Canadian Association for the Club of Rome
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Richard van der Jagt and Meg Sears| Improving Environmental Protection and Public Health | 2022-08-10
August 10, 2022 @ 13:30 - 15:30 EDT
Topic: Improving Environmental Protection and Public Health: opportunities during Canadian legal and policy reform
Speakers: Dr. Richard van der Jagt and Dr. Meg Sears
Time: Aug 10, 2022 13:30 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
A medical perspective on health risks of environmental toxins and costs to the Canadian taxpayer illustrates the urgent need to improve environmental public health. Fortuitously, current, ongoing legal and policy initiatives to update 20+ year old laws aim to reform environmental protection as well as pest control (pesticides). Realizing these opportunities to improve public and environmental health requires modernizing science-based decision-making, based on expanded data collection.
Dr. Richard van der Jagt has had a long standing interest in links between exposures to environmental toxins and disease. He founded and chaired the Canadian Leukemia Studies Group, completing Canada’s largest ever acute leukemia treatment study, and contributed to development of novel therapies for other environmentally-linked malignancies, lymphoma and myeloma. He has supported many affected by malignancies associated with toxic exposures to pesticides, and recently lent his voice to further strengthen Bill S-5, amending the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Meg Sears (PhD) has advanced environmental health for decades, and now with Prevent Cancer Now works to “make least-toxic the norm” via education and policy reform. She trained in (bio)chemical engineering and applied chemistry, and has diverse laboratory experience Her environmental health research and advocacy now involve rich collaborations with environmental health and policy experts and organizations, and regular consultations with government bodies.