Keyword Health

Told through the voices of 24 people from Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Lament for the Land weaves together the voices and wisdom of Labrador Inuit with stunning visual scenery to tell a powerful story of change, loss, and hope in the context of rapid climate change in the North. A collaboration between researcher Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo and the five communities of Nunatsiavut, this film brings attention to some of the most pressing climatic and environmental issues of our time, and the resulting mental, emotional, and cultural impacts on one of Canada’s oldest and most enduring cultures.

Did you know that the climate crisis is also a health crisis? Climate change impacts the health of Canadians - from increasing heat stroke to spreading new infectious diseases - and these impacts are getting worse. At the same time, there is a lot that we can do to protect ourselves and reduce climate pollution for healthier, safer futures.

Climate change is a daunting and complex threat that can lead to distressing emotions, such as anxiety, depression, grief and hopelessness. Since climate change is a long-term threat, we must learn to cope with the potentially difficult emotions that it may cause to ensure our well-being over time. If we learn to manage these feelings, we can recognize them as signs of our compassion and connection to the world around us, and harness them as important motivators for taking action on climate change.

Dustin Thiesen’s concerns about climate change escalated into serious anxiety and depression after his son was born. “Sometimes I fall back into that depressive state,” he says, “but I always find a way to pull myself back out.” Dustin shares his story of working with these difficult emotions, moving through the dark times, and finding the motivation to be part of the solution.

With the existential threat of climate change, it’s only natural to feel overwhelming emotions of anxiety, fear, or anger. But at the same time it is critically important to find sources of hope that can allow us to imagine a better future and work towards it. In this video, author and expert Dr. Elin Kelsey explains the importance of being hopeful and offers tips on where to look for motivation in difficult times. For Kelsey, hope is a “brave political act” that requires courage and commitment in the face of uncertainty.

More and more people around the world - particularly young people and those most affected by the impacts of climate change and related crises - are struggling to stay hopeful about the uncertain and changing future.[1] Living in this era of ‘wicked problems’ is impacting people’s mental health.[2]

As summers become longer and hotter under climate change, many Canadians will be seeking relief at lake beaches. But hotter summers and changing precipitation make favourable conditions for algal blooms to grow in the water, which can produce toxins that are harmful to human health. Experts, Indigenous communities, and residents in the Lake Winnipeg area are all too familiar with the impacts of algal blooms on health, as they discuss in this video

“What’s the Buzz” tells the story of Canada’s increase in mosquito-borne diseases over the last 20 years, largely due to climate change. With warmer, wetter weather in our future, experts expect these diseases will become more common. Canadians are being impacted while also responding to an increase in West Nile Virus and adapting to lessen their risk.

When you think about dangerous animals, big or poisonous creatures probably come to mind. But in fact, mosquitoes are one of the most deadly animals in the world.[1] That’s because mosquitoes can transmit a range of diseases which are of major public health concern globally.

Wildfires are becoming increasingly frequent and intense in Canadian summers.[1] In 2018, British Columbia saw its worst fire season in history, burning 1.3 million hectares of land.[2] This was just two years after record-breaking fires devastated the city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, costing $9 billion in losses.[3] With this increase in wildfires caused by climate change[4], we’re seeing more and more health impacts to Canadians.