Smog episodes accumulate, have long-term health effects: doctors
A group of Quebec doctors is warning that poor air quality can cause long-term adverse health effects.
The Quebec chapter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment also believes decision makers are underestimating the impact of air pollution.
Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City have all experienced poor air quality this week due in part to winds from the west bringing smoke from forest fires in the Prairies and northern Ontario.
Group president Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers says exposure to fine particles can affect every organ in the body, increasing the risk of everything from premature dementia to lung, heart and kidney problems.
Pétrin-Desrosiers believes decision makers in Quebec need to do more to control polluting companies in order to protect people’s health.
She said many people have the impression that air quality issues are “far away” and only impact people in places such as India or China, but that’s not the case.
“If it takes smog episodes where we experience some of the worst air quality in the world to make us realize that we aren’t immune to these impacts, I hope it will generate conversation and, of course, stricter regulations to address these issues,” Pétrin-Desrosiers said.
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“Because we need government regulations, we need to set standards for industry, we need constant vigilance, and we need to be able to communicate these risks.”
When air quality is poor, young and healthy people will experience minor health effects, such as stinging eyes or a sore throat. People with heart or lung problems need to be extra careful since they’re more prone to complications.
Scientific literature shows that when there is more air pollution, there are more deaths from heart disease and stroke, and more people with respiratory problems who have to go to the hospital. In addition, regular exposure to high levels of air pollution can increase the risk of certain types of cancer.
“This is a serious health concern because exposure is somewhat involuntary — we don’t really have a choice about breathing,” Pétrin-Desrosiers said. “And when there are episodes of increased concentration of air pollutants in the atmosphere, it can have harmful short- and long-term effects on the body,” Pétrin-Desrosiers.
In Quebec, air pollution causes 4,000 premature deaths per year, according to a 2021 Health Canada report. This results in costs of more than $30 billion per year for the Quebec health-care system, the document states.
“That’s significant,” says Dr. Pétrin-Desrosiers. “And part of that is related to smog episodes caused by forest fire smoke, but it’s also because our air quality standards are less strict than those recommended by the World Health Organization, particularly for fine particles.”
People are advised to avoid strenuous exercise during smog episodes, as well as limit time outdoors and close windows when inside.
Properly fitted N95 masks can also help, especially for people with asthma or other chronic conditions.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says e-scooter injuries are on the rise across the country.
It released data Thursday saying that hospitalizations involving e-scooters for kids between five and 17 years old increased by 61 per cent from 2022-23 to 2023-24.
The agency said hospitalizations for men between 18 and 64 went up by 22 per cent in that time period and went up by 60 per cent for women.
The data shows the majority of e-scooter hospitalizations happened in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, a pediatric emergency physician at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, said the number of kids and teens arriving in the emergency department with e-scooter injuries has been increasing over the last five years and some have been “catastrophic,” including one 13-year-old boy’s death in 2023.
“We see anything from minor scrapes and cuts and little lacerations that need a couple of stitches to … traumatic brain injury, internal bleeding in the chest and abdomen, open fractures that need to go to the operating room to be fixed,” he said.
Some children between four and six years old have been hurt while riding with their parents on an e-scooter, Rosenfield said, but injuries among teens riding on their own is more common.
Among cases where the information is available, 80 per cent of the riders who end up in the ER aren’t wearing helmets, he said.
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Rosenfield said he thinks the rise in injuries correlates to an increase in the popularity and affordability of e-scooters in recent years — together with a lack of understanding about how dangerous they can be.
“These scooters, much like everything electrified these days, have come down in price and have increased in power,” he said.
“Their acceleration and torque is tremendous. And most parents, when they’re buying these things for their kids, are completely unaware of that.”
Pamela Fuselli, president and CEO of Parachute Canada — a charity focused on injury prevention — said the laws around e-scooters vary between provinces and even municipalities.
In Ontario, riders must be at least 16 years old. But in Toronto, e-scooters are not allowed on public roads or paths. And just east of the city in Oshawa, they’re permitted under a pilot program.
But people are clearly using them even where they’re not allowed, Fuselli said.
“Even while a city may have a bylaw about this, they can regulate what’s operated in public spaces, but then that has to be enforced. They can’t really regulate what’s sold,” she said.
Fuselli said kids under 16 should not be riding e-scooters — and parents shouldn’t be buying them for children younger than that.
“They look like toys, but they really are motor vehicles,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Most new measles cases in Ontario over the past week were reported in a popular summer travel area.
Public Health Ontario is reporting 32 new measles cases, 19 of which are in Huron Perth.
The public health unit located west of Kitchener includes Stratford, known for its annual theatre festival, as well as Lake Huron beach spots including Clinton and Goderich.
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That brings Ontario’s total case count to 2,276 since an outbreak began last fall.
Public health experts have encouraged cautious optimism on Ontario’s slowing case counts given the ebb and flow of the highly contagious infectious disease.
Alberta is also battling an outbreak, reaching 1,340 total cases since the outbreak there began in March. It surpassed the United States’ case count earlier this week.
Also this week, New Brunswick declared a measles outbreak and has reported five confirmed cases in the south-central region of the province.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Ontario’s solicitor general says the province is adding 150 beds to three jails across the province using modular construction.
Michael Kerzner made the announcement Thursday at the Niagara Detention Centre, which will expand by 50 spaces, as will the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, and the Cecil Facer Youth Centre in Sudbury, which is also being converted to an adult facility.
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Construction is expected to begin next year and cost the province more than $180 million.
The announcement comes not long after the province’s ombudsman raised concerns about an overcrowding “crisis” in Ontario’s correctional facilities, saying some are operating at more than 150 per cent of their capacity, compromising safety for inmates and staff alike.
Premier Doug Ford has also recently been pushing the federal government for stricter bail laws and urging judges and justices of the peace not to let violent, repeat offenders out on bail when they are charged with a new crime.
Provincial jails hold people accused of a crime but not out on bail, as well as those serving sentences of two years less a day, but the vast majority fit into the first category and have not been convicted.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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