Cleaner, Greener, Healthier

Boyd does not disappoint in delivering another sweeping, well-researched interdisciplinary overview of the difficult challenge of linking environmental regulation to health in Canada. He makes a compelling case for law reform and, along the way, documents emerging and less well-known areas of environmental harm, such as intergenerational health impacts and the mental health benefits of nature. Deborah Curran, University of Victoria, BC Studies

David Boyd’s book is a scathing indictment of Canada’s failure to protect the air, water, soil, and ecosystems that our health and wellbeing depend on. But Boyd also provides a clear and convincing set of recommendations for smarter environmental policies that could save thousands of lives and billions of dollars every year. If politicians and policymakers adopted Boyd’s advice, Canada would be a much cleaner, greener, healthier country. David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, environmentalist, and broadcaster

David Boyd’s remarkably insightful book reveals our government’s abdication of its responsibility to protect human health from environmental threats. He demonstrates how badly Canada’s rules for air, water, food, toxic substances, climate change, and biodiversity lag behind those of other wealthy nations. Drawing on global best practices, Boyd lays out a compelling blueprint for enabling Canada to catch up with world leaders in environmental health. Maude Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and author of Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever

Most of us intuitively know that our health is intimately intertwined with the health of the environment, but this is the first book to capture the myriad ways that environmental hazards impact the health of Canadians. David Boyd also offers a comprehensive and far-reaching blueprint to prevent environmentally induced death, disease, and disability and to slow runaway growth in health care expenditures. Bruce Lanphear, MD, senior scientist, at the Child & and Family Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital, and professor, in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Boyd asks exactly the right questions and comes to the sad conclusion that Canada’s environmental laws are far weaker than those of other countries. But he’s ultimately optimistic: if government exerted some political will, most environmental threats to our health could be eliminated. Gideon Forman, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

David Boyd has once again made a monumental contribution to the scholarship of Canadian environmental law. Only rarely can it be said that a book could actually save lives; this one can. If we adopt the very reasonable approaches suggested by Professor Boyd, we will indeed create healthier Canadians both now and in the future. A must-read for all Canadians. Professor Lynda Collins, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa

David Boyd’s latest book provides a sobering assessment of Canada’s current legal framework for environmental protection and a thoughtful prescription on what can be done to improve it. An excellent read for anyone with an interest in environmental health, policy and regulation. Ray Copes, MD, and Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Want to save thousands of lives, billions of dollars in health costs, and have a cleaner environment? Then read this book. With meticulous research and superb writing, David Boyd paints a powerful policy roadmap for making Canada healthy, wealthy and wise – if we take his advice. Stewart Elgie, Professor of Law, University of Ottawa and Chair of Sustainable Prosperity

In this comprehensive and readable survey David Boyd catalogues the many hazardous substances that we encounter in our environment and highlights how Canada lags far behind other developed countries with respect to regulation of many exposures. Boyd not only diagnoses the problem, he provides a scientifically robust prescription for treating it. This is a must-read for policy makers at all levels of government and for all Canadians who care about the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Peter D. Paré, MD, Professor Emeritus of Respiratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of British Columbia and editor-in-chief of the Canadian Respiratory Journal

This important book addresses the political failures of governments to adequately protect Canadians from environmental harm and to create more health-enhancing environments. More importantly, it shows how we can – and must – change this, using all available political, legal and economic tools to create a cleaner, greener and healthier future for us all. Dr. Trevor Hancock, Professor and Senior Scholar, School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria

This book must be put in every politician’s hands. For years, David Boyd has built a very robust diagnosis of Canada’s environmental problems. Now, through this appealing and very positive book, Boyd provides the next step: a powerful prescription for achieving a healthy environment. François Reeves, MD, FRCPC, Université de Montréal, and author of Planet Heart: How an Unhealthy Environment Leads to Heart Disease