Presentation on Bill C-30 Canada’s Clean Air Act Louis Drouin, M. D Presentation on Bill C-30  Canada’s Clean Air Act Louis Drouin, M.D., M.P.H. and Norman King, M.Sc. Secteur Environnement urbain et santé Direction de santé publique Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal Legislative Committee on Bill C-30 House of Commons Ottawa, February 15, 2007

Act now : The current and future health impacts of air pollution and climate change are major

Major health impacts of air pollution: Excess mortality due to cardiorespiratory diseases and lung cancer (5900 premature deaths per year in 8 Canadian cities; 1540 in Montreal) Excess hospitalizations, especially for people living along major city roads (Smargiassi et al, 2006) Aggravation of symptoms in people suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases Decrease in lung growth in children

Major health impacts of climate change caused by an increase in GHG: Devastating European heat wave in 2003: 15,000 deaths in France over a two week period In Montreal: 3 heat wave episodes since the mid 1980s causing approximately 100 deaths each Increased concentration of VOCs, ozone and mould spores Lengthened growing season for ragweed

Act now: Solutions exist Integrated approach $1 spent = $3 in health benefits

Canada’s Clean Air Act must: Determine quantifiable objectives for ambient air and for release of air pollutants and GHG into the air Establish a management plan with precise implementation deadlines Establish evaluation criteria (art. 103.07 (6))

Ambient air (art. 103.07): Integrate WHO recommendations Note: Total long term mortality could decrease by 15% with lower levels of air pollution  

Regulations on release of air pollutants and GHG (art. 103.09) The government must regulate: Release of air pollutants from fixed and mobile sources GHG emissions from fixed and mobile sources in order to respect the Kyoto protocol Note : wood burning responsible for 47% of PM2,5 of human origin in Quebec 41% in Canada. Transport responsible for 85% of NOx in Quebec, 52% in Canada Note : electric and petroleum industries : 37% of GHG emissions in Canada ; transport 47% of GHG emissions in the Montreal region, 38% in Québec and 25% in Canada.

Act now with an integrated approach concerning both air pollutants and GHG: Several intervention strategies (legislation, financial incentives, education, empowerment) Different levels (local, regional, national, international)  Several sectors (energy, transport, industry, agriculture, land use development, etc.)

Integrated approach: transport Decrease the number of trips, the number of km travelled and increase the efficiency of vehicles by: Improving financing of public transit Improving urban planning (smart growth, transit oriented development, promotion of active transport) Developing other alternatives to single occupant automobiles (employer programmes, car-sharing) Rendering vehicles more efficient (regulations) Influencing consumer choices (financial incentives) Diversifying transportation of merchandise (ex. : rail)

An integrated approach for transportation To diminish: Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases caused by air pollution Deaths caused by air pollution and heat waves Traffic accidents Obesity and associated diseases due to increased physical activity

Additional recommendation Add an article to the act specifying that: The government must ensure that all ministries adopt the required orientations in order to meet the objectives determined by the act and its regulations.

An investment of $1 obtains $3 in health benefits In order to diminish the impacts of air pollutants and GHG, it is necessary to: Determine quantifiable objectives on air pollutants and GHG Determine an action plan with precise deadlines Attain objectives by use of an integrated approach Inform the public about attainment of objectives An investment of $1 obtains $3 in health benefits

the health of Canada’s population depends on it! Act now, the health of Canada’s population depends on it!