Our Work at CAPE and Systemic Racism in Canada

A statement from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) reflecting on systemic racism, Islamophobia, and colonialism in Canada, specifically in the contexts of environmentalism and medicine.

• The author argues that environmentalism as a movement has a poor history of engaging with Indigenous peoples, often operating on the assumption that non-Indigenous people should decide the fate of Indigenous land, which risks participating in "Indigenous erasure".
• Environmental efforts have caused harm to Indigenous peoples both globally through forced relocations and damage to sacred sites, and within Canada through campaigns that "inadvertently sacrifice Indigenous rights and health in pursuit of environmental change".
• The document asserts that systemic racism, including Islamophobia and the atrocities of the residential school system, are not anomalies but are "part of the systems that created Canada" and stem from the violence of its founding as a settler country.
• The author highlights systemic issues within the medical field, noting that genocide was perpetrated against Indigenous peoples through the medical system and that Indigenous individuals frequently experience racism when seeking care.
• CAPE identifies racism, Islamophobia, and discrimination as threats to health, comparable to climate change, air pollution, and chemical exposures, and seeks to ensure its work is "actively anti-racist".

APA

Anjali (2021). Our Work at CAPE and Systemic Racism in Canada. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/our-work-at-cape-and-systemic-racism-in-canada/

Chicago

Anjali. Our Work at CAPE and Systemic Racism in Canada. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2021. https://cape.ca/our-work-at-cape-and-systemic-racism-in-canada/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Anjali |title=Our Work at CAPE and Systemic Racism in Canada |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=22 June 2021 |url=https://cape.ca/our-work-at-cape-and-systemic-racism-in-canada/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{anjali2021our, author = {Anjali}, title = {{Our Work at CAPE and Systemic Racism in Canada}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://cape.ca/our-work-at-cape-and-systemic-racism-in-canada/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }