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The Distribution of Air Pollution in Canada: Exploring Injustices

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The Distribution of Air Pollution in Canada: Exploring Injustices THE DISTRIBUTION OF AIR POLLUTION IN CANADA: EXPLORING INJUSTICES Heather Glenn Bachelor of Applied Justice Studies, Mount Royal College, 2003 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In the School of Criminology O Heather Glenn 2006 Simon Fraser University Spring 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Heather Glenn Degree: Master of Arts Title of Research Project: Distribution of Air Pollution in Canada: Exploring Injustices Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. James Bryan Kinney Assistant Professor of Criminology Prof. Joan Brockman Senior Supervisor Professor of Criminology Dr. Margaret Jackson Supervisor Professor of Criminology Dr. Nicholas Blomley External Examiner Professor of Geography Date Defended: Ti.17/06 - SIMON FRASER IJ~lVEllrl~lI.bra ry DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection, and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this wolrk for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately cataloglled multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT The environmental justice movement initiated an interest amongst academics to explore this topic empirically. Researchers attempted to determine if harms attributed to pollution and toxic wastes were disproportionately distributed to poor minority groups. This thesis explores air pollution exposure and its relationship to socioeconomic status in a Canadian context. A brief discussion on current social, economic, and political factors and its relationship to corporate violence and environmental victimization is also included. This study asked two questions: Who are the victims of environmental injustices and does current Canadian policy have any effect on the distribution of air pollution. Using exploratory spatial data analysis and multiple regression, environmental injustices were not found. However, data shortcomings prevent certainty to such conclusions. The power that corporations have on agenda setting influences cw-rent data quality. Therefore, further research is needed. Keywords: Environmental Justice, Canadian Environmental Policy, Corporate Violence, Offences Against the Environment, and Distribution of Air pollution. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supervising committe'e members, Professor Joan Brockrnan and Dr. Margaret Jackson for their guidance, support and expertise. I am sincerely grateful for their commitment to my academic excellence. I would also like to thank my external examiner Dr. Nick Blomely. I would also like to thank my Husband for his support in ever facet of my life. I would also like to acknowledge the love and guidance provided by my Father, Mother, and Sister throughout the years. Special thanks to Dr. Patricia Brantingham and Dr. Brian Kinney for their encouragement and for the opportunities they provided me. Lastly, I would like to thank all my friends for providing sanity in times of need. TABLE OF CONTENTS ... Abstract ..............................................................................................................................111 Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................v .. List of figures and Tables ..................................................................................................vll Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Injustices and Criminology ...............................................................................................2 Chapter One: Enviomental Victimization ...........................................................................5 Conceptualizing Environmental Justice ...........................................................................5 The History of the Environmental Justice Movement ......................................................7 Corporate Violence and Environmental Victimization ....................................................9 Corporate Violence .......................................................................................................9 Environmental Victimization .....................................................................................11 Chapter Two: Environmental Justice .A Review of Evidence ........................................16 Methodological Issues .....................................................................................................16 The Research ..............................................................................................................18 Chapter Three: A Policy Review: Environmental Justice and Sustainable Development ......................................................................................................................30 Sustainable Development ...............................................................................................31 Canada and Sustainable Development Policy (prior to 1999).................................... 35 Canada and Sustainable Development Policy (After 1999) .......................................39 Environmental Protection Act (1 999) ............................................................................-40 Power and Agenda Setting .............................................................................................44 Environmental Policy: Justice and Sustainable ..............................................................46 Chapter Four: Methods .......................................................................................................49 Issues of Study ............................................................................................................49 Part I: Who Are The Victims? ........................................................................................50 Variables ...................................................................................................................50 The Data ...................................................................................................................52 Research Design .........................................................................................................54 The Analysis ...............................................................................................................56 Part 11: The Effectiveness of CEPA Policy Objectives ..................................................62 Research Design .........................................................................................................62 Chapter Five: Results ..........................................................................................................64 Part I: Who are the Victims? ..........................................................................................64 1996 ..................................................................................................................-64 The Model ..................................................................................................................71 The Model ..................................................................................................................79 Part 11: The Effectiveness of CEPA Policy Objectives ..................................................80 Chapter Six: Discussion ......................................................................................................83 Who Are the Victims? .....................................................................................................83 The Effectiveness of CEPA Policy Objectives ..............................................................87 Limitations .....................................................................................................................88 Future Research ..............................................................................................................91
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