Air/Water Quality

• smog
• allergens/asthma
• indoor air
• flooding
• scarce resources
• toxic substances
• food supply
• drought

• Increased coordination and information exchange between Regional authorities responsible for public health and Federal authorities, Provincial authorities, other Regions, NGOs and public health professionals regarding policies/actions on the effects of air/water pollution wrought from climate change on the health of Canadians (e.g., impacts of air quality on health, emissions sources, current information on climate change issues, air quality monitoring data).
• Annual forum for information sharing among research community and municipal health/environment officials on air issues.
• Increased monitoring/surveillance, data collection.
• Environmental/pollution management (air, water, toxics), development and enforcement of standards.
• Energy efficiency policies (e.g., standards for air conditioners, clothes washers, water heaters, and commercial air conditioning, retrofit programs for residential air conditioning, commercial lighting, and commercial HVAC, improvements in residential and commercial new buildings).
• Innovative transportation approaches.
• Water demand and use reduced through increased efficiencies of its delivery and utilization (e.g., improving zoning).

Air/Water Quality

• Water control structures redesigned to handle greater variability of precipitation, including a possible increase in the intensity of extreme events (e.g., increase size of storm drains, culverts, bridge openings, increase absorbing capacity of urban landscape, storm sewer protection/maintenance programs).
• Encourage subwatershed planning.
• Increased capacity of existing water infrastructure (e.g., dams, sewers, drainage ditches, floodways).
• Public awareness about impacts of climate change and adaptation strategies.
• Disaster Preparedness (flood preparation, infrastructure renewal = dams, training, volunteer recruitment, public education, emergency response coordination, resource allocation).
• Use climate forecasting in water planning (e.g., planning and development of major infrastructure - reservoirs, transport networks, safety improvements at airports, floodways).
• Management of agriculture (food safety - water contamination).
• Smog/heat alert and warning systems and Smog Alert Response Plans (e.g., reduce use of gas and diesel vehicles, minimize idling, reduce use of oil based paints, solvents and cleaners).

Vector-borne Infectious Diseases

• vector-borne diseases
• imported food
• immigration
• severe weather events

• Increased coordination and information exchange between Regional authorities responsible for public health and Federal authorities, Provincial authorities, other Regions, NGOs and public health professionals regarding policies/actions on the effects of climate change on the incidence of infectious diseases in Canada.
• Blood donation/transfusion policies - need for increased information about greater stresses from infectious diseases which become endemic to Canada or are brought to Canada by travelers/immigrants.
• Disaster Preparedness - planning for the combat of infectious diseases that arise after natural disasters.
• Strengthen public health infrastructure related to the monitoring and control of infectious diseases (e.g., expanded access to medical care, health information capacity, enhanced private well water testing, food surveillance and inspection etc.).
• Improved vaccinations and drugs services to combat infectious diseases.
• Health promotion, disease prevention and health care of migrant populations and travelers.
• International travelers/immigration/refugee disease control.
• Enhanced disease control, information dissemination, investigation and consultation, development of standards and communicable disease control guidelines.
• Enhanced field epidemiology and surveillance skills training, improved epidemiological methods/models and improved disease surveillance systems.
• Integration of climate change and health considerations into food import and regulatory activities.

Vulnerable Populations

• Aboriginal Peoples
• children
• disabled
• homeless/poor
• immigrants
• seniors
• rural and urban health

• Increased coordination and information exchange between Regional authorities responsible for public health and Federal authorities, Provincial authorities, other Regions, NGOs and public health professionals regarding policies/actions on the effects of climate change on the health of vulnerable populations.
• Review and revise population health assessment practices.
• Land use planning. Coastal Zones - the risks associated with inundation and storms might be managed by using protective structures, restrictive land use zoning including setbacks and encroachment limits, development of new wetlands, adoption of building code provisions for structures located in vulnerable areas, and insurance programs for storm damage.
• Planting more trees.
• Consider adequacy of flood plain zones (sea-level rise).
• Emergency preparedness, strengthen emergency communications (flood preparation, infrastructure renewal = dams, training, volunteer recruitment, public education, emergency response coordination, resource allocation.
• Diversify power supply (extreme weather events).
• Examine public infrastructure and make adjustments to ensure public safety (e.g., dams and weirs, flood channels, dykes, land stabilization works, transmission towers, communication devices and channels, etc.).
• Strengthen public health infrastructure (e.g., expanded access to medical care for specific populations including preventative and primary care, disability services, immigrant population services, Aboriginal services, Children services, rural services).

Vulnerable Populations

• Improved housing and sanitation practices to combat infectious diseases for vulnerable populations.
• Use climate forecasting in all sorts of planning.
• Integration of climate change and human health considerations into current health information initiatives including the First Nations Regional Health Survey and the First Nations and Inuit Health Information System.
• Integration of climate change and health policy/actions related to vulnerable groups into efforts by many P/Ts to revise and update public health-related legislation or regulations in order to increase the profile of public health, increase enforcement, and strengthen disease surveillance.
• Strengthen the Arctic Land Fast Ice Advisory and Warning Service which rescues hunters on ice floes that are at sea.
• Extreme Weather Events - the risks associated with changes in location, frequency, or intensity of typhoons, monsoons, hurricanes, storms floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events could be managed by developing emergency response plans, developing early warning systems, implementing land use controls in vulnerable areas, developing insurance and compensation arrangements, modifying building codes, and international cost sharing mechanisms.
• Heat Weather Response Plans (e.g., identification of potential cooling sites, both public and private, (community centres, public pools, libraries) and areas where there are large numbers of seniors, use of a heat index, declaration of heat emergency and response plan at certain Humidex (45 degrees Celsius), hostels asked to stay open, transit tokens distributed to homeless, city nursing staff to visit people at risk, increased public access to drinking water and bathing facilities.