Formal Submission to the Government of Canada National Adaptation Strategy Public Engagement Process

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) submitted recommendations to the Government of Canada for the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS), emphasizing the need to integrate a planetary health lens to protect physical and mental health against climate change.

• CAPE reports that physicians are already observing climate-related health impacts in patients, including increased depression and anxiety during wildfire smoke events in Vancouver, risks to older patients with asthma during extreme heat in Toronto, and a doubling of ER visits for asthma in Yellowknife during the 2014 wildfire summer.
• The submission recommends that the NAS explicitly address inequalities and vulnerabilities, noting that extreme heat disproportionately affects women, older individuals, those living in poverty, people experiencing homelessness or social isolation, outdoor/hot-environment workers, and those in racialized or economically deprived neighborhoods with low greenness and thermal insecure buildings.
• CAPE advises the Government of Canada to replace the term "health" with "physical and mental health" within the NAS to ensure mental health impacts—such as ecological grief, PTSD, and anxiety—are adequately addressed. They also suggest that involving the population in adaptation efforts can provide mental health benefits and empower community members.
• The document highlights risks to health system infrastructure during extreme weather, citing the 2017 Fort McMurray forest fires as an example of hospital evacuations. CAPE recommends that hospitals be built or retrofitted as "anchor institutions" to serve as safe havens for the community during climate events.
• CAPE advocates for the use of natural infrastructure—such as expanding urban tree canopies and green spaces—to mitigate extreme heat, flooding, and storm surges. They note that natural infrastructure is often more resilient and less expensive than "gray" or "hard" infrastructure, providing co-benefits like cleaner air and water.
• Regarding strategy implementation, CAPE argues that the NAS must include defined "outcomes" (expected societal changes) and specific targets within the main strategy rather than deferring them to accompanying action plans to ensure accountability and proper investment.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2022). Formal Submission to the Government of Canada National Adaptation Strategy Public Engagement Process. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CAPE-Submission-to-National-Adaptation-Strategy-Engagement-Process-July-2022.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Formal Submission to the Government of Canada National Adaptation Strategy Public Engagement Process. 2022. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CAPE-Submission-to-National-Adaptation-Strategy-Engagement-Process-July-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Formal Submission to the Government of Canada National Adaptation Strategy Public Engagement Process |date=July 2022 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CAPE-Submission-to-National-Adaptation-Strategy-Engagement-Process-July-2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2022formal, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Formal Submission to the Government of Canada National Adaptation Strategy Public Engagement Process}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CAPE-Submission-to-National-Adaptation-Strategy-Engagement-Process-July-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }