The Health of Canada’s Children: A CICH Profile
CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
he Health of Canada’s Children: A CICH Profile,
3rd Edition, is based on a comprehensive review of
national and provincial data sources and extensive
consultations with experts from many fields, including
many representatives of Aboriginal peoples. The CICH
Profile contains ten chapters and 398 charts pertaining to
the health and well-being of children and youth. It pro-
vides a relevant and clear picture of where our children
are today, and gives some direction for where we might
assist them as they explore their futures.
Introduction
z Although exposures to some environmental hazards
have decreased because of improved health and environ-
mental standards – such as the elimination of lead
from gasoline – children continue to be exposed to toxic
chemicals in air, water and food. Current standards were
developed to protect adults, not children, and fail to
reflect new information on children's environmental
health.
z There is an urgent need for more and better environmen-
tal health indicators and measures. Traditional health indi-
cators, such as life expectancy at birth, do not take into
account the changing physical environment of the last
fifty years, or recognize its potential implications for
human health and longevity. Without this information,
it is difficult to assess the extent to which environmental
factors are impacting the health of Canada's children
and how best to address these through necessary policy
changes.
z To protect the health of Canada's children today, the
Precautionary Principle needs to be applied, leading to
action on developing environmental targets through
enforceable legislation.
Children are Different
z Children have heightened vulnerability to a variety of
exposures as a consequence of their developmental,
behavioural and physiological characteristics.
z Children receive greater exposures per unit of body
weight than adults because – for their size – they eat
more food, drink more liquids, and breathe m