A/HRC/54/31/Add.2 G. Impact of business activities and climate change on Indigenous Peoples 57. Secure and equitable access to, use of and control over land can have direct and indirect implications for the enjoyment of a range of rights enshrined in the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 43 such as the right to food and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the devastating intergenerational consequences of decades of mercury contamination on the Grassy Narrows First Nation, in particular with regard to children who are experiencing seizures, speech impairments and learning disabilities. Historical mercury contamination from a pulp and paper mill, along with large-scale industrial clear-cut logging, which is occurring without good faith consultation or the consent of the First Nation, is threatening the community members’ health, cultural practices, plant medicine and food security. Most Grassy Narrows members have received no compensation for harm caused by the ongoing mercury contamination. In an important step forward, the First Nation reached an agreement with Canada to provide Can$ 19.5 million towards the construction of the Mercury Care Home, expected to open in 2023, and Can$ 68.9 million towards its services and operations. 58. In 2019 Canada passed the Impact Assessment Act to assess positive and negative environmental, economic, health, and social effects of proposed projects, including the impact on Indigenous Peoples. Implementation of the Act is a priority for Indigenous Peoples, to avoid environmental and cultural impacts of development projects on their lands. Many Indigenous Peoples welcome the agreement by Canada to engage in a regional impact assessment under the Act, led jointly with Indigenous groups and the province of Ontario, in the Ring of Fire area. However, the regional assessment is not yet under way, and the First Nations warn that if mining and other development in the Ring of Fire proceeds without a comprehensive, jointly led regional assessment that considers the cumulative effects across the geographical region, it will pose serious risks to their lands. Indigenous Peoples’ own environmental assessments must be also respected. For example, the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation conducted an independent review of the Trans Mountain pipeline and withheld their consent after finding that the project threatens their very identity as a people. 59. Indigenous Peoples, particularly in the north, are increasingly experiencing the negative effects of climate change, including deforestation, wildfires, flooding, drought and other extreme weather events that threaten community health and safety. Such effects have led to evacuations and additional risks to community members, especially where there is housing insecurity and deficiencies in emergency management. 60. The impacts of climate change, alongside hydroelectric power projects and clearcutting of forests in the Innu territory of Passamit in Québec, have negatively reshaped subsistence lifestyles, leading to the loss of culturally significant species such as caribou. The Passamit Innu are fighting to maintain their cultural and Indigenous knowledge, and have asked the provincial government to engage in meaningful consultations to provide restitution of land and compensation for the loss of resources. 61. In his 2022 report to the Human Rights Council,44 the Special Rapporteur highlighted the importance of recognizing Indigenous women’s scientific and technical knowledge and its application in mitigating and adapting to the devastating consequences of climate change. Indigenous women are active change agents in society and champions of sustainability, their scientific knowledge has a key role to play in safeguarding ecosystems and ensuring environmental justice and equity. 62. The Kaska Dene are one of many First Nations in Canada who have established Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas governed through Indigenous law and knowledge systems. Indigenous women lead two thirds of the 23 proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and nearly half the Indigenous Land Guardian programmes, which manage, restore and monitor protected areas. 43 44 12 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 26 (2022), para. 5. A/HRC/51/28. GE.23-13374