The Air We Breathe

It’s free, it’s all around us, and we can’t live without it for more than a few minutes. But we often take the air we breathe for granted, especially here in Canada.

Air pollution is a significant environmental health problem. In Canada alone, it is responsible for causing thousands of deaths, millions of cases of illness, billions of dollars in health care expenses, and tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity every year.

The David Suzuki Foundation is working to turn this around, and to ensure that Canadians enjoy the best possible air quality.

In the report, The Air We Breathe, the David Suzuki Foundation found that Canada provides weaker protection for human health from air pollution than the U.S., Australia, or the European Union. Significantly, Canada is the only nation to rely on voluntary national guidelines, which provide a far weaker approach to controlling air pollution than the enforceable standards in place elsewhere.

The report also includes five key recommendations for improving the health and well-being of Canadians and reducing the negative health impacts of air pollution.
Download the full report or executive summary.

Canada’s Clean Air and Climate Change Act (Bill C-30) started out as a weak bill, but was strengthened and improved by a multi-party committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. Unfortunately, those improvements will not be seen, as the federal government has chosen to drop the bill.

In April 2007, a new Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions was announced. This framework proposes to limit industrial emissions of both greenhouse gases and key pollutants affecting air quality – nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter (PM).

The current approach has many critical deficiencies:

• Lacks legally-binding, health-based standards for air quality;
• Ignores solutions offered in regional airsheds ;
• Allows NOx and SOx reduction targets to be undermined by national emissions trading;
• Delays implementation until 2012 at the earliest, or more likely 2015.

For more see: "Federal Climate plan an embarrassment to Canadians” (April 27, 2007)

---

Radon: The Unfamiliar Killer This short report outlines a series of Canadian guidelines that can reduce the negative the health risks associated with radon, one of the most toxic sources of indoor air pollution in Canada.

Download report (PDF 5.5 MB)

 

 

---

More information on outdoor air pollution