Moving to a sustainable society means knowing the risks and benefits of what is happening now and what would happen if certain changes were made. Research capacity is an important sustainability indicator, particularly for the protection of human and ecosystem health, because many of the factors that combine to influence health and environment in the context of sustainable development remain unknown or uncertain.
Some of the key indicators of our ability to know what is happening and assess risks are:
- Spending on environmental risk research, and
- The number of advanced programs of study focusing on environment and health. (For example: McMaster Institute of Environment and Health, McMaster University, Diploma Program in Environment and Health)
Federal Government Capacity
The federal government is the primary source of expertise and information on a wide range of health and sustainability issues. However, its ability to maintain that expertise suffered during the budget cutbacks of the 1990s.
Canada’s Commissioner on Sustainable Development and the Environment 1999 Report made the following observations:
The federal government's ability to detect and understand the effects of toxic substances on Canadians and our ecosystems is seriously threatened.
- There is a growing gap between the demands placed on federal departments to provide scientific information on toxic substances and their ability to meet existing obligations and respond to emerging issues.
Co-ordination and collaboration among departments in research and monitoring needs leadership
.- There are also significant shortcomings in the federal government's environmental monitoring activities and programs. These deficiencies impact the government's ability to assess the risks of toxic substances.
An effective monitoring system does not exist.
- There is no substitute for Canadian-based monitoring information. Well-designed and well-equipped monitoring sites can-and must-serve multiple environmental and health issues. Time after time, federal departments and other organizations have stressed the importance of and need for effective monitoring, and so have various studies, assessments and international agreements. Despite this, Environment Canada's resources for monitoring have been declining steadily since 1990. We expected to find that Environment Canada, together with other departments, had established clear priorities and coordinated existing national programs and monitoring networks, including provisions for data assessment, to meet established objectives.
Toxic Substances Research Initiative
Environment Canada and Health Canada together have committed a budget of nearly $11 million dollars to research reduction the risk of adverse effects of toxic substances on Canadians and their environment.
1999-2000 funding in each priority research area
|
Subject |
Budget ($millions) |
|
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) |
$2.32 |
|
Metals in the Environment |
$2.05 |
|
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals |
$2.16 |
|
Urban Air Quality and Human Exposure to Air Pollutants |
$2.19 |
|
Cumulative Effects of Toxic Substances |
$2.22 |
The projects provide for more than 330 researchers across Canada, with representation in each of the provinces.
Many of the research projects include strong partnerships between government, industry, academe and non-governmental sectors, meeting the government’s commitment to support broad-based collaboration on toxic substances research and management.
Home
Health & Environment Introduction
EXTERNAL LINKS
Economic burden of illness in Canada 1993
Agenda 21 and Health
Health Canada Sustainable Strategy