Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Clean Air ......................................................................... 2
Safe Water...................................................................... 6
Waste Reduction ............................................................ 8
Toxic Substances ........................................................... 9
Urban Green Space ..................................................... 11
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
1. Clean Air
Potential Indicators
-dependency
General Assessment


Good quality time-series emissions-based data for individual pollutants are available for all
three levels of government.
The most frequently used air quality data are from provincial sources.
Sources: Maclaren, Virginia W. 2001. Assessment of Canadian Environmental Reporting Gaps: Final
Report. Task Force on a Canadian Information System for the Environment; DSS Management
Consultants Inc. 2001. Background Document. Air Quality & Atmospheric Resources. NRTEE.
Federal Government
Environment Canada
National Air Pollution Surveillance Network (NAPS)
http://www.etcentre.org/naps/index_e.html
NAPS is a federal-provincial-territorial network which continuously monitors ambient air in
Canada’s urban centres from 152 monitoring stations in 55 cities in ten provinces and two
territories. EC maintains the Canada Wide Air Quality Database. The database contains data
on criteria air contaminants, including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone
and particulate matter, as well as other priority air pollutants.
Canada’s national Smog (Ground-Level Ozone) Management Program: Regional Smog
Episodes.
http://www.etcentre.org/naps/naps_smog_e.html
National Environmental Indicator Series
http://www.ec.gc.ca/Ind/English/Urb_air/tech_sup/uasup4_e.cfm
http://www1.ec.gc.ca/~ind/English/Transpo/Tech_Sup/pt_sutoc.html
Data are provided by the Analysis and Air Quality Division, Environmental Technology Centre,
Environment Canada.
Statistics Canada
Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System (CANSIM) Time Series Database
for Road Motor Vehicle Registrations.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/cansim
Annual survey of transit authorities– Harold Kohn, Stats Can. 951-0162.
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
Annual. Road Motor Vehicles—Registrations. Catalogue 53-219. Ottawa.
Ecoconnections
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/Land/Environment/envir23.htm
Econnections organizes environmental and economic information into sets of summary
indicators around several environmental themes.
Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/air_quality/projects.htm
Studies completed to date the relationship between outdoor air pollution and lung function,
respiratory symptoms, emergency department visits, hospital admissions and premature deaths;
and analysis of the dose-effect relationships. Current studies have been developed to better
understand the effects of indoor air quality on infant health; of short-term outdoor air pollution
exposure on disability days and heart rate; and of long-term outdoor air pollution exposure on
the health of children and adolescents.
Provincial Government
ON-AQI - www.airqualityontario.com
BC-AQI – www.elp.gov.bc.ca/epd/epda/ar/vehicle/aqfrbc.html Since 1989
MB-AQI - www.susdev.gov.mb.ca/rep-sust-ind.doc since 2001
NS-AQI – www.gov.ns.ca/envi/soer/envdoc.pdf
PQ- www.menu.gouv.qc.ca/air/qualite-en/index.htm
Clean Air Strategic Alliance
http://www.casahome.org/
The Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) is a non-profit association composed of diverse
stakeholders from government, industry, and non-government organizations (such as health
and environment groups). Senior representatives from each of the three sectors are committed
to developing and applying a comprehensive air quality management system for the people of
Alberta through a consensus-based process.
The Alberta Ambient Air Data Management System (AAADMS)
www.casadata.org
The AAADMS is a central repository for air quality and ecological data collected by the
provincial monitoring program in Alberta. Data is submitted to the system by various
stakeholders including the provincial government, the federal government, air quality zones and
industry. Data received by the AAADMS has already undergone quality control (QC) and quality
assurance (QA) by the data provider. CASA does not perform any additional QA or QC on the
submitted data.
Ministries of Health
Data for annual per capita hospitalisation rates are readily available from provincial health care
and population databases, including Ontario Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Planning
Database.
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
Municipal Government
Air Quality Components of Environmental Reporting Maintained by Municipalities
Indicator
Not
collected
Own
data
Other
agency
data
Combined
source
Sample Measures
Air quality
18
2
13
2
Public transit use
10
13
8
4
Traffic volume by mode
12
9
2
8
# of exceedences of Air Pollution Index
max value, % time ambient AQ was
good
% pop served by transit, total #
passengers, % pop using transit by
sex, age; % change in public transit
ridership
Total # of vehicles, % change in # of
vehicles; total street parking spaces;
car trips per day, length of rush hour
Vehicle registrations
20
0
15
0
Source: Campbell, Monica and Virginia Maclaren. 1995. Municipal State of the Environment Reporting in
Canada: Current Status and Future Needs. Occasional Paper No.6. Environment Canada.
Universities / Research Centres
University of Windsor
Professor Anthony Faria
Business Administration
Expert on the automotive industry, on the automotive supply industry and on marketing.
(519) 253-4232 ext. 3101
University of Toronto
Professor Melvyn Fuss
Expert on the automobile industry.
(416) 978-1494 Phone
Email: fuss@chass.utoronto.ca
Canadian Health Network - Environmental Health
http://www.canadian-health-network.ca/1environmental_health.html
http://www.gnb.ca/0391/en/iqua/studies/index.htm
A Summary of Recent Research on the Health Effects of Outdoor Air Pollution by Burnett, R.T.,
Brook, J.R., Yung, W.T., Dales, R. and D. Krewski. 1997. Association between ozone and
hospitalization for respiratory diseases in 16 Canadian cities. Environmental Research 72: 24-3.
Air pollution data were linked with hospital admissions data for 16 cities across Canada. The 16
cities were chosen based on their size (population of over 100,000) and the availability of daily
ground-level ozone measurements. These cities spanned the breadth of the country from the
west coast to the east coast and represented 12.6 million people, approximately half the
country's population for the period 1981–1991.
Burnett, R.T; Cakmak-Sabit; Brook-Jeffrey-R. The effect of the urban ambient air pollution mix
on daily mortality rates in 11 Canadian cities. Canadian-Journal-of-Public-Health. V.89(3)
My/Je'98 pg 152-156.
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
Industry Experts / Consulting Firms
DesRosier s Automotive Consultants Inc.
http://www.desrosiers.ca
Canada's leading automotive industry analyst offers commentary and analysis on the Canadian
automotive and parts industry. Vehicle Registrations Time-series: 1982 - July 2000, by CMA, by
model.
Polk Canada
http://www.polk.ca/flash.htm
Polk Canada is the automotive industry’s leading provider of market intelligence and data
solutions.
Industry Associations
Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA)
http://www.cutaactu.on.ca/
CUTA is the only source of detailed transit statistics in Canada, and the statistical reports
prepared by CUTA include detailed operating and financial statistics for conventional and
specialized transit systems, fare structure details, ridership data, performance indicators and
much more. CUTA statistics are an exclusive service available to members only. CUTA
members represent about 95% of the total number of transit systems in Canada (excluding
Chicoutimi, Trois Rivieres, and South Shore Montreal) and approximately 99% of total
passenger-kilometres.
Ontario Medical Association (OMA)
http://www.oma.org/phealth/ground.htm#appendices
Ground Level Ozone Position Paper
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
2. Safe Water
Possible Indicators
ater quality
General Assessment
 Water consumption is popular because it is an indicator that would be tracked by
municipalities with water treatment plants and distribution systems.
 Drinking water quality in municipal systems is being reported regularly, but a major reporting
gap is the level of pollution in local water bodies
 Most provinces and municipalities monitor water quality on a regular basis, but there is no
national data set that aggregates this information.
 Time series data are generally available in most jurisdictions for both surface water and
drinking water quality.
 Drinking water quality in municipal systems is being reported regularly
Sources: Maclaren, Virginia W. 2001. Assessment of Canadian Environmental Reporting Gaps: Final
Report. Task Force on a Canadian Information System for the Environment; and Gardner Pinfold. 2001.
Background Report in Support of ESDI Cluster Groups – CG6 Water Resources. NRTEE.
Federal Government
Environment Canada
Municipal Water Use Database (MUD)
http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/e_data.htm
MUD is the only national database on water and wastewater in Canada. Data is collected only
for municipalities with greater than 1000 population. Time series goes back to 1970s.
National Environment Indicator Series
http://www.ec.gc.ca/ind/english/urb_H2O
HYDAT – National Surface Water Data Bank
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/climate/hydat/index_e.cfm
Statistics Canada
Price Index for Water in Major Cities
Water use per unit of household expenditure
http://www.statcan.ca/english/ads/16-200-XKE/waste.htm
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
Canadian Information System for the Environment (CISE)
The proposed Pilot Safe Water Information System will bring together source water quality
monitoring, drinking water quality monitoring and waterborne disease surveillance. The project
will be led jointly by Environment Canada (EQB and NWRI), and Health Canada (Population
and Public Health Branch, and Health Environments and Consumer Safety Branch) in
collaboration with the University of Guelph, (Department of Population Medicine) and the
Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health. These principal partners own or have access
to a wide range of data to be used in this project.
Municipal Government
Water Quality Components of Environmental Reporting Maintained by Municipalities
Indicator
Not
collected
Own
data
Other
agency
data
Combined
source
Water quality
2
23
3
4
Sample Measures
# beach warnings posted per year, %
days beach warnings posted, # of days
bacterial levels exceeded guidelines
per year
Sewage treatment
4
20
7
2
% sanitary sewage receiving primary
treatment; # residences not connected
to sewer system; % stormwater
receiving primary treatment, tonnes of
dry sewage sludge produced per year
Water consumption
2
28
5
0
Gallons of water/day/person, % water
used by sector, % change in
consumption over time; % water
connections that are metered; % total
water consumption accounted for by
meters
Source: Campbell, Monica and Virginia Maclaren. 1995. Municipal State of the Environment Reporting in
Canada: Current Status and Future Needs. Occasional Paper No. 6. Environment Canada.
Industry Associations
Canadian Water & Wastewater Association
http://www.cwwa.ca/
Canadian Bottled Water Association
http://www.cbwa-bottledwater.org/
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
3. Waste Reduction
Possible Indicators
General Assessment



Solid waste generation data are common at the municipal level but infrequently reported at
the national level.
The definition of what is a waste can vary across the country.
Solid waste generation is usually based on estimates of per capita or per employee waste
generation rather than on direct measurement of the total amount generated.
Source: Maclaren, Virginia W. 2001. Assessment of Canadian Environmental Reporting Gaps: Final
Report. Task Force on a Canadian Information System for the Environment.
Municipal Government
Solid Waste Components of Environmental Reporting Maintained by Municipalities
Indicator
Not
collected
Own
data
Other
agency
data
Combined
source
Waste generation
10
19
1
5
Sample Measures
Tonnes of solid waste generated;
kg/day/person produced or per
residence; produced by sector
Waste collection
3
25
4
4
tonnes handled by city, % increase in
municipal waste pickup per year
Waste reduction
11
16
4
2
% waste reduction in ICI & residential
production; Objectives for waste
stream reduction by %
Recycling
7
15
8
4
Recyclable material as % of residential
waste stream; % households recycling,
total # of households served by blue
box
Waste disposal
4
20
5
3
Tonnes of waste landfilled per year,
tonnes of domestic waste
landfilled/year; hectares covered by
landfills
Household hazardous
14
14
5
1
Tonnes of hazardous waste
waste
generated/yr, household hazardous
waste as % of solid waste; % of
households participating in hazardous
waste dropoffs; refrigerators/freezers
collected for refrigerant removal
Source: Campbell, Monica and Virginia Maclaren. 1995. Municipal State of the Environment Reporting in
Canada: Current Status and Future Needs. Occasional Paper No. 6. Environment Canada.
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
4. Toxic Substances
Possible Indicators
General Assessment
 An important gap among land indicators is the amount of contaminated land in urban areas.
Source: Maclaren, Virginia W. 2001. Assessment of Canadian Environmental Reporting Gaps: Final
Report. Task Force on a Canadian Information System for the Environment.
Federal Government
Environment Canada
Salt use within Canadian urban centers (paved facilities)
www.ec.gc.ca/issues/roadsalt_e.htm.
In 1997, Environment Canada initiated an environmental review of the impacts of road salt
usage on the Canadian environment. (Authors: Barbara Elliott and Robert Chenier). In 2001,
Environment Canada published "Priority Substances Report on Road Salts" which included 12
additional supporting documents. David Morin (Environment Canada) and Max Perchanok
(MTO) produced a document entitled "Road Salt Loadings in Canada" (2000). This document
details estimates of the country's road salt loadings and presents information on the existing
Canadian road network.
Municipal Government
Toxics Components of Environmental Reporting Maintained by Municipalities
Indicator
Not
collected
Own
data
Other
agency
data
Combined
source
Sample Measures
# of former industrial sites; # former
landfill sites in city; # underground
tanks containing hazardous material
removed over past 5 years;
Source: Campbell, Monica and Virginia Maclaren. 1995. Municipal State of the Environment Reporting in
Canada: Current Status and Future Needs. Occasional Paper No. 6. Environment Canada.
Contaminated sites
15
9
7
4
Municipal Measures of Pesticide Use:
 City corporation pesticide application policy – inventory of local pest control policies; total
amount of pesticides requisitioned by City; % reduction in pesticide use by Parks
Department.
 Pesticide licenses - # of licenses for land pest control & structural pest control companies; #
of individuals holding land pest control & structural pest control licenses.
 General pesticide use in municipality: total amount of pesticides used, % change in use of
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
pesticides
Industry Associations
Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Pest Management Committee.
http://www.fcm.ca
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Annex 1 - Canadian Urban Environmental Data Sources
5. Urban Green Space
Possible Indicators
Federal Government
Environment Canada (State of the Environment Reporting) and Statistics Canada (Agriculture
Division) supported a special pilot project “EC/StatsCan Development of an Urban Land
Information Base from digital satellite imagery.” – aimed to develop a standardized, nationally
consistent approach to gathering land use information.
Municipal Government
Green Space Components of Environmental Reporting Maintained by Municipalities
Indicator
Not
collected
Own
data
Other
agency
data
Combined
source
Sample Measures
Parks/Greenspace
11
22
1
3
Urban forestry
19
14
2
1
Environmentally
Sensitive Areas
13
7
9
7
Total area of greenspace
Total hectare of open space
Change in hectares by use
Lots of possible Measures.
Total acres of forested land, % of total
land cleared historically, average
canopy coverage, tree inventory, tree
plantings, average canopy coverage,
tree gain/loss over time, ownership of
urban forest, # of trees planted
Size of local wetlands, % current
wetland of original wetland, ESAs as %
of total land, % of total water area
Urban Land Use by
type
Paved Areas
4
28
3
3
21
13
1
1
Total impervious area, impervious area
by type
Rural to urban
14
16
3
3
Hectares converted per 1000
conversion
population increase; Activity on land
before conversion; Quality of
converted land
Source: Campbell, Monica and Virginia Maclaren. 1995. Municipal State of the Environment Reporting in
Canada: Current Status and Future Needs. Occasional Paper No. 6. Environment Canada.
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