February 2026

Wildfire smoke: What is the relationship between outdoor and indoor air pollutants?

Nearly 1 in 5 Canadian households depend on wood burning, yet the smoke produced generates as much PM_2.5 air pollution as Canada’s entire transportation and industrial sectors combined. This review article highlights a major gap between public perceptions and measured health risks and provides an overview of cleaner technologies and adaptive strategies.

Upcoming webinar

California’s OEHHA Synthetic Turf Study:
Assessment of health risks from exposure to crumb rubber infill

February 26, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM Pacific Time

Jocelyn Claude, PhD, OEHHA
Rebecca Goulding, PhD, NCCEH

Register free

Research scan

Announcements

Call for abstracts: 2026 Indigenous Health Research Symposium

The symposium planning committee invites presentation submissions for in-progress or recently actualized (since 2021) Indigenous health research related to these and other related themes. We welcome submissions for virtual presentations and in-person presentations at the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University. Submissions for pre-recorded presentations are also accepted. We encourage early-stage and established researchers from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds to submit a statement of interest by March 1, 2026.

Moving towards stronger public health:
Supporting the uptake of core competencies for public health in Canada
March 4, 2026, 1:00 - 2:30 pm EST

In this webinar, the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools will present its Competency Mapping Tool developed to help practitioners quickly identify the many resources that support the uptake of the Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada: Release 2.0. This tool can be useful to plan professional development activities tailored to you and your team’s needs. To register, click here.

New consultation: Draft guidance on asbestos in drinking water

Health Canada, in collaboration with the Federal Provincial Territorial Committee on Drinking Water, has developed draft guidance to support regulatory authorities and decision makers in assessing and managing asbestos in drinking water supplies.

The document covers exposure considerations, health effects, risk assessment, analytical methods, treatment, and management strategies.

A consultation on the guidance is open until March 24, 2026. Comments can be submitted to Health Canada via email: water-consultations-eau@hc-sc.gc.ca.

Click here to view the draft guidance.

2026 BC Lung Foundation air quality and health workshop
April 21, 2026 Vancouver, BC / Online

The theme of this full-day workshop is "Here comes the smoke: Emerging public health challenges in a changing climate". The workshop will examine the health impacts of wildfire smoke, highlighting recent research that links repeated exposure with a broad range of health effects. Presenters include some of the leading researchers in this area, including Dr. Sarah Henderson, BCCDC, Scientific Director of the NCCEH.

For more information and rates for in-person and virtual attendance, visit the website. 

Strengthen One Health communication across sectors

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University are seeking participants for virtual focus groups and interviews as part of a study on improving how health information is shared across human, animal, and environmental sectors. Sessions last about one hour and include a short survey afterward. We are seeking input from practitioners that have experience working in Northern Health (BC), Fraser Health (BC), or Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (ON) Health regions.

For more information, please contact ohcomms@sfu.ca.

External events

Please note that not all information is available in both official languages as the source of the information may not be subject to the Official Languages Act.

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