The Ontario Public Health…

The Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) is a member-based non-profit, non-partisan organization which has been providing an independent voice for public health for nearly 70 years. We bring together a broad spectrum of individuals and groups from various backgrounds and sectors from public health, health care to the academic, voluntary and private sector, who are all committed to promoting health and wellbeing through health promotion, protection and prevention.

That is why OPHA is calling on the Ontario Government to take immediate action in the form of strong policy, effective programs and a financial commitment to protect the health of all Ontarians from the impacts of climate change, both today and in the future.

Recent events such as the extreme temperatures that Ontario has experienced this past summer, the increasing number and extent of forest fires, tornadoes and other wind events, toxic algal blooms in surface water, and the damage from heavy rainfall and flood events illustrate the widespread impact climate change can have on our health, our environment and our economy.

Scientific evidence is increasingly drawing links between climate change and health impacts such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and negative mental health outcomes, to name a few. Climate change has contributed to increased heat-related mortality and expanded the range of vector-borne diseases. Costs to the health care system from these and other climate related health impacts will continue to increase unless action is taken to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The integrity and health of the ecosystems on which all species rely is under threat from climate change and extreme weather events. A 2017 report prepared by EcoHealth Ontario for the Ontario Biodiversity Council describes conserving biodiversity as a public health imperative and the impacts of biological diversity, climate change and social change on human health and well-being. Climate change and biodiversity are inextricably linked – climate change threatens Ontario’s biodiversity while biodiversity improves Ontario’s resilience and adaptability to climate change.

Damage to public infrastructure, homes, buildings, properties and natural resources has caused huge economic losses to individuals, businesses and government. The severe rainstorm in July 2013 has been described as the most expensive natural disaster in Ontario’s history with an estimated flood and property damage of $940 million in Toronto alone. Corporations, small businesses, and municipalities are increasingly recognizing potential liabilities and the costs of inaction. The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy estimated that the economic costs of climate change in Canada will rise from about $5 billion annually in 2020 to between $21 and $43 billion by 2050.

The recent release of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5˚C, stressed the critical need to reduce carbon emissions, noting that “rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial systems” is required to avoid the substantial risks anticipated for global temperatures rising above 1.5˚C. Furthermore, the Special Report also noted with high confidence that increases in temperature above 1.5˚C to 2˚C would increase the risk to human health from vector borne diseases and extreme heat.

OPHA urges the Ontario Government to reconsider Bill 4 and support a carbon pricing program, along with other programs that can further climate change goals. There is broad global consensus that some form of carbon pricing is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time, drive a clean productive economy. This conclusion was reinforced by the awarding this month of the Nobel Prize for Economics to an economist whose decades long work has focussed on climate change and the value of using price to reduce carbon emissions.

OPHA is troubled by the loss of $2.9 billion in Ontario funds (raised through cap and trade) and the $1.9 billion that had been directed towards programs that further reduced greenhouse gas emissions – programs related to public transit, energy efficiency, renewable energy projects, energy retrofits at hospitals, social housing and schools, and active transportation infrastructure.

If Bill 4 goes forward, OPHA strongly urges the Provincial Government to:
• quickly take action by investing in and funding solutions to climate change in Ontario;
• establish a strong climate change policy with clear actions to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, that considers the current and long-term impacts of action on our health, our environment and our economy;
• set aggressive GHG reduction targets that show Ontario as a leader in both combating climate change and advancing innovation that will lead us into a sustainable and prosperous future;
• At a minimum, these targets should commit Ontario to reducing its climate emissions to 15% below 1990 levels by 2020, 37% below 1990 levels by 2030, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050;
• regulate, incentivize, and encourage GHG emission reductions, through evidence-based solutions such as carbon pricing, while ensuring that polluters pay, that innovative sustainable technologies are supported across Ontario, and that our most vulnerable populations (e.g. low-income Ontarians) are not only protected but benefit, either through tax breaks, rebates or other mechanisms; and
• report annually on the progress of the government’s climate change policy, in terms of GHG emission reductions relative to targets established, measures, actions and programs to adapt to climate change, and supports provided to vulnerable Ontarians.

OPHA believes that climate change is one of the greatest public health challenges of our century and it is imperative to act now. Opportunities exist today for the provincial government to respond to climate change. Taking action to mitigate and adapt to climate change can result in multiple co-benefits to our health, improve our air quality, protect our environment and strengthen our economy. Strong climate change policy, investing in climate change solutions, and supporting vulnerable populations will ensure that Ontarians are prepared for climate change today and in the future.

Thank you for your consideration.