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Clean Air Day

Celebrated on the first Wednesday of June each year, Clean Air Day is a movement to mobilize and enable Canadians to celebrate and protect the air we breathe.

We’re excited that NB Lung leads the national Clean Air Day campaign.

About Clean Air Day 

 

Clean Air Day is a movement in order to help mobilize and enable people and organizations to celebrate and protect clean air and ensure their voice is heard. 

Air pollution causes heart and lung disease and results in over 15,300 people in Canada dying each year. From traffic to industry, wildfires to residential wood burning, threats to air quality are everywhere. 

Our Mission

to bring together communities, businesses, government, educators, and the health sector…

To help celebrate and work together to:

– Improve public understanding of air pollution, both indoors and outdoors.
– Build awareness of how air pollution affects our health.
– Give some easy examples of things we can all do to tackle air pollution and help protect the environment and our health.

NB Lung has been helping New Brunswickers breathe easier since 1933.
Thank you for your support!

Ways To Get Involved

The Walking School Bus

The Canadian Cancer Society has put together some amazing resources that outline what a WALKING SCHOOL BUS is….. Like a motorized bus, there is a planned route with scheduled stops. The Walking School Bus has many benefits for children and families including better health, and helping to keep the air they breathe a bit cleaner for EVERYONE 

Free Public Transit

Public transit is already the greener choice for your community. Offering free fares on Clean Air Day helps everyone tell that story to a wider audience, and get people on board, literally and symbolically to help protect the air we breathe. 

The Science of Air Quality

These resources have been created to help teach about the science of Air Quality. Along with the sources of pollution, and how we measure its impact, and steps everyone can do to reduce their impact on the air we breathe.

Understanding Air Quality & Resources For Educators

Clean Air Day Events

We want to encourage individuals, community groups, municipalities and businesses to organize events celebrating #cleanaireverywhere 

The History of Clean Air in Canada

1969

Establishment of National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS):

NAPS was established in 1969 to monitor and assess the quality of ambient (outdoor) air in the populated regions of Canada.

The goal of the program is to provide accurate and long-term air quality data of a uniform standard across Canada.

NAPS is managed using a cooperative agreement among the provinces, territories and some municipal governments. In 1969, eight provinces — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — joined the program. In the first annual data report 36 monitoring sites reported to the Canada-wide database. Today there are 286 sites in 203 communities located in every province and territory.

1971

The Clean Air Act came into force to promote a consistent approach to managing air pollution across Canada.

1973

The Environmental Assessment and Review Process was introduced to ensure that new federal projects and activities were evaluated early in the planning process for potential negative environmental effects.

1979

Canada signed the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. It was the first international agreement to recognize and reduce cross-border air pollution as a contributing factor to acid rain. The Convention’s geographic scope spans from the Russian Federation in the east, to Canada and the United States in the west.

1988

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) is proclaimed. The Act superseded the Environmental Contaminants Act and subsumed the Clean Air Act, the Ocean Dumping Control Act, part of the Canada Water Act, and part of the Department of the Environment Act. These changes reflected the need for a comprehensive approach for dealing with protection of human health and the environment.

1991

The Northern Contaminants program was created to address long range air deposition on northern environments and support environmental action in the North involving northern communities and governments.

1999

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA 1999) was passed. Pollution prevention became the cornerstone of the Act with new authorities to conduct studies, increase transparency and allow greater citizen participation. The Act also included a more rigorous process to assess and manage substances and new powers to regulate vehicle, engine and equipment emissions. The CEPA Environmental Registry was launched in March 2000.

1999

The first Clean Air Day in Canada was in 1999, when the Government of Canada declared: clean air to be a federal priority. acknowledged clean air’s importance to the wellbeing of the Canadian people. that they recognized that air pollution and greenhouses were harmful.

2010

Canada’s first greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions vehicle regulations, the Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations are published, requiring vehicle manufacturers and importers to meet average GHG emission standards.

2012

In Canada, federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments have shared jurisdiction in addressing air quality.

The Government of Canada works with provincial and territorial governments to implement the Air Quality Management System (AQMS) to address air pollution by setting stronger standards to improve outdoor air quality and protect the health of Canadians and their environment.

The AQMS includes Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) to drive local air quality improvements, industrial emissions requirements, provincial air zones and interprovincial airsheds, and reporting to Canadians.

2018

The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the federal carbon pollution pricing system, came into force providing a federal backstop for provinces or territories that request it or fail to implement their own system consistent with federal standards.

Canada announced final regulations to phase-out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030. Canada also published final greenhouse gas regulations for natural gas-fired electricity. By phasing out coal-fired electricity early, Canada strives to have 90 per cent of electricity from non-emitting sources by 2030.

Page Last Updated: 28/02/2023