Canada’s Toxic Valley

The Aamjiwnaang are a a First Nations community of around 2,500 Chippewa Aboriginal Peoples. Their name means ‘at the spawning stream’, derived from their proximity to the St.Clair River on the outskirts of Sarnia, Canada.

Oil was first discovered in Sarnia in the mid 1800s. During the Second World War, petrochemical industry in the area boomed. Today, around 40% of Canada’s industry is located within a 25km area, giving it the title of Chemical Valley. Local residents frequently describe a stench in the air of rotten egg. The World Health Organisation classified Sarnia in 2013 as having the worst air quality in the nation.

This VICE investigation starts by showing Vanessa Gray, a local activist, infiltrate and disrupt a local energy conference. She asks representatives for oil companies for the right to breathe and have safe drinking water. Later, we hear from Christine Rogers, a local Aamjiwnaang mother who fears for her children’s future. She describes their bloodshot, crusty eyes as a consequence of a recent Hydrogen Sulphide leak.

This documentary encapsulates the acute air pollution problems many indigenous and marginalised communities face across the world. It reveals air pollution’s racist and insidious traces.