Indigenous, community and research partnership to collaboratively explore environmental justice, unconventional gas development (UGD), wildfires, and health in Northeast British Columbia

UGD is taking place in Northeast BC, close to traditional territories of First Nations who rely on the land for food, water, ceremonial practices and cultural identity. People living in the region have also faced unprecedented wildfires. Health concerns about UGD include carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and asthma triggers while the negative health impacts of wildfires are only beginning to be understood. To our knowledge, there is almost no research into the combined effects of both UGD and wildfire exposures. Furthermore, neither UGD nor wildfires are distributed or experienced equally across Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. Indigenous communities in Canada are more likely to be evacuated due to wildfires and face disproportionately greater negative health impacts from UGD. Applying a lens of environmental justice and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, our goal is to partner with the Saulteau First Nation and local health providers to review the current research on the health impacts of UGD while understanding the lived experiences and priorities of research users. We will work together to review and co-design the best approaches to studying the dual health impacts of UGD and wildfires in Northeastern BC.