Background

In Canada, one of the earliest regional-scale air pollution problems was the acidification of Eastern Canadian lakes in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s the cause was more clearly identified as acid rain, which forms from increased atmospheric sulphur and nitrogen released primarily by industrial processes such as coal-fired electrical generating facilities. Specific results included declining Atlantic Salmon populations in Nova Scotia, which were directly associated with the acidification of local rivers.

In response to declining air pollution, acid rain, and the associated effects, the Eastern Canadian SO2 (sulphur dioxide) Control Program was established in 1985 by Environment Canada and the seven eastern provinces. The purpose of this program was to reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide, the major contributor to acid rain, in the eastern provinces by 50% by 1994.

The result of this program and other efforts, including those in the US, is that since 1984, sulphur dioxide emissions in eastern Canada have been reduced by more than half. In response, sulphur levels in the rain have been reduced, which means less sulphate is being deposited into the ecosystem.

However, despite this, the fight against acid rain is not over. Acid deposition exceeds critical loads across large portions of eastern Canada, including most of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where acidification of spawning waters has resulted in a loss to the salmon fishery of 9,000 to 14,000 fish per year. Unless additional actions in Canada and the United States are implemented, acidification of this area will continue, the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems will remain threatened, and more damage to forest health and productivity will occur.

A maple leaf with damage from air pollution

(Source: An Appalachian Tragedy; Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Eastern Forests of North America )

Air quality issues in Western Canada have traditionally been less serious due to a smaller regional population, a less industrialized economy, and the relatively clean air that blows from the Pacific Ocean. Nonetheless, air pollution has been a serious problem in British Columbia, particularly in the Lower Fraser Valley and confined interior geographic communities.

In the 1930s and 40s, for example, there were limited controls on industrial emissions, and the waterfronts of False Creek and along the Fraser River were lined with industrial stacks and beehive burners. Air pollution in the area was so severe that even direct sunlight could be obscured. In time, increasing pressure for residential development eventually pushed the heavy industry out of this area, which resulted in improved local air quality.

False Creek, Vancouver, in 1939 and today

(Source: GVRD)

Following this period, the rapid increase of automobile use and associated rise in leaded gasoline use caused air pollution to increase significantly. This occurred for several decades until the 1970s and 1980s when breakthroughs in automobile emission control technology were realized.

Bans on leaded gasoline and requirement for lower sulphur content in diesel fuel further improved air quality despite increasing numbers of automobiles. Emission control technology has continued to improve with technologies such as fuel injection systems, evaporative emission controls, catalytic converters, and on-board computers. The result is that today's cars release about 95 percent fewer emissions than cars 30 years ago.

In the Greater Vancouver area these and similar efforts have reduced emissions of sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, volatile organic hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from all sources by 38% from 1985 to 2000, despite nearly 50% growth in population over the same period.

However, many interior communities in BC are still experiencing poor air quality. For example, the provincial government recently released air quality advisories for the City of Prince George due to high levels of fine particulate matter.

More recent air quality efforts in this region include the provincial government's 1995 Action Plan for Clean Air. The focus of this plan is the Clean Vehicles and Fuels Program, which led to new provincial policies for motor vehicles and standards for motor vehicle emissions and motor fuels. This work introduced cleaner vehicles to B.C. earlier than in other parts of Canada.

Vancouver traffic

(Source: Environment Canada)

In 1996, the Waste Management Act was passed. At that time it was the primary environmental control legislation in the province. It controlled the introduction of business wastes into the environment, including air emissions from commercial, industrial, municipal and provincial facilities, motor vehicles, engines and solid fuel burning domestic appliances. Then in 2004, the Environmental Management Act was brought into force. The act replaces the Waste Management Act and the Environment Management Act and brings provisions from both of these acts into one statute. The Ministry of Environment administers this Act.

Through the provincial Environmental Management Act, the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is responsible for air quality management within its jurisdiction, which includes 21 cities and municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Area. The GVRD's Air Pollution Control Bylaw No. 603 sets emission criteria for residential garbage incinerators, fireplaces and wood stoves, and Air Quality Management Bylaw No. 937 (pdf) defines how the air quality components of the Waste Management Act will be implemented in this area.

Emissions from industrial facilities are generally controlled through a fee-based permitting system. The GVRD have documented regulations to control emissions on a sector basis, such as in the case of ready-mix concrete plants and gasoline bulk terminals, for which site-specific permits are not well-suited. In 1994, the GVRD Board approved a regional Air Quality Management Plan that aims to reduce emissions through wise land use and transportation planning. The GVRD is currently in the process of updating its Air Quality Management Plan (pdf).

In 1999, the Greater Vancouver Regional District introduced the Air 2000 Program that is designed to reduce emissions that affected both regional air quality and climate change. In July 2001, the GVRD Board directed their staff to update the 1994 Air Quality Management Plan and the 1995 Livable Region Strategic Plan as part of a new sustainability initiative for the region.

Residential sprawl in the Georgia Basin

(Source: GVRD)

In the eastern sector of the Lower Mainland, the province has delegated air quality planning authority to the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD). Both the FVRD and GVRD are working with the province to develop a common Air Quality Management Plan for the Lower Fraser Valley airshed. Regulatory responsibility for control of air emissions in the FVRD currently remains with the province, although the FVRD has indicated that it will be requesting the same statutory authority for air emission control as the GVRD is granted under the Waste Management Act.

Nationally, Environment Canada released the 2001 Clean Air Action Plan to protect the health of Canadians. The 10-year strategy contains steps to reduce transboundary pollution, ensure cleaner vehicles and fuels, reduce industrial pollutant emissions, initiate clean air science, improve the national network of pollutant monitoring stations thereby expanding the public reporting by industry on pollutant releases, and help Canadians and communities who want to take their own clean air actions.

Canadian Council of Ministries of the Environment (CCME)
Canada-wide Standards were developed for specific environmental contaminants such as PM.0₃ and Ozone. These standards include:

• a numeric limit (e.g., ambient, discharge, or product standard);
• a timetable for attainment; and,
• a framework for monitoring progress and reporting to the public.

The two goals of the Canada-wide Standards are to:

• keeping clean areas clean; and
• continuous improvement for regions that meet the standards

More recently, Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada joined the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and the Methane to Markets Partnership.

The primary objective of REEEP is to develop a strong global market for renewable-energy and energy-efficient technologies. The goal of the Methane to Markets Partnership is to enhance international collaboration to expand the recovery and use of methane to decrease fossil fuel use, and improve economic growth, air quality, and industrial safety. It will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Future planned federal actions on air quality include:

• publication of emissions guidelines for new coal, oil or natural gas fired power plants;
• proposing new emissions regulations for off-road engines; and,
• the expansion the National Air Pollution Surveillance Network (NAPS).

Other available backgrounds include:

Select link to obtain a list of the participating agencies in the Georgia Basin / Puget Sound International Airshed Strategy.