canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management-9dad84ffc7114ef4.pdf

This briefing note by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) discusses Canada's ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and the current state of mercury management in Canada, with a specific focus on Ontario. It outlines scientific assessments of mercury as a neurotoxin, the role of the IISD-Experimental Lake Area (IISD-ELA) in mercury research, and the international and domestic regulatory frameworks governing mercury emissions, releases, and waste management.

• Canada has ratified the Minamata Convention on Mercury, joining 40 other countries. This commitment requires the Canadian federal government to implement domestic strategies to track and reduce transboundary mercury pollution, including managing emissions, point source releases, exposure, and the remediation of contaminated sites.
• Anthropogenic emissions account for approximately 40% of total mercury deposition in Canada, and the vast majority of those emissions (over 95%) originate from outside Canada's borders, with Asia cited as a source of long-range transport.
• Mercury is a neurotoxin that bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in the food chain, posing significant public health risks to infants, young children, and populations relying on traditional wild food sources or large predatory fish. In some cases, predatory fish and wildlife can have mercury levels 1,000,000 times higher than the surrounding freshwater.
• The IISD-Experimental Lake Area (IISD-ELA) has conducted extensive research on mercury, including the ELA Reservoir Project (ELARP) and the METAALICUS study. These projects demonstrated that reservoir construction increases mercury methylation and that restrictions on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants can lead to decreased methylmercury accumulation in fish in remote lakes.
• Mercury management in Ontario involves several regulatory and program-based interventions, including the Toxics Reduction Act for emissions control, the Ontario Dental Amalgam Waste Disposal Regulation for product management, and a provincial commitment to remediate industrial mercury contamination affecting the Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemong First Nations.
• Future priorities for mercury management in Canada and Ontario include developing safe disposal methods for mercury waste from smelters, addressing non-point sources such as reservoirs and flooded areas, implementing remediation plans for contaminated sites, and filling science gaps regarding the impacts of climate change on mercury mobilization.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management-9dad84ffc7114ef4.pdf. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management-9dad84ffc7114ef4.pdf. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management-9dad84ffc7114ef4.pdf |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndcanadaadvancingglobaleffortsmercurymanagement9dad84ffc7114ef4pdf, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management-9dad84ffc7114ef4.pdf}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canada-advancing-global-efforts-mercury-management.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }