Lessons from the pandemic: environmental health requires government action

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) asserts that the government must shift from risk management to a hazard prevention paradigm to protect public health. Key recommendations include eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, reforming the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), implementing a just transition for workers and Indigenous peoples, and adopting a planetary health lens to integrate climate adaptation and mitigation.

• The burning of fossil fuels is linked to significant global health crises, with fine particulate pollution estimated to cause one in five premature deaths worldwide. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is projected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually due to heat stress, malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition.
• To ensure a healthy recovery and address the climate emergency, the Canadian government should end all public financing and subsidies for the oil and gas sector, ban fossil fuel advertising, and cancel the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
• Canada needs a well-funded national climate adaptation strategy with a high-level implementation secretariat and should join the WHO's COP26 health programme to develop climate-resilient, low carbon health systems.
• The government is urged to reform the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) by Summer 2022 to recognize the right to a healthy environment, establish mandatory timelines to reduce delays, and create an expedited process for banning the most harmful substances.
• A shift from 'risk management' to a 'hazard prevention' paradigm is necessary to better protect the public from respiratory illnesses, cancers, and reproductive harms. This includes eliminating thermal coal exports as a just approach to preventing hazardous exposures.
• A just transition to net-zero requires specific legislation and the full integration of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action to ensure the wellbeing of workers and Indigenous peoples.

APA

McArthur, J. (2021). Lessons from the pandemic: environmental health requires government action. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/lessons-from-the-pandemic-environmental-health-requires-government-action/

Chicago

McArthur, Jane. Lessons from the pandemic: environmental health requires government action. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2021. https://cape.ca/lessons-from-the-pandemic-environmental-health-requires-government-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=McArthur |first1=Jane |title=Lessons from the pandemic: environmental health requires government action |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=26 October 2021 |url=https://cape.ca/lessons-from-the-pandemic-environmental-health-requires-government-action/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mcarthur2021lessons, author = {McArthur, Jane}, title = {{Lessons from the pandemic: environmental health requires government action}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://cape.ca/lessons-from-the-pandemic-environmental-health-requires-government-action/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }