Health Policy Approaches to Children's Environmental Health

Abstract

This article reviews Canadian policy approaches to children's environmental health. The authors review federal, provincial and municipal legislation. Canadian governance and non-governance instruments for children's environmental health are compared, and the authors contrast Canada's framework with American and the European Union's approaches to children's environmental health. Case studies are used to demonstrate the application of Canada's legal framework for children's environmental health. The report concludes with recommendations in two main areas: organization (clear mandates, explicit responsibility for children’s environmental health, and effective coordination of risk management responsibilities), and operational (increased research, improved surveillance or longitudinal studies, and effective enforcement of existing standards).