April 27/2007

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) said it was optimistic that the targets and timelines announced by the federal government will move Canadians further down the road to better health.

Canada's doctors continue to be concerned about the health impacts of
climate change and smog pollution. CMA supported Canada's ratification of the
Kyoto Protocol and believes strongly that the faster we move to reduce
greenhouse gases, the better for the health of Canadians.

CMA is also concerned about the well-proven and immediate impact of smog
pollution on the cardiac and respiratory health of our patients across the
country. Canada's doctors cannot ignore the current smog threat and will
support meaningful actions to reduce these pollutants.

The CMA reports that the real measure of success will be a reduction in the overall
burden of diseases associated with pollution and climate change. Doctors
will play an active role with other health stakeholders in examining the
impact environmental change can have on health and in monitoring air pollution
across Canada. The CMA also intends to work with government to accelerate progress
on meeting targets and to report that performance publicly

One hopes that lowering polutions levels will improve health. While maintaining your health should be a priority for Canadians, this also illustrates the importance of getting Canadian health insurance if you are not covered by an employer group insurance plan. Healthcover.ca continues to offer a variety of health insurance plans for Canadians from Manulife online.