Health and Society

Health and Environment Groups

   Canadian Coalition For Green Health Care
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care is a coalition of member groups concerned with and dedicated to minimizing the adverse environmental and human health impact of Canada's health care system. 

   Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
CAPE is a group of physicians, allied health care practitioners and citizens committed to a healthy and sustainable environment. As an organization composed mostly of physicians, CAPE brings its health expertise to environmental issues and is an important voice for environmental health in Canada. 

   Ontario Medical Association
Look for environmental reports on their Health Policy section

   Ontario Public Health Association
The Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) is a provincial voluntary association of individuals and
constituent societies from various sectors and disciplines in Ontario who promote the optimal health of the public

   Health Care Without Harm
A U.S. based organization with international support and several member groups from Ontario.

   
Environmental Groups Working on Health Care Issues
Arguably, all groups working on pollution prevention are contributing to public health.  Here are a couple of environmental groups that have identified health issues among their priorities

Pollution Probe
Look for "Environment and Child Health" and "Mercury" in the What We Do section. 

Toronto Environment Alliance
Look for "Health Care Without Harm", "Healthy Homes", and "Pesticides" in the campaign section.

Cultural and Social Services
(see also our factsheet on Multiculturalism and the Environment)

   Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI).
OCASI hosts Settlement.org, an excellent source of information for new Canadians. The website has an extensive list of organizations, organized alphabetically, by category (including environment), or you can use a search engine to look for a specific keyword or language.  

   Community Information Toronto
In Toronto, perhaps the best place to start is Community Information Toronto (CIT), a service of the City of Toronto.  CIT publishes the Blue Book which,  for $54, will give you information on community, government, and social services in Toronto.  You can also find a copy at your local library.  The CIT website also has a list of Community Information Centres across the province.

   The Canadian Ethnocultural Council
Cultures Canada is a project of the Canadian Ethnocultural Council.  The website has sections on cultural communities, a database of organizations that can be searched by region, and a links section.

   Canadian Heritage - Multiculturalism
The Canadian Heritage - Multiculturalism website has a list of links to Canadian organizations. 

Environment and Culture 

   The Sustainability Network  
The Sustainability Network has published a Directory of Ethno-Cultural Organizations and the Environment.  The Directory lists contacts and case studies of groups working to connect Ontario's cultural groups with the enviornment.

   Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition (OHCC)
The Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition seeks to achieve social, environmental, and economic health and well-being for individuals, communities and local governments. The Coalition brings together a broad-based group of communities and provincial organizations, spanning the social, environmental, economic, and political spectrums. 

  Environmental Centre for New Canadians (ECENECA) 
ECENECA (Environmental Centre for New Canadians) is a not-for-profit, community-based, provincially incorporated environmental organization. 

  Multiracial Network for Environmental Justice (MNEJ) (no website available)
#204 - 1076 Bathurst Street, c/o Hispanic Development Council (HDC), Toronto, ON M5R 3G9
Phone: 416-760 - 2120   Email: mnej@canada.com 
MNEJ works in close cooperation with various ethno-cultural communities to implement environmental education programs, and community walking tours of Toronto neighbourhoods.  They help raise community awareness of the environmentally significant sites in and around the local area.

  Toronto Chinese Health Education Committee (TCHEC) (no website available)
Contact: Alice Lam, 168 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M5V 2R4
Phone: 416-703-9602    e-mail: alam@ctchc.com 
TCHEC seeks to raise community interest in and awareness of environmental issues including issues related to environmental health.  They run an Environmental Ambassadors program to train community volunteers in environmental issues (see Major Projects below).