Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Resource development both positively and negatively influences the determinants of health in resource-dependent communities, many of which are located in rural and remote locations across northern British Columbia. Despite being an identified pillar of environmental assessment (EA) regulation in British Columbia, health is typically analyzed through the lens of biophysical exposure risks and direct health impacts as part of a 'desktop review' of baseline data. Indeed, the limited inclusion of the determinants of health in EA processes has been documented provincially, nationally and internationally due to limitations of capacity and expertise, poor intersectional and disciplinary collaboration, and the need for transparency and efficiency in assessment. This project takes a "health in all policies" approach to consider how the social and ecological determinants of health can be better accounted for in EA processes to promote upstream drivers of health and well-being. Through a combination of policy analysis, surveys, interviews and capacity-building workshops with diverse sectors involved in EA certification (e.g. First Nations Lands officers, industry proponents, EA practitioners, health authority staff, and a variety of other provincial ministerial contacts), this research seeks to promote a new generation of intersectoral engagement in resource governance processes. Specifically, it leverages lessons from across sectors to enhance collaboration during EA certification, bolster monitoring and surveillance of the determinants of health in the EA process, and thereby improve capacity of the many actors examining and responding to population health and health equity impacts of resource development.