Linkages with other Issues

POPs tend to concentrate in colder climates such as Canada's north.

The geographic location and socio-economic activities of Aboriginal Northerners make them particularly susceptible as they eat traditional food that has been contaminated by POPs. Traditional food is both culturally and economically essential for most Aboriginal Northerners.

The Inuit are particularly at risk from POPs because of their exposure to these substances through their diet. Levels of POPs in Canadian Inuit populations are among the highest observed in the world. Recent studies conducted under the Northern Contaminants Program concerning contaminant levels in blood of Inuit women in communities across the North have indicated that in certain regions of Nunavut, 40-65 per cent of the women participants had levels of PCBs up to five times above values used by Health Canada and the Territorial governments to identify a level of concern.

Canada has shown leadership in pursuing the elimination and reduction of POPs and will continue to do so, both domestically and internationally.