Fund. The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF) commits to respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples with robust, meaningful engagement, and for the federal government to engage Indigenous Peoples on carbon pricing and the federal backstop, to find solutions that take into account their unique circumstances, including high costs of living and of energy, challenges with food security, and emerging economies.

In addition to returning the significant majority of proceeds from the fuel charge to households to offset cost impacts, additional solutions implemented under the federal carbon pollution pricing system that may affect Indigenous communities include: • a 10% supplement to Climate Action Incentive payments for residents of small communities and rural areas; • providing those direct fuel charge proceeds not returned to households through Climate Action Incentive payments to support certain sectors, including Indigenous communities, to encourage the adoption of clean technologies to reduce energy use, cut climate pollution and save money; • an exemption for diesel- and natural gas-fired electricity generation in remote communities; • for communities in Canadian territories where the federal system applies (Yukon & Nunavut), providing relief from the fuel charge for aviation fuel for flights within the territories; and, • an exemption for gasoline and light fuel oil (e.g. diesel) used by farmers and fishers. To better understand what solutions may be needed for First Nations, as well as those in more remote parts of the country, ECCC undertook three studies in 2018 to model the potential impact of carbon pollution pricing on households in the territories. The studies provided estimated direct cost impacts on fuels and also indirect cost impacts on consumer goods. Given that community-level data was not readily available, the reports provide regional analysis and were not specific to any particular Indigenous community. However, there are impact estimates for some First Nations’ communities such as Old Crow Yukon, which ECCC was able to separate out from Whitehorse and rural Yukon because of available data sets. The reports were published by the territorial governments in early 2018 and can be accessed through the following web links: https://yukon.ca/en/carbon-pricing-impact-analysis https://www.fin.gov.nt.ca/en/resources/carbon-pricing-nwt-potential-impact-analysis https://www.gov.nu.ca/finance/documents/carbon-pricing-nunavut-potential-impact-analysis The territorial analysis indicted that on average, households in the three territories would see an annual potential cost increase of $41 - $45 per household for food purchases made from stores. This was assuming a $10/tonne carbon price implemented in 2018. The carbon pricing system took effect in 2019 at $20/tonne, rising $10/year up to $50/tonne in 2022. To note, this analysis did not factor in how proceeds from the federal fuel charge are being returned, including to individuals and households.

Question 5: How does ECCC plan to address the disproportionate impact of the carbon tax on First Nations? • What is the status of the promised carbon tax relief program for Indigenous peoples? How will the program address the disproportionate impact of the carbon tax on First Nations? • What percentage of First Nations people living on-reserve claimed the carbon tax rebate last year? What steps has ECCC taken to ensure that all First Nations people on-reserve effectively receive the carbon tax rebate? What alternative mechanisms is ECCC considering given its acknowledgment of the challenges of claiming tax rebates for people living on-reserve? • Are there plans to reallocate carbon tax revenue to provide a larger share to Indigenous communities? The federal carbon pollution pricing system is not about raising revenues. The purpose of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA) is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that carbon pollution pricing applies broadly across Canada. The federal carbon pricing system consists of a regulatory charge on fossil fuels (known as the “fuel charge”) and an output-based pricing system for large emitters (known as the “OBPS”). The fuel charge is generally payable by fuel producers and fuel distributors. The return of proceeds from the federal fuel charge to the jurisdiction of origin is an area of shared responsibility with the Department of Finance. The response below is based on information provided by the 15

Department of Finance. Climate Action Incentive payments may be claimed by eligible individuals when they file their personal income tax returns. The Government does not request that taxpayers identify their ethnic groups or Indigenous identity in filing their taxes. As a result of this and other tax data limitations, the Government is not in a position to estimate the number of on-reserve First Nations families who are eligible for and receiving federal benefits and credits, such as Climate Action Incentive payments. The Government is aware that some groups, including Indigenous Canadians – and in particular those in remote and northern Indigenous communities – face distinct barriers to completing their income tax returns. To ensure that Canadians receive the benefits and credits to which they are entitled, the Government has undertaken a number of initiatives, including the following: • Service Canada has expanded efforts to provide in-person support for tax filing and benefit applications to on-reserve, remote and northern Indigenous communities, and to pilot outreach activities for urban Indigenous communities. Budget 2018 provided funding of $17.3 million over three years, starting in 2018-19 for these initiatives. • The Canada Revenue Agency has significantly expanded the size of the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) in recent years, to provide in-community, free-of-charge services to low- and modest-income individuals with simple tax situations who are in need of support in filing their income tax and benefit returns. With total annual ongoing funding of $13 million through Budget 2016 and Budget 2018, the Government has significantly increased funding to support this program in recent years. • Through broader community engagement with Indigenous communities, in combination with additional investments in the CVITP and other tax-filing related services, the Government has and will continue to reach out to families that are facing barriers to accessing credits and benefits to ensure that they receive the support to which they are entitled. Indigenous communities may also benefit from existing targeted relief of the federal fuel charge, including fuel charge relief for aviation fuel used in the territories and fuel charge relief for generation of electricity for remote communities. A portion of proceeds from the federal fuel charge collected in 2019-20 (in jurisdictions that otherwise do not meet the federal benchmark stringency requirements) are being used to enhance existing federal climate programming for Indigenous communities in these jurisdictions in the fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-2021. This includes the Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program administered by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, the Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program/First Nations Infrastructure Fund administered by Indigenous Services Canada, and the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program administered by Natural Resources Canada.

Question 6: What are ECCC’s timelines for developing Canada’s new NDC? • When and how will the government carry out consultations on the draft? • What role will First Nations play and how will ECCC ensure broad participation? • What mitigation and other steps will Canada take to ensure participation, in light of Covid-19 restrictions? • By how much will Canada be pledging to further reduce emissions given the imperative to keep the increase of global average temperature no higher than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels? What programs and policies will enable Canada to fulfill such a pledge? • Will the new NDC explicitly reference the rights of Indigenous peoples in line with the preamble of the Paris Agreement? On December 9, 2016, in parallel with the release of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, the Prime Minister and his counterparts from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit 16

Kanatami, and the Métis National Council made joint commitments to establish three distinctions-based senior bilateral table based on the recognition of rights, co-operation, and partnership. These structured, collaborative approaches for meaningful engagement between the Government of Canada and Indigenous partners contribute to ensuring that First Nations, Inuit and Métis are full and effective partners in advancing clean growth and addressing joint climate change priorities. Regular bilateral engagement with national, regional and local Indigenous organizations and communities supplements collaboration through the three senior bilateral, distinctions-based tables on an ongoing basis. The Government remains committed to renewed nation-to-nation, government-to-government, and Inuit-to- Crown relationships, based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership, consistent with the Government of Canada’s support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including free, prior and informed consent. Ongoing and additional climate actions will remain consistent with these commitments and continue to build upon and reinforce the partnerships established with Indigenous Peoples since 2016, in particular with the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council. Canada’s partnerships with Indigenous organizations, representatives, and rights-holders extend to the development and implementation of subsequent Nationally Determined Contributions, which will involve the participation of Indigenous Peoples and incorporate best practices identified through the senior bilateral tables. These include employing a distinctions-based approach wherever possible and involving Indigenous representatives in the development of climate policies, budgets and programs. Furthermore, the Government will be looking to the advice of experts, Canadians and Indigenous Peoples to set Canada on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050. This will include broad engagement with Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples, on pathways to achieve a prosperous net-zero emissions future. Budget 2017 provided $26.4M over 5 years to implement the Engaging Indigenous Peoples in Climate Policy Program. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada provides $19.5M over 5 years, starting in 2017-18, to the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council for their clean growth and climate change activities, including their engagement on these issues. Environment and Climate Change Canada provides additional capacity funding of $1.7M over 5 years to support the international engagement activities of the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council.

III. Health Canada (Annex not attached)

From: SPB / DGPS (HC/SC) To: Cara Schulte CC: Katharina Rall, Rachel LaFortune

Thank you for your correspondence of July 6, 2020 regarding Human Rights Watch’s research on the impacts of climate change on healthy food access and availability and on the realization of First Nations’ right to food. We apologize for the delay in writing back to you, particularly in light of your objective to publish your overall findings by the end of summer.

We understand that you have reached out to my colleagues in other departments, including Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. These departments would be your best points of contact with respect to leading the responses to the questions in support of your research. In 2017 Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch joined Indigenous Services Canada, along with many of the federal initiatives that may be of interest to this specific research.

We recognize the importance of working from a whole-of-government perspective with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous partners and communities, and with organizations like Human Rights Watch to support food security in Indigenous and northern communities. This is especially important during the pandemic, where economic and social issues, including food security, are heightened.

Our department has provided some information that you may find of interest in the context of your work (Annex A). Additionally, we would encourage you to reach out to other sections of the Health Portfolio, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for information on research activities in this area such as the Food Security and Climate Change in the Canadian North initiative Program. You may wish to contact Christian Sylvain, Director General, Corporate and Government Affairs, CIHR, for additional information.

Thank you for Human Rights Watch’s work to bring attention to the impacts that climate change is having on First Nation food security. We look forward to reading the overall research findings once available and continuing to work with you.

Yours sincerely,

Strategic Policy Branch Health Canada

IV. Indigenous Services Canada

FROM: Human Rights Watch

TO: Marc Miller Minister of Indigenous Services

Sent via Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

RE: Human Rights Watch research on climate change and the right to food in First Nations

Dear Honourable Marc Miller,

On behalf of Human Rights Watch, an independent human rights organization conducting research and advocacy in 90 countries worldwide, we write to you at what we understand is an extraordinarily difficult time. We recognize that your office and staff are working to address many urgent issues, and we are grateful in advance for your consideration.

We are writing to share the initial findings of our research on climate change impacts on the realization of First Nations’ right to food. We have documented how climate change is creating obstacles and challenges to food access and availability for remote, northern First Nations in Ontario, British Columbia, and Yukon. From June 2018 to March 2020, we conducted more than 120 interviews with residents, chiefs, and council members in First Nations, medical providers, educators, environment and health experts, academics, and staff of Indigenous representative organizations.

Among the issues we have documented are the following:

and climate change impacts on transportation routes like winter roads will likely lead to even higher costs and unreliable supplies. • Negative health outcomes: Climate change impacts risk severely worsening already high levels of food insecurity in northern First Nations and can exacerbate existing health inequalities between First Nations and non-Indigenous Canadians.

A more detailed summary of our report’s current findings is attached.

To ensure that we reflect the perspectives of your office which we believe will supplement these findings, we would appreciate your feedback on our findings and draft recommendations presented below by July 27, 2020.

Please note that we plan to publish our overall research findings by the end of the summer, and we will reflect any information from your office in our report if received by this date.

We would also welcome the opportunity to speak with you or a designated representative to discuss our findings. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to arrange a video conference.

We have appreciated open engagement with your office during our earlier research on the First Nations water crisis in Canada and hope we can continue such open and constructive dialogue.

Please note, as soon as we have a firm date for the launch of the report, we will be in close contact with your office so that you will be aware of the exact date.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Regards,

Farida Deif Katharina Rall Canada Director Researcher Human Rights Watch Environment and Human Rights Email: [email protected] Human Rights Watch Email: [email protected]

ANNEX

Summary of main findings:

Limited availability of and access to traditional food sources: 20

As Canada’s climate warms, there are fewer animals migrating and plants growing on First Nations’ traditional territories in Ontario, British Columbia, and Yukon. Key sub- Arctic ecosystems, including the boreal forest and northern peatlands, which support many traditional sources of food are already at risk of reaching climate tipping points, past which they will not be able to recover from the consequences of rapid warming and will, in turn, contribute to carbon emissions. Meanwhile, unpredictable weather patterns hamper hunters who rely on Indigenous knowledge to navigate potentially treacherous terrain and make accessing hunting grounds more dangerous and sometimes impossible.

In the three areas visited by Human Rights Watch, residents expressed concern about their ability to feed their families without reliable access to traditional food sources, which have provided a healthy diet for their communities for generations. Residents also reported reductions in the quantity of harvestable resources available, and increased difficulty and danger associated with harvesting. They attribute this decline in part to changes in the environment that they believe are a result of climate change, including changing ice and permafrost, wildfires, warming water temperatures, changes in precipitation and water levels, and unpredictable weather.

Numerous scientific studies support these observations and warn of further devastating impacts as the climate crisis increasingly threatens the viability of and access to Indigenous traditional food sources, through changes to wildlife habitat; diversity, ranges, and distribution of plants and animals; and the duration and extent of snow and ice cover.

Lack of access to healthy store-bought foods:

The impacts of increasing loss of traditional food sources is compounded for remote First Nations because prices for store-bought food are very high, far more than elsewhere in the country due, in part, to higher transportation costs. Projected future warming and climate-related changes in the local environment, such as shorter winters during which winter roads allow for more cost-effective delivery of supplies from the South, will exacerbate these problems, increasing the cost of store- bought goods in remote communities and decreasing access to affordable healthy food options.

While the Nutrition North Canada subsidy may reduce the cost of some goods, numerous residents in the three areas visited by Human Rights Watch reported that healthy store- bought food is too expensive to serve as a practical substitute to decreasing harvesting yields. Some emphasized that produce is particularly unaffordable, and when available in community grocery stores, may be spoiled or nearly spoiled after its long transport north.

At the time of writing, it is unclear what impact increases in the NNC subsidy and other reforms made in 2019, such as increased payment flexibility for direct orders, may have had on First Nations’ right to food given the lack of current publicly available data.

Negative health outcomes:

By reducing access to nutritious food – whether from the land or from the store – climate change will have a negative impact on the health and well-being of First Nations.

First Nations families in Canada are already much more likely to face food insecurity. This food insecurity has a negative impact on the health outcomes of First Nations people, which are already worse than non-Indigenous Canadians as a result of historic marginalization. As warming and climate impacts across Canada intensify and accelerate, food poverty and health outcomes among First Nations people are expected to worsen considerably.

In communities visited by Human Rights Watch, some First Nations families already depend on school lunches or soup kitchens for sustenance and otherwise skip meals or rely on less healthy, cheaper options available for purchase in community grocery stores. Climate change-related reductions in traditional food supplies, coupled with increased reliance on less-healthy store- bought foods, exacerbate serious diet-related health issues in communities, such as the growing and disproportionate number of First Nations people affected by obesity and diabetes.

Our research found that climate change impacts on access to healthy, nutritious food also disproportionately affect children, older people, and people with chronic illnesses, like diabetes— groups that are often marginalized within First Nations communities. In several communities visited for this report, teachers and community members reported that children come hungry to school. Some are also affected by childhood obesity. Older people and people with chronic diseases whose health conditions can make a healthy diet all-the-more critical, find the increasing lack of access to harvested foods impedes their ability to eat healthily. Medical providers interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported that some people with chronic diseases cannot follow medically recommended diets due to their inability to obtain harvested foods or to afford nutritious foods sold in stores.

Further, the impacts of climate change contribute to the erosion of Indigenous cultures and identities, which in turn impacts on mental health and wellbeing. The centrality of traditional sources of food and going out on the land to First Nations cultures means that climate change is threatening not only the food supply, but also the Indigenous knowledge related to it, and ultimately the identity and cultural fabric of First Nations. 22

Draft recommendations for government response:

1. The Canadian government should urgently strengthen its climate change policies to reduce emissions in line with the best available science, including by setting ambitious new Nationally Determined Contributions which will align emissions reduction targets with the Paris Agreement. The government should ensure that any Covid-19 stimulus packages support a just transition to renewable energy, including in First Nations communities.

2. First Nations should receive the financial and technical support needed to respond to immediate and projected climate impacts, including on food and health, and should lead the design and implementation of these programs. In line with Canada’s human rights obligations, including under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is essential that climate change adaptation and mitigation policies respect the rights of and do not have any direct or indirect discriminatory impact on Indigenous peoples, including older people, women, children and people with chronic diseases within First Nations who are already among the most impacted by climate change.

3. The Canadian government should issue a public statement on the right to food as recognised under international law, including multiple treaties to which Canada is a party. This should include acknowledgement of its duty to ensure that First Nations can enjoy this right and that Indigenous knowledge systems about climatic conditions and their impacts on traditional food sources are relevant to the realization of the right to food.

From: Brennan, Tina (SAC/ISC) on behalf of Adams, Evan (SAC/ISC) Sent: Friday, August 7, 2020 10:57 AM To: Farida Deif ; Katharina Rall Subject: RE: Human Rights Watch research on climate change and the right

Dear Farida Deif and Katharina Rall:

Thank you for your correspondence of June 29, 2020, addressed to the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, regarding Human Rights Watch research on the impacts of climate change on healthy food access and availability and on the realization of First Nations’ right to food. I am responding on the Minister’s behalf.

The Government of Canada recognizes that food security is a critical issue, one that significantly impacts the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities. As you know, food security is linked to a variety of factors, including climate change, and addressing this challenge requires the contributions of multiple sectors working together. Our government is committed to working with Indigenous communities, provincial and territorial governments, and other partners to help improve food security. 23

Additionally, our government is committed to working as a whole to support food security in northern and Indigenous communities.

Indigenous Services Canada provides funding for culturally appropriate community-based healthy child development and healthy living programs and services in First Nations and Inuit communities. These programs and services promote healthy eating and food skills, and improve access to healthy foods, including both store-bought and traditional or country foods. Communities decide which activities to undertake based on their needs and priorities. Key investment areas include the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative, the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program and Nutrition North Canada Nutrition Education Initiatives.

Additionally, Indigenous Services supports First Nation and Inuit communities and regions to identify, assess and respond to the health impacts of climate change through the Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program. This program provides funding directly to First Nation and Inuit communities and organisations to implement research and adaptation activities that address a range of health impacts from climate change, for example mental wellness, safety on the land and ice, and food insecurity. Since 2016, the program has provided approximately $8.1 million to First Nations south of 60°N and $8.7 million to First Nations and Inuit partners in the territories, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut to undertake climate change and health adaptation projects including food security projects such as harvest trail routing, community gardens, and research on diseases in cervid populations. Approximately half of all projects supported relate to food security.

I understand that you have been in touch with other departments, including Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Crown Indigenous and Northern Relations Canada, to discuss the recommendations of Human Rights Watch’s research, given the scope and breadth of the findings you have shared. We are happy to assist with contributing to any follow-up together with our colleagues to as needed.

In closing, I want to thank you again for writing about these critical issues affecting First Nations.

Yours sincerely,

Evan Adams, M.D., MPH Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Public Health Director General’s Office of Population and Public Health First Nation and Inuit Health Branch Indigenous Services Canada/Government of Canada Médecin en chef adjoint de la santé publique Bureau du directeur général de la population et de la santé publique Direction générale de la santé des Premières nations et des Inuits Ministère des services aux autochtones Canada/Gouvernement du Canada

V. Natural Resources Canada

Human Rights Watch research on climate change and the right to food in First Nations

Responses below provided by Natural Resources Canada

Q1: What policies or programs does your department plan to put in place, or has already put in place, to support Indigenous communities to develop local renewable energy sources which will in turn reduce reliance on diesel fuels for power generation/heating? ˪ Please provide program names, timeframes, and details on support to First Nations regarding their applications, if available. ˪ How many applications for financial support for renewable energy infrastructure has Natural Resources Canada received from First Nations since the launch of Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities? Of any other relevant program? How many of those have received funding and in what amounts? What are the selection criteria?

Canada believes that access to affordable and reliable clean energy is a foundational element to supporting communities reliant on diesel and other fossil fuels for heat and power. The Government of Canada is committed to help support the transition of rural and remote communities (many of which are Indigenous or have significant Indigenous populations) to cleaner sources of energy as part of its national climate change strategy.

While diesel generation is a well-known and reliable source of energy in these communities, it comes with many negative environmental, social, and economic impacts. Many of the “off-grid” or remote communities in Canada have expressed a strong desire to leverage renewable energy and energy efficiency projects as a means to advance their socio-economic development, energy independence and reconciliation. Central governments have the ability to support community based approaches to accelerate the clean energy transition through national initiatives such as capital funding programs. But, project funding alone is not always enough. Central governments can also create the workforce of tomorrow by helping communities realize opportunities through supporting skills development and technical training.

In Canada, there are three core programs led by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), which work directly with project proponents and communities to reduce diesel reliance: • Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program (NRCan): $220M over 6 years (2018-2024) to support renewable energy and capacity building projects. • Impact Canada Indigenous Off-Diesel Initiative (NRCan): $20 million over 3 years starting (2019-2022) to support 15 remote Indigenous communities to plan and implement community-driven clean energy projects. • Northern Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Electricity (CIRNAC): $53.5M over 10 years (and $5.4M ongoing) for renewable energy projects in the North.

Announced in Budget 2017, NRCan’s CERRC program aims to support community-led renewable energy and capacity building projects to reduce diesel reliance. In total, NRCan received over 400 applications through two calls for proposal and over a $1 billion dollars in requested funding. The program is currently fully allocated. To date, CERRC is supporting 88 projects in 131 communities, of which 123 are Indigenous communities. Over 70% of these projects are Indigenous-led initiatives.

In terms of project selection, full proposals submitted to the Demonstration and Deployment streams are evaluated by an expert review panel and NRCan prioritizes projects that demonstrate they are Indigenous-led and/or driven by Indigenous communities; have strong, long-standing relationships and experience with communities; have considered the potential impact of the project and how it will be maintained; build Indigenous champions in the communities; link the project’s impact to a larger community/regional vision; and have identified partners, with confirmed in-kind and/or financial support. The capacity building stream uses an external panel made up of Indigenous practitioners from across Canada and several federal representatives to review the final submissions and make funding recommendations to NRCan. The panel’s recommendation are based on a number of perspectives, including community impact, transferability and scalability, project sustainability and Indigenous participation. For all streams, projects are selected using a combination of point-based systems and qualitative assessments based on the recommendations of the panel. Our selection process allows other departments to identify priorities for consideration and they also participate in project selection process.

Further information on the CERRC program funding eligibility requirements can be found online here. Details on NRCan supported projects are posted online as they are announced. You can refer to the current list of announced projects online here. We are hoping to announce further projects in the coming months.

NRCan’s Indigenous Off-Diesel Initiative is supporting 15 Energy Champions from remote Indigenous communities across Canada through a phased program design to plan and implement community-driven clean energy projects. The IODI received 60 applications and the 15 Champions were selected by an all-Indigenous jury. Further information about the program can be found online here.

Q2: How does Natural Resources Canada take into account First Nations’ harvesting needs in boreal forest management strategies? How is Natural Resources Canada integrating Indigenous perspectives into forestry decision-making and planning in the boreal ecozone?

While the management of natural resources, including forests, in Canada is a provincial responsibility, the Government of Canada through the Canadian Forest Service works closely with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous Peoples, industry, and environmental non-governmental organizations to ensure that Canada’s forests remain healthy now and for generations to come. Within Canada, forests on public land are managed using sustainable forest management (SFM) practices. SFM decisions and activities are based on scientific research, rigorous planning processes, and consultations with Indigenous peoples and the public. Provinces and territories have developed laws, regulations and policies to enforce SFM standards and practices across the country.

Canada works with provinces and territories to include Indigenous perspectives to national and cross-boundary forest policy issues through the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM). Recognizing the important role of Indigenous peoples in a sustainable and healthy forest sector, Indigenous engagement is a cross-cutting issue within CCFM’s Strategic Framework. As a result, this forum allows for CCFM members to hear from Indigenous partners and learn from each other to improve the understanding of relationships between jurisdictions and local Indigenous communities. This type of knowledge sharing among members and with Indigenous partners is hoped to improve relationships and, subsequently, provide critical input to decision making and planning at CCFM and within provinces and territories.

NRCan’s Canadian Forest Service also promotes science-based partnerships and weaving of Indigenous knowledge and science systems with western research. Several of these research projects occur in the boreal forest and respond to expressed community needs, such as identification and restoration of boreal caribou habitat, wildland fire management and evacuation processes, etc. Co-developed research findings can influence policy and decision- makers, informing best practices related to sustainable forest management.

VI. Ontario Government

June 29, 2020 From: Human Rights Watch To: Doug Ford Premier of Ontario Legislative Building Queen's Park Toronto ON M7A 1A1

Sent via Email: [email protected]

Dear Premier Doug Ford,

In follow-up to our previous contact with your office in March 2019, we are writing to share the initial findings of our research on climate change impacts on the realization of First Nations’ right to food. We have documented how climate change is creating obstacles and challenges to food access and availability for remote, northern First Nations in Ontario, British Columbia, and Yukon. From June 2018 to March 2020, we conducted more than 120 interviews with residents, chiefs, and council members in First Nations, medical providers, educators, environment and health experts, academics, and staff of Indigenous representative organizations.

Among the issues we have documented are the following:

• Limited availability of and access to traditional food sources: Climate change impacts are already reducing the availability of key traditional foods harvested by First Nations, and increasing the danger and difficulty of harvesting food from the land as permafrost melts, water levels lower, and forest fires and extreme weather incidents increase. • Lack of access to healthy store-bought food: First Nations have limited access to affordable, healthy, store-bought food. Cost of healthy, store-bought food is high due in part to transport costs, and climate change impacts on transportation routes like winter roads will likely lead to even higher costs and unreliable supplies. • Negative health outcomes: Climate change impacts risk severely worsening already high levels of food insecurity in northern First Nations and can exacerbate existing health inequalities between First Nations and non-Indigenous Canadians.

A more detailed summary of our report’s current findings is attached.

To ensure that we reflect the perspectives of your office – which we believe will supplement these findings – and to better understand your efforts to address these impacts, we would appreciate your response to the specific questions presented below by July 27, 2020.

Please note that we plan to publish our overall research findings by the end of the summer, and we will reflect in our report information from your office if received by this date.

Please note, as soon as we have a firm date for the launch of the report, we will be in close contact with your office so that you will be aware of the exact date.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Regards,

Farida Deif Katharina Rall Canada Director Researcher Human Rights Watch Environment and Human Rights Email: [email protected] Human Rights Watch Email: [email protected]

ANNEX

Summary of main findings:

Limited availability of and access to traditional food sources:

As Canada’s climate warms, there are fewer animals migrating and plants growing on First Nations’ traditional territories in the Hudson Bay and James Bay regions of northern Ontario, as well as in northern British Columbia and Yukon. Key sub-Arctic ecosystems, including the boreal forest and northern peatlands – which support many traditional sources of food – are already at risk of reaching climate tipping points, past which they will not be able to recover from the consequences of rapid warming and will, in turn, contribute to carbon emissions. Meanwhile, unpredictable weather patterns hamper hunters who rely on Indigenous knowledge to navigate potentially treacherous terrain, and make accessing hunting grounds more dangerous and sometimes impossible.

In all three areas visited by Human Rights Watch, residents expressed concern about their ability to feed their families without reliable access to traditional food sources, which have provided a healthy diet for their communities for generations. Residents also reported reductions in the quantity of harvestable resources available, and increased difficulty and danger associated with harvesting. They attribute this decline in part to changes in the environment that they believe are a result of climate change, including changing ice and permafrost, wildfires, warming water temperatures, changes in precipitation and water levels, and unpredictable weather.

Lack of access to healthy store-bought foods:

The impacts of increasing loss of traditional food sources is compounded for remote First Nations because prices for store-bought food are very high, far more than elsewhere in the country due, in part, to higher transportation costs. Projected future warming and climate-related changes in the local environment, such as shorter winters during which winter roads allow for more cost-effective delivery of supplies from the South, will exacerbate these problems, increasing the cost of store-bought goods in remote communities and decreasing access to affordable healthy food options. 28

While the Nutrition North Canada subsidy may reduce the cost of some goods for certain communities, numerous residents in all three areas visited by Human Rights Watch reported that healthy store-bought food is too expensive to serve as a practical substitute to decreasing harvesting yields. Some emphasized that produce is particularly unaffordable, and when available in community grocery stores, may be spoiled or nearly spoiled after its long transport north.

It is unclear what impact increases in the NNC subsidy, along with other reforms made in 2019, such as increased payment flexibility for direct orders, may have had on First Nations’ right to food given the lack of current publicly available data.

Negative health outcomes:

By reducing access to nutritious food – whether from the land or from the store – climate change will have a negative impact on the health and well-being of First Nations.

In communities visited by Human Rights Watch, some First Nations families already depend on school lunches or soup kitchens for sustenance and otherwise skip meals or rely on less healthy, cheaper options available for purchase in community grocery stores. Climate change-related reductions in traditional food supplies, coupled with increased reliance on less-healthy store-bought foods, exacerbate serious diet-related health issues in communities, such as the growing and disproportionate number of First Nations people affected by obesity and diabetes.

Our research found that climate change impacts on access to healthy, nutritious food also disproportionately affect children, older people, and people with chronic illnesses, like diabetes— groups that are often marginalized within First Nations communities. In several communities visited for this report, teachers and community members reported that children come hungry to school. Some are also affected by childhood obesity. Older people and people with chronic diseases, whose health conditions can make a healthy diet all-the-more critical, find the increasing lack of access to harvested foods impedes their ability to eat healthily. Medical providers interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported that some people with chronic diseases cannot follow medically recommended diets due to their inability to obtain harvested foods or to afford nutritious foods sold in stores.

Human Rights Watch questions regarding government response

Government support for First Nations adaptation efforts:

The Ontario government cut funding and support for climate impact monitoring meant to support First Nations in 2018, scrapping a Northern Ontario climate change impact study, as well as a project for 40 Indigenous communities to collect traditional knowledge, assess community vulnerabilities, and develop adaptation plans. Meanwhile, the province’s 2018 Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan offers very limited guidance on adaptation in First Nations, and it is not clear whether Ontario’s climate change impact assessments, scheduled to be completed by 2022, will include an assessment of climate impacts on First Nations’ access to traditional food sources and affordable, healthy store- bought food, or related health impacts.

The province has no overarching food policy to coordinate provincial efforts to ensure the realization of the right to food in First Nations.

The Ontario government has also lessened environmental protections and cut funding for key environmental ministries, including for flood planning and response as well as emergency forest firefighting, despite projections of increased floods and fires as a result of climate change.

Government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent foreseeable harm:

Research suggests that Canada – among the top ten contributor countries to global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change – is not on track to meet its own emission reduction targets announced following the adoption of the Paris Agreement. In 2018, the Canadian Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development and Canada’s Auditors General found that the federal government is unlikely to meet its own targets. Canada’s emissions have been growing in recent years, with limited reductions in emissions achieved between 2005 and 2017 now almost entirely erased, and increased emissions from 1990 to 2015 largely attributed to the expansion of oil sands development, according to federal reporting.

Ontario is contributing to this failure to make needed emissions reductions, and is not on track to meet its own carbon emissions reduction targets after the Ontario government cut programs meant to mitigate emissions, contributing to a spike in the province’s emissions in 2018.

Questions for Government of Ontario

example: a. Is your government putting in place contingency plans for climate change- induced food shortages? i. Please provide examples, documents, or other relevant information. ii. Where does this planning take place within the government? iii. What steps is your government taking to address the decreasing viability of winter roads as a transportation option for some remote communities, given the importance of this mode of transport for reducing costs of living in remote communities, including costs of food? b. What is the planned scope for provincial climate change impact assessments? Will First Nations be involved in this process, and if so, how? 4. How is the province addressing the impact of recent cuts to climate change monitoring and adaption projects that have disproportionately impacted First Nations? 5. What policies or programs has your government put in place, or plan to put in place, to support First Nations in adapting to current and projected climate impacts on health and culture from food poverty, including diminished access to traditional food sources? 6. What steps is your government taking to meet its emissions reduction targets?

Ministry of the Environment, Ministère de l'Environnement, Conservation and Parks de la Protection de la nature et des Parcs

Office of the Minister Bureau du ministre

777 Bay Street, 5th Floor 777, rue Bay, 5e étage Toronto ON M7A 2J3 Toronto (Ontario) M7A 2J3 Tel.: 416-314-6790 Tél. : 416.314.679 357-2020-2234 October 1, 2020

Ms. Farida Deif Ms. Katharina Rall Canada Director Researcher, Environment and Human Human Rights Watch Rights Email: [email protected] Human Rights Watch Email: [email protected]

Dear Ms. Deif and Ms. Rall:

I received a copy of your letter to Premier Ford regarding the initial findings of your research on climate change impacts on the realization of First Nations’ right to food. I am please to respond on behalf of our government.

Thank you for the information and for following up. I will also share the information you have provided with my colleagues at Indigenous Affairs Ontario.

Our government is committed to protecting the Ontario we know and love and ensuring that its clean air, pristine landscapes and strong communities can thrive now and in the future.

Through our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan, released on November 29th, 2018, we affirmed our focus on protecting our land, air, and water, addressing litter and reducing

waste, and supporting the people of Ontario as we work towards reducing greenhouse- gas (GHG) emissions, and help communities and families prepare for the impacts of climate change.

The Environment Plan acknowledges that climate change threatens many of our natural resources, our homes, communities and businesses, infrastructure, and our locally grown food and crops. It also threatens food security and road access for remote First Nations, as well as the health of ecosystems across our great Province.

On November 28, 2019, I announced that Ontario has established an advisory panel on climate change to provide expert advice on the implementation of the province’s climate change actions, especially on how Ontario can prepare for the costs and impacts of climate change.

We are taking a number of specific actions that will help us mitigate climate change and be resilient to its impacts. This includes: increasing access to clean and affordable energy for families by connecting remote communities to Ontario’s clean electricity grid; increasing the renewable content in gasoline without an expected increase in prices at the pump; and encouraging the use of heat pumps for space and water heating where it makes sense. ...2

Ms. Farida Deif and Ms. Katharina Rall Page 2.

We will enable others to be environmental leaders and do their part in developing environmental solutions. This includes tapping into the resourcefulness and creativity of our diverse and thriving private sector by helping them invest in and develop clean solutions to today’s environmental challenges.

Our government is committed to promoting integrated, tangible environmental solutions that save people and businesses money, address local priorities, and support our communities in doing their part for the environment.

Over the past two years, we have made significant progress on key commitments in the plan while we continue to consult and collaborate with stakeholders and other governments to achieve our goals.

The government has launched Ontario’s first-ever broad, multi-sector provincial climate change impact assessment that will access the best science and information to better understand where and how climate change will impact Ontario. This will help a range of decision-makers, including governments, municipalities, businesses, Indigenous communities and Ontarians, and will support local assessments and future decision- making.

Through continued collaboration with communities, all levels of government and the private sector, we will see further changes to our plan to ensure we protect our environment and reduce GHG emissions

Ontario values its relationships with Indigenous peoples and will continue to find ways to work with Indigenous communities through these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Jeff Yurek Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks c: The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier

The Honourable Greg Rickford Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs

VII. Yukon Government

Farida Deif Canada Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299

Sent via email [email protected]

Dear Ms. Deif,

Thank you for sharing your initial findings on the relationship between climate change and First Nations’ food access and security. Government of Yukon is keenly aware of the importance of healthy traditional and store- bought foods for First Nations communities, and of the potential for climate change to result in short term interruptions and longer-term impacts to these food sources. We support and appreciate research that builds understanding of impacts and mitigations and adaptation for this evolving reality.

As outlined in the questions and answers that follow, several of our departments are leading or participating in initiatives that address components of these challenges. We are also working in partnership with non-governmental organizations to further build understanding and solutions for ongoing food security challenges and climate change impacts across Yukon communities.

If you would like more information on the initiatives described below, please do not hesitate to reach out to Sabrina Kinsella at the Office of the Science Advisor at [email protected]. She would be pleased to discuss your questions in more detail, and to connect you with representatives of other departments and organizations as needed.

We look forward to hearing more about the results of this important research, and appreciate this opportunity to contribute.

Best regards,

Dr. Aynslie Ogden Senior Science Advisor

Cc: The Honourable Sandy Silver, Premier, Government of Yukon ([email protected]) Jasmina Randhawa, ADM of Corporate Programs and Intergovernmental Affairs, Executive Council Office ([email protected]) Katharina Rall, Researcher ([email protected])

Government of Yukon – Questions and Answers

1. How is your government currently monitoring or supporting communities to monitor the ways in which climate change is impacting First Nations’ right to food, including access to harvested foods and healthy, store-bought food? • Do you monitor distinct impacts on marginalized groups within a community, at the intrahousehold level, like women, children, and older people? • Where are results of the monitoring reported? How do communities receive this information? • Would you be able to share a copy or summary of the report, “Linking a Changing Climate with a Changing Traditional Diet – Maintaining Our Nutrient Intake in Yukon”? • The Government of Yukon’s Agriculture Branch is currently working with the Arctic Institute of Community Based Research (AICBR) to better understand how food security is affected by climate change in Yukon. o We conducted a literature review focused on traditional and local food consumption in the Yukon to identify current knowledge, existing baseline data, and methodologies to inform future research. You can learn more about this project and find copies of the reports by visiting AICBR’s project webpage. o This project is now working with communities to gather information about existing food systems and climate change assets and initiatives in Yukon communities. This information is being shared through an online database and map, as well as workshops to help communities learn from best practices and promising initiatives identified through this project. • Building off the findings of the AICBR project, the Government of Yukon will assess existing information on food insecurity in Yukon by 2023. This action, proposed in the draft of Our Clean Future, will inform a system to better track food insecurity moving forward, and will help us understand how climate change, and other intersecting factors like income and gender, relate to food security. • We are currently working on a climate change risk assessment for the territory, in collaboration with First Nations partners. This assessment will identify the impacts of climate change that pose the greatest risk to different groups of Yukoners, factoring in differences in how exposed Yukoners are to climate risks and how able we are to adapt. Food security is likely to emerge as a climate risk during this process, which will help us understand how climate change is affecting food security now, and how it may continue to impact food security into the future.

2. What policies or programs has your government put in place to support First Nations in adapting to current and projected climate impacts on traditional food sources and access to store-bought food?

• For example, what support is your government offering to First Nations looking to develop alternative local sources of food production? • Please provide program names, details or documents, if available. • How do food security monitoring results inform your department’s food policies and programs?

• Government of Yukon has just released Cultivating Our Future: 2020 Agricultural Policy, the culmination of three years of work with Yukon’s agricultural producers, public and First Nations. This policy will work in complement with Yukon’s Local Food Strategy to support local food production and access, and First Nations’ priorities for land use and local production capacity. • Cultivating our Future includes a number of actions that deal with climate change and First Nation support specifically. In particular: o Under Objective 3: Promote Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture, section 3.1 Climate Change identifies a number of actions to which Government of Yukon has committed, including: . Designing policies and programs for a sustainable, environmentally compatible agricultural sector; . Supporting and encouraging farming practices that increase carbon within the soil and enhance soil capacity; . Researching and developing land-clearing practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions; . Supporting research and innovation for climate change adaptation in agriculture; . Investigating modification of the National Land Suitability System to better account for specifics of Yukon permafrost with respect to agriculture soils; and, . Supporting the expansion and development of irrigation o Under Objective 4: Growth through Partnership and Community, section 4.3 Yukon First Nations highlights the importance of Yukon government working in partnership with Yukon First Nations to support successful community-based food production projects and programs. Specifically, the Government of Yukon commits to: . Ongoing consultation and discussion with Yukon First Nations and Transboundary Aboriginal Groups on agricultural land applications and land planning initiatives that occur within their Traditional Territories and asserted traditional territories; . Continuing support of Yukon First Nations’ food production through extension services, soil testing, crop trials and applicable funding programs; . Continuing to seek Yukon First Nations representation and knowledge on agricultural matters; . Supporting training for Yukon First Nations citizens in northern agricultural techniques, such as through the Yukon Master Gardener course; and, . Investigating joint agriculture land preparation or development projects, consistent with the provisions of First Nation Final Agreements and Self Government Agreements.

• Other relevant programs include our Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP) program which is frequently accessed by Yukon First Nations for food production related projects, especially through the CAP Community Agriculture Program.

• The Government of Yukon has not been actively monitoring food security in Yukon, outside of support for ad hoc studies, and access of the applicable cycles of Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey. While offering some broad indication of food security levels in Yukon households, the latter resource offers limited ability to drill down by geography or socio- demographic group, due to sample size and design. o We know that this is a gap and this is why we will be assesses existing information on food insecurity and establishing a system for tracking food insecurity moving forward. Once we have baseline information and continue to gather this critical data, it will inform our food policies and programs. Our Agriculture Branch also continues to stay connected to relevant conversations via the Food Network Yukon working group, a group that is coordinated by the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition.

• Through the federal government’s Climate Change Preparedness in the North program, we are also conducting research on how climate change could impact local food species to help support management decisions for these species and their habitats. Specific studies are looking at: o The effect of climate change on winter ticks, which parasitize local wildlife like moose, caribou, deer and elk and can affect their health; o How the drop in water levels on Kluane Lake due to the retreat of the Kaskawulsh Glacier is impacting the lifecycle of salmon; and, o How projected changes in wildfire regimes could affect the habitat of species such as moose and caribou.

3. How do projections for climate change in First Nations inform adaptation planning? • For example, is your government putting in place contingency plans for climate change-induced food shortages?

• Yukon government’s Agriculture Branch has a number of ongoing programs for increasing Yukon’s food production and food security through the funding programs highlighted above, in addition to ongoing extension work that involves support for Yukon First Nations. • Through our Yukon-wide risk assessment, we will be exploring how climate change projections for Yukon impact the likelihood and consequence of climate change related risks. We anticipate that risks associated with food security will be identified through this work. The findings of this assessment will help us identify appropriate actions to address risks. • Yukon’s Emergency Measures Organization is developing emergency management plans with all Yukon communities. These exercises consider how emergencies could affect food security in communities. For example, extreme precipitation or wildfires could obstruct transportation infrastructure, preventing deliveries of store- bought foods.

4. What policies or programs has your government put in place, or plan to put in place, to support First Nations in adapting to current and projected climate impacts on health and culture from food poverty, including diminished access to traditional food sources?

• As described above, our Canadian Agriculture Partnership funding program, our new Agricultural Policy and our Local Food Strategy are among the programs that support Yukon First Nations to increase their local food production. • The draft version of Our Clean Future, includes a proposed plan to train healthcare providers to be able to better identify and treat the mental and physical health impacts of climate change, in addition to planning surveillance of climate change-related illnesses and injuries. o This work will be informed by a recent report by the office of Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health on the “Health effects of extreme weather events and wildland fires: a Yukon perspective”. • Within the education system, Our Clean Future flags our continued support for land-based programs in Yukon’s school curriculum, which build understanding of First Nations ways of knowing and doing through activities such as Bison hunts and muskrat camp. o In addition, Yukon school curriculum from kindergarten through grade 12 includes learning about climate change causes, implications for biodiversity and ecosystem health, and Yukon First Nations perspectives.

5. What steps is your government taking to meet its emissions reduction targets? How is the Territory working toward emissions targets for mining, as committed to in the “Our Clean Future” plan?

• The key steps we are taking to meet our greenhouse gas reduction target of 30% by 2030 are outlined in the draft version of Our Clean Future. These include increasing the use of renewable fuels for transportation, ensuring most of our electricity continues to come from renewable sources even as demand grows, encouraging the uptake of zero emission vehicles, and retrofitting buildings. • Within our Agricultural Sector, our government has an Environmental Farm Plan program under the CAP funding program that allows farmers to access subsidies towards more fuel and water efficient irrigation equipment. • The Government of Yukon is working to establish an intensity-based target for the mining industry. As we set up this system, we need to consider the different types of mining operations in Yukon and how to account for emissions from the entire mine lifecycle. These are challenging issues that will take time to think through to make sure we set up a system that works. In the process of setting the intensity- based target, we will also assess whether the current actions in Our Clean Future, such as increasing the use of clean diesel alternatives, are sufficient to reach the target or whether we need to take additional actions.