ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the context and the potential role United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples can play in guiding new environmental policy directions of environmental justice (EJ) in Canada. It discusses the indigenous-specific EJ policy in the United States (US) will serve as a potential case example. The IEJ policy is intended to 'better clarify and integrate environmental justice principles in a consistent manner in the Agency's work'. The policy is intended to support Tribes and 'Indigenous stakeholders' in the development of their own environmental justice policies. Canada and the US have different political, policy, legislative, and jurisdictional systems fuelled by different ideologies and practices. Indeed, the US has exemplified leadership in the EJ policy and implementation area in North America, although it’s Executive Order 12898 was heavily influenced by grass roots activism and the civil rights movement.
