May 6, 2005
For Immediate Release

News Release

Minister Hosts Consultations on the Environment and Public Health

VANCOUVER - As part of an ongoing initiative to develop public health goals for Canada, Federal Minister of State (Public Health), Carolyn Bennett, is hosting a meeting today on the environment and public health.

The event brings together leaders in the fields of the environment and public health to explore interconnections and to begin looking at how public policy within the two areas can be aligned with the overall goal of improving the health of Canadians.

"People recognize the obvious connections between our environment and our health. We recognize the impact of things such as poor air and water quality on our health. We need to expand our thinking to broader issues and consider, for instance, how the very design of cities and our living spaces impact our ability to make healthy choices," explained Minister Bennett.

The expert roundtable is part of the Canada-wide consultations launched in March by Minister Bennett and Manitoba Minister of Healthy Living, Theresa Oswald. The Ministers have already conducted nine consultations in communities across Canada in a process designed to produce public health goals that will help make Canada the healthiest country in the world.

"We've had great input on the goals to this point and now, we're moving on to the next step. We want to engage Canadians on specific themes so that we consult as widely and as deeply as possible," said Minister Oswald. "We're doing this not just because we want the best advice out there but we also want all Canadians to feel ownership of and pride in the final goals."

This is the first in a series of six meetings, each on a specific subject area related to public health. The themes of each of these six meetings are based on the subject areas of the recently created National Collaborating Centres for Public Health. The National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, located in Vancouver, examines issues such as how changes in the environment, climate, shelter, water, food and air quality affect the health of Canadians.

In addition to this meeting, additional meetings will take place based on the themes of the other NCCs:

• Public Health Methodologies and Tools
• Infectious Diseases
• Determinants of Health
• Aboriginal Health
• Public Policy and Risk Assessment

A summary of this meeting along with the results from the other consultations will be posted on the Public Health Goals web site at www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hgc-osc/. Additional information on the Canada-wide consultation process and an electronic survey are available on the web site to enable as many Canadians as possible to become directly involved.

Elected officials, community groups and non-governmental organizations will also be provided with a public health goals consultation activity guide so they can host roundtables within their own communities.

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Media Inquiries:

Jean-Mathieu Dion
Public Health Agency of Canada
(613) 948-7970

Tricia Geddes
Office of the Minister of State (Public Health), Carolyn Bennett
(613) 299-6940

Jonathan Hildebrand
Office of the Minister of Healthy Living, Theresa Oswald
(204) 945-1494

Blair Parkhurst
Public Health Agency of Canada
B.C. / Yukon Regional Office
(604) 666-2310