Opinion: Restrictions on the harmful forever chemicals all around us are long overdue
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We are witnessing the early stages of a public health emergency. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), aka 'forever chemicals,' are ubiquitous in our daily lives — and their severe, long-term health consequences could impact generations to come.
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This situation demands immediate and decisive action. Yet even now, plastics and chemical companies are working hard to weaken upcoming federal regulations. So, as physicians, we are sounding the alarm.
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PFAS chemicals can be found everywhere: in our cookware, clothing, cosmetics, furniture, pesticides and food packaging; and are accumulating in our water, soil and air. As a result, PFAS are now detectable in the blood of 98.5 per cent of people in Canada.
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The chemicals are linked to a growing list of serious health issues, including cancers, liver damage, cardiovascular disease, low infant birth weight, thyroid disease, immune system dysfunction, infertility, asthma and more. A recent study identified the first link between PFAS accumulation in the central nervous system and clinical and biological markers of Alzheimer's disease.
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Exposure and harm are highest among certain at-risk populations, making this an environmental justice issue. Babies, children and teenagers are at greatest risk from PFAS' endocrine-disrupting properties, which can permanently alter their developing bodies and brains. Young children also absorb more contaminants per body weight.
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Indigenous peoples in the North are exposed to especially high levels of PFAS. The chemicals bioaccumulate in the body tissues of living organisms, including the Arctic marine mammals that Inuit and Northern First Nations depend on for food. PFAS are also used in the process of 'fracking' for gas, impacting the mostly Indigenous, racialized and rural communities nearby.
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Why is PFAS so widespread, when there is an overwhelming scientific consensus about their dangers? The answer lies in an industry with too much influence on the government regulatory systems that should be protecting us.
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Industry has known about the harms of PFAS for decades, but hid their data from regulators and the public. While plastics and chemical companies have been making billions in profits from PFAS, the world has been incurring trillions in health and cleanup costs. These costs are estimated at up to $9 billion for Canada alone.
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We're in a make-or-break moment to change all of this. In 2021, the Canadian government finally committed to action on PFAS. The process is underway to list and regulate PFAS as a harmful class of chemicals under the updated Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Yet even now, plastics and chemical companies are lobbying to weaken these upcoming regulations.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Research funding not keeping up with demand in Nunavut
Social Sharing Joël Bêty has been studying various bird species on Bylot Island, north of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, for more than 25 years — but this year is looking different from most. Usually, he and his team set up five camps stretched across about 500 square kilometres on Bylot Island. But increased logistical costs associated with the project will limit Bêty's work to two camps this season. His is one of several research projects in the territory to be affected by rising costs while funding remains stagnant. Bêty, a professor in the department of biology, chemistry and geography at the University of Quebec's Rimouski campus, relies on helicopters to access the remote sites, but he said higher fares have forced him to cut his travel in half. "I'll be covering a much smaller area for sampling, so that'll give me data that's not quite as good ... and it'll also cut into the longer-term tracking we're trying to do over a large area," he said. "When we're trying to understand the impacts of climate change … it's really important to do that long-term tracking." Vital logistical support Dominique Berteaux is another professor in the same department who also carries out research on Bylot Island. His work focuses on various predator species, including lemmings. Like Bêty and Berteaux, many researchers who carry out their work in Nunavut rely on Natural Resources Canada's Polar Continental Shelf Program for support. Its Arctic logistics hub, set up in Resolute Bay, helps pair researchers with specialized equipment, helicopters and twin-engine aircraft. Berteaux said the program's funding to cover the costs of helicopter flying hours is about $50,000 less than it was in 2024. While he was able to cover the gap through other funding sources, he said he's concerned that those kinds of budget restraints will affect Arctic research overall. "There's lots of research in the North that can't happen without the support from the Polar Continental Shelf Program," he said. Both researchers agree that the program's funding hasn't kept up with inflation in recent years. In an email, Maria Ladouceur, a communications adviser with Natural Resources Canada, said the federal government allocated $49 million over five years to the program in its 2024 budget, and then "$10 million of ongoing funding after 2029-2030." "Despite consistent funding, demand for the services of [the Polar Continental Shelf Program] often exceeds available resources, particularly considering the reality that operating in the North is more costly than elsewhere," reads Ladouceur's email. "The [program] remains committed to delivering safe, effective and equitable services, while also addressing essentially operational requirements to ensure the long-term sustainability of its services." More projects, less funding A 2023 report by Canada's chief science adviser, Mona Nemer, says "northern research alone could increase eightfold by 2040, requiring significant growth in logistical capacity." Bêty is concerned that will result in less funds allocated to each project. "If you increase the competition between researchers, obviously there's going to be a smaller amount for each one," Bêty said. Philippe Archambault, science director for ArcticNet, said his organization already can't fund as many projects as it used to. Of the 72 proposals it received this year, only 22 received funding, about 31 per cent. According to Archambault, 10 years ago that number would have been closer to 43 per cent. In an effort to try and spread the funding to more projects, the organization is also more stringent on what it'll put money behind, he explained. The trend, he said, is due to stagnant funding over the past few years that doesn't take into account increased costs of carrying out the research. "The fuel, any airfare — so when you take the plane, it's more expensive," he said. "When you go and stay in a community … all these prices have increased. So all the equipment, everything increased." In 2019, ArcticNet received $32.5 million over five years from the federal government through its Networks of Centres of Excellence initiative. The organization will receive that same amount — this time from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — over 2024-29. Negative effects on relations with Inuit communities Stagnant funding is also affecting how researchers engage Inuit communities, said Archambault. "Some projects decrease the number of days in the Arctic. They also sometimes decide not to do any type of consultation, or not as long as usual," he said. "So they go to the North, do the consultation and try to do the field work right away, which is not the right way of doing it with our Indigenous partners. "The lack of funding will definitely bring us back to some extent," he added.
Canada Standard
2 hours ago
- Canada Standard
A Milestone in Realizing a Vision for Canadian Leadership in Arctic Science: New exhibition about Indigenous Knowledge App opens at Canadian High Arctic Research Station
June 4, 2025-Cambridge Bay, Nunavut Today, a vision for Arctic science realizes a major milestone. Polar Knowledge Canada marks 10 years since its creation through a knowledge-sharing collaboration with the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Arctic Eider Society. On display at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, is a new exhibition co-developed by the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Arctic Eider Society with support from Polar Knowledge Canada. The exhibition showcases SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge App, as a practical application of Indigenous Knowledge taking a leading role in science. SIKU is the Inuktitut word for sea ice. SIKU, the mobile and online technology platform created by and for Indigenous communities provides a platform for communities to manage their own programs for harvesting, guardians and community-driven research and monitoring. The exhibition at CHARS, which is open to the public and will be on view until the end of 2025, tells the story of how SIKU was developed on a framework of self-determination and data sovereignty piloted by the Arctic Eider Society. With stunning imagery and interactive displays, visitors can learn how individual harvesters, as well as communities, use their own language and knowledge systems to document environmental changes and observations in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The exhibition is a symbol of the vision that began almost 20 years ago to establish a world-class research facility in the Canadian high Arctic. Polar Knowledge Canada was created in June of 2015 with the Royal Assent of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Act . CHARS was built over the first five years and is now fully operational, hosting and collaborating with researchers from across Canada and around the world. The scientific program strives to advance knowledge of ecosystems in the North - terrestrial, freshwater, marine and air - to monitor and understand the effects of changes to the climate in the Arctic, where the earth is warming at a rate four times faster than the rest of the planet. To examine and test sustainable energy technologies and infrastructure solutions and how they work in the extreme Northern environment, in an effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the North and the impacts it has on communities and the environment. And to understand the connection between community wellness and environmental health, such as the impact of diseases in animals that are traditionally harvested, as well as to communicate to Northern communities about how to protect themselves when consuming country food with the changes the mammal, fish and bird populations are experiencing. More about the exhibition: SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge APP Divided into five sections, the exhibition, includes information panels and testimonials, as well as three videos, two activities for children and a feature presentation of the film People of a Feather. The first section introduces SIKU including a video The second and third sections delve into the importance of SIKU as a tool for Indigenous self-determination and for sharing Indigenous knowledge. Five project case studies from Nunavut, Nunatsiavut, Nitassinan and Eyou Itshee are featured in more detail. There are also videos about the SIKU Ice Watch and Goose Watch campaigns, which engage users in sharing knowledge about ice conditions and the spring goose migration. The fourth section zeroes in on projects around Cambridge Bay that use SIKU. One monitors the prevalence of biting insects, and the other is SmartICE, a well-established ice-monitoring program across the Arctic. The final section delves into the creation of SIKU by the Arctic Eider Society, an Inuit organization in Sanikiluaq, including its use as part of the Qikiqtait Protected Area initiative for the Belcher Islands Archipelago. Visitors can then grab a seat in the Knowledge Centre at CHARS and enjoy the award-winning feature film, People of a Feather, which portrays the unique relationship between Sanikiluaq Inuit and eider ducks. A comprehensive exhibition about the Inuit of Sanikiluaq, the Arctic Eider Society and the Qikiqtait Protected Area (including the SIKU App) will open September 26 in the Northern Voices Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. This exhibition is also presented with the support of Polar Knowledge Canada.
Cision Canada
a day ago
- Cision Canada
Annual report tracks Canada's progress toward addressing the national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people
Taking care Crisis support is available to individuals impacted by the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis Line at 1-844-413-6649 (toll-free). OTTAWA, UNCEDED ALGONQUIN TRADITIONAL TERRITORY, ON, June 3, 2025 /CNW/ - Violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people is a national crisis that must end. Responding to this national crisis requires all levels of government to work in true partnership with Indigenous partners to advance their solutions to improve safety, support healing from trauma, and ensure justice for all, especially those most impacted. Guided by Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ people, and families and survivors, the Government of Canada is driving meaningful change that reflects Indigenous voices and leadership. The 2024–25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report outlines the federal government's progress to respond to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Calls for Justice. To date, the Government of Canada has taken concrete action on the Calls for Justice and has made significant efforts to advance the National Inquiry's Final Report. Examples of progress include: A Chief Advisor to Combat Human Trafficking was appointed with a mandate to collaborate with Indigenous partners to address the increased risk experienced by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Over 90 Indigenous women's and 2SLGBQTI+ organizations received federal funding to increase their ability to prevent or address gender-based violence across Canada. Engagement and co-development of the Red Dress Alert pilot, an emergency response system for missing Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people, in a collaborative initiative from Government of Canada, the Government of Manitoba and Giganawenimaanaanig—an Indigenous organization in the province. 52 safety projects received support under the Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative, supporting distinctions-based and 2SLGBTQI+ safety priorities in urban, rural, and Northern communities. 32 healing projects to provide culturally grounded supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis families experiencing grief and trauma were supported by federal investments. More than 160 community-based projects were funded, and 14 regional First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations received continued support on the implementation of their long-term strategies to advance Indigenous self-determined priorities and Indigenous control over language revitalization, which is key to healing, identity, and addressing the root causes of violence. 37 new shelters and 36 new transitional homes have been committed for Indigenous women, children, and 2SLGBTQI+ people seeking safety. In the year ahead, Canada will continue working with Indigenous partners to deliver tangible progress and strengthen the systems that keep people safe, as an essential part of collective efforts to build justice, healing, and lasting reconciliation. Quotes "This year's progress report reflects our commitment to lasting, systemic change and shows the work done to support safety, wellbeing, and justice for Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ people, families, and survivors, and communities. We're tracking outcomes, holding ourselves accountable, and working in full partnership with Indigenous survivors, families, and communities that are driving this change. The Calls for Justice will continue to guide our work as we advance reconciliation through Indigenous-led solutions and true partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis." The Honourable Rebecca Alty Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations "Five years have passed since the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children. It will take all of us—Indigenous communities, all levels of government, and Canadians—working together to end this tragedy to protect Indigenous women, children, and 2SLGBTQI+ people, as well as the families and communities who love them. That is why the Government of Canada is committed to walking this path in true partnership: supporting survivors and families, and ensuring that Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people have the power, voice, and space to reclaim their rightful place in our communities and in this country." The Honourable Mandy-Gull-Masty Minister of Indigenous Services "Ending violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people demands ongoing dedication and meaningful collaboration from all partners to ensure that everyone is—and feels—safe. While progress has been made through investments in housing, shelters, infrastructure, and essential services across the North and throughout Canada, much more remains to be done. We are working in partnership with Indigenous communities, northern regions, and all levels of government to confront the systemic issues and root causes of this violence." The Honourable Rebecca Chartrand Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs "The safety of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people is fundamental to the strength and wellbeing of communities across Canada. Through the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence—particularly Pillar 4, which centres Indigenous-led solutions—we are making progress. We know the work is far from over. The Government of Canada is committed to meaningful and lasting change." The Honourable Rechie Valdez Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) "Our government remains firmly committed to working with local leaders, provinces and territories and law enforcement to improve community safety in Indigenous communities. Our efforts are rooted in respect for Indigenous values, traditions and governance, and reflect our shared vision of safe, empowered communities where the approach to public safety is shaped by those who know their communities best." The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree Minister of Public Safety "Protecting and bringing justice to Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people is crucial to achieving meaningful change in Canada's justice system. We will continue to work in true partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, including through the initial implementation of the Indigenous Justice Strategy and continued support for Indigenous victims and survivors of crime, to build safer communities and move forward on our path of reconciliation." The Honourable Sean Fraser Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency "Culture is critical and foundational to the safety, pride and identity of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people. Cultural revitalization and Indigenous languages are powerful tools for healing and empowerment, and an essential part of the path toward reconciliation. Our government remains steadfast in our support for the ongoing and important work to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages, being led by Indigenous Peoples, who are best placed to guide these efforts." The Honourable Steven Guilbeault Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages Quick facts The Federal Pathway is Canada's contribution to the broader 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan developed in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, survivors, families, Indigenous women's organizations, and provincial and territorial governments in response to the final report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (National Inquiry). The National Inquiry's 231 Calls for Justice vary in shared responsibility: 29 Calls for Justice exclusively call upon the federal government. 186 Calls for Justice collectively call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. 6 Calls for Justice exclusively call upon provincial and territorial governments. 10 Calls for Justice exclusively call upon non-government actors. The 2024–25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report includes seven highlight reports that provide additional details on initiatives specific to families and survivors, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Urban Indigenous people, Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people, and Data. The third annual National Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial Meeting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People was held on January 29 and 30, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario, to discuss continued engagement on the Red Dress Alert pilot, addressing gaps in MMIWG2S+ related data, and exploring strategies to combat human trafficking. Associated links Stay connected Join the conversation about Indigenous Peoples in Canada: X: @GCIndigenous GovCan – North Facebook: @GCIndigenous GovCan – North Instagram: @gcindigenous GovCan North You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit SOURCE Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
