Québec Region
Few things are more important than the air we breathe. Every day, some 20,000 litres of air pass through our respiratory system, enough to blow up 600 beach balls! Unfortunately, smog causes several thousand premature deaths per year in Canada.
The principle human causes of air pollution are the production and use of energy. However, clean energy sources such as wind energy, hydroelectric energy — of which Quebec is one of the main producers — and natural gas, allow a reduction in the amount of pollutants emitted to the air.
The transport sector is the principal source of smog in Quebec, followed by industrial activity. Residential wood heating also contributes to air pollution. In Quebec, this sector alone accounts for 46% of the production of fine particles (PM2.5), one of the main components of smog. The growth in use of wood stoves is cause for concern, since many residents of Quebec bought wood stoves after the ice storm of 1998.
Both government and the private sector are collaborating in drawing up strategies aimed at improving air quality in the province. For example, Environment Canada, the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec, the City of Montreal, and public health services are collaborating in Info-SMOG, a program that provides air quality forecasts and alerts, environmental messages addressed to the public, and information about the impact of air pollutants on health.
The province of Quebec also collaborates with the federal government in evaluating various scenarios relative to precursors of tropospheric ozone and the reduction of fine particle emissions so as to conform to the Canada-wide Standards, and to the Ozone Annex to the Canada-US Agreement on Air Quality.
With respect to transportation issues, Environment Canada and other federal and provincial departments have joined forces with the private sector to create a demonstration platform in Quebec for testing vehicles fuelled by alternative fuels. As well, a demonstration program involving electric vehicles for use in automobile fleets has served to assess the viability of electric vehicles in the Montreal region, and to help reduce smog and greenhouse gases.
Governments and the private sector have carried out several other activities aimed at reducing air pollution in Quebec. To learn more, consult the following links:
- Air Quality in Quebec
- Pollution Sources in Quebec
- Transportation Activities
- Industry Activities
- Evaluation of Air Pollution
- Climate Change Related Activities
