7 public health units to 'work together' to adapt to climate change in northern Ontario

With a hefty sum from Health Canada, seven public health units across northern Ontario will collaborate over the next two years to produce a set of reports on how climate change will affect their community's health.

Health workers expect the changing environment to bring about new health issues and exacerbate existing ones not only in the region, but all over the world.

"There's an increased likelihood of extreme heat events," said Dr. Kit Young-Hoon, the medical officer of health at the Northwestern Health Unit, where the project is being administered. She said the spread of vector-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus, are also expected.

Rates of Lyme disease, in particular, have already seen a surge in northwestern Ontario the past couple years.

The $300,000 from the federal government will help to facilitate a two-part investigation into further vulnerabilities each community faces, and the ways that municipalities will be able to adapt. Young-Hoon said this will involve "the engagement of stakeholders within the region," to understand what the risks may be.

"From there, it will [include] fleshing out an assessment, producing recommendations, and [...] moving forward with educating the general public," she added.

Working together

Lee Sieswerda, the manager of environmental programs at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, said that, while the project is mandated by Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, the seven health units chose to work together, rather than each having to "reinvent the wheel."

Given that northern Ontario will experience different impacts than southern Ontario, to work together to create a set of common tools and methodologies would make it easier for all health units to share information and compare issues, he said.

Still, Young-Hoon said she recognizes that northern Ontario itself is "geographically vast," and there will be "differences in how our populations might be experiencing climate change."

Northwestern Ontario is 'worse'

Remote northern communities are especially vulnerable to climate health risks, Sieswerda said. "We're seeing lots of evacuations related to forest fires and floods, [as] a direct result."

A vast number of health impacts will also "ripple" from shorter ice road seasons, he said. "Food security and healthy eating would be impacted. All kinds of goods and services that travel along those ice roads actually make it affordable."

Young-Hoon said that when it comes to populations that do not have access to health care, and are afflicted with poverty and homelessness, northwestern Ontario is "worse than the rest of the region."

"If an individual is trying to deal with extreme weather or heat events, they need a place that they can go [...] where they can escape the emergency situation," she said.

The information collected in these reports, she explained, will be used to motivate all local municipalities and groups to create policies, programs and initiatives that are specific to their area.

After the two-year project is completed, the work won't stop, said Young-Hoon. "[We'll continue] looking for funding, and ongoing education and monitoring, to assess how the work is being done and whether it's effective."

Sieswerda noted that the results may "funnel up" and eventually result in change at the provincial government level as well.