This summer, Canada experienced its worst wildfire season on record.
The fires destroyed nearly 18 million hectares of forest – an area more than twice the size of Lake Superior – and led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and exposed communities to dangerous wildfire smoke.
Climate change will continue to have a devastating impact on people’s health and lives, further straining health systems and destroying any opportunity for adaptation, warns the latest Lancet Countdown on Climate Change and Health and Climate Change. Unless ambitious climate action is taken urgently.
“In recent months, we have seen the serious health impacts of wildfires and severe flooding across Canada. At the Canadian Medical Association, we know that communicating the health impacts of the climate crisis is key to driving change. Acting slowly is comparable to not acting at all.” – Dr. Kathleen Ross, President of the Canadian Medical Association
Read the Lancet Countdown 2023 report
Working with the CMA, the Lancet produced a report with targeted recommendations for Canada, including phasing out and phasing out fossil fuels, improving cross-border coordination of emergency management during extreme weather events, and supporting healthy, sustainable food systems.
Read more about recommendations for Canada
The CMA’s ongoing commitment to addressing the health impacts of climate change includes creating a health system with net zero emissions by 2050.
As part of this work, the CMA is calling for the establishment of a national secretariat to work with provincial and territorial governments and indigenous peoples. This Secretariat would facilitate and coordinate the creation of climate-resilient and low-carbon sustainable health systems.
“Climate change has always been a health problem,” says Dr. Horse. “We urge governments and policymakers to work together to make sustainable, evidence-based decisions to slow the impacts of climate change now and in the future.”
Learn why Canada needs a net-zero emissions healthcare system
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