Climate change: Canada needs to do more to disaster-proof its hospitals, experts say

“You couldn’t see the trees. You just saw fire,” said Matear, the senior operating director for the health system in northern Alberta at that time.The sky glowed red over the northern Alberta town, which felt eerily abandoned as tens of thousands of people fled the encroaching wildfire.Everyone got out safely and, remarkably, the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre was still standing when the flames died down. But the smoke did considerable damage.

He said there’s more Canada can do to protect its hospitals, and “it needs to be on a much larger scale.”Sask. cabinet minister admits to bringing firearm into Legislative BuildingThat means shoring up Canada’s hospitals against a growing number of disasters, said Ryan Ness, director of adaptation research at the Canadian Climate Institute.

The threat varies across the country. One study found 10 per cent of Canada’s hospitals and major health-care facilities were located within a 100-year flood zone, Ness said. It could also be as simple as installing air conditioning to combat extreme heat, as high temperatures become increasingly common.“I guess the opposing question is, can we afford not to do something about this?” he said.

That kind of future-proofing was highlighted as a priority in a massive report issued by Health Canada in 2022, called Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate. The report was intended to help federal and provincial governments be more prepared for the effects climate change will have on the health of Canadians.

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