Canadian Association of
Nurses for the Environment
Association canadienne des infirmières
et infirmiers pour l'environnement
Canadian Association of
Nurses for the Environment
Association canadienne des infirmières
et infirmiers pour l'environnement
The Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment in Victoria are calling on City Council to take urgent, evidence-based action to protect renters from extreme heat by advancing a bylaw that ensures indoor temperatures can be maintained at or below 26°C. As climate-driven heat waves become more frequent and intense, the risks to health are no longer theoretical—overheating inside homes has already proven deadly.
From a frontline healthcare perspective and more specifically during the heat dome of 2021, nurses have witnessed how prolonged exposure to high indoor temperatures can lead to dehydration, heat exhaustion, worsening of chronic conditions, and preventable deaths—particularly among older adults, people with disabilities, and those living alone. Renters are disproportionately affected, often lacking the ability to install cooling systems or make structural improvements to their units.
This proposed bylaw is a practical, life-saving measure. It would set a clear, enforceable standard for safe indoor temperatures. Ensuring that at least one room in every rental unit can remain below 26°C is not a luxury—it is a basic requirement for health, dignity, and safety in a warming climate.
By taking this step, Victoria can lead with compassion and foresight, aligning housing policy with public health and climate resilience.
Read the proposed motion here
Watch a brief interview with Victoria City Councillor Matt Dell and CANE BC member Helen Boyd here
We hope many nurses will attend Council meeting on Thursday May 14th at 6:30 PM at City Hall where we will speak in support of this motion.
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/wOlJU4BMi_0
Follow the Council Meeting tonight (6:30) online: https://bit.ly/May14council
The Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment BC Committee (CANE BC) is a group of actively practicing as well as student and retired nurses. Our work began many years ago throughout our province. We are now joining forces as one provincial committee to have a greater impact given the urgency of the Climate Crisis and the compelling need to protect our planetary health.
As the most trusted position in the healthcare profession, we use our voices to raise public awareness, implement concrete actions, and undertake advocacy efforts on environmental health issues that threaten the health and well-being of individuals in our province.
In our trusted position within the healthcare profession and the public, CANE BC nurses are actively engaging in our communities. We seek to raise Awareness, implement concrete Action and undertake Advocacy efforts on issues of sustainability that threaten the health and well-being of the citizens of our province and our planet as a whole.
Despite our name, this organization is not limited to working with nurses, nursing students, and retired nurses. We are stronger by joining forces in conjunction with other healthcare professionals such as our physician colleagues and existing environmental groups that are equally concerned with the well-being of our planet. We believe that the synergy of these groups coming together for a common purpose is the catalyst required to bring much needed attention to our current climate change challenges.
“No amount of medical knowledge will lessen the accountability for nurses to do what nurses do, that is, manage the environment to promote positive life processes.”
CANE is partnering with CAPE to bring attention to the health harms and climate change risk from expanded LNG facilities in BC. You are invited to join this work in three ways: Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) #nurses4planetaryhealth
Fossil gas infrastructure and fracking have expanded rapidly across BC despite the increasing body of scientific evidence indicating that these activities pose significant risks to public health. As healthcare professionals committed to safeguarding public health, we are issuing a health advisory on LNG and fracking in BC due to the following risks:
Click here to add your name to this LNG and Healthcare Costs Sign-On Letter
The climate crisis is the greatest health threat we face. Are healthcare pensions part of the problem, or part of the solution?
Click this poster, scan the QR code or use this link to the Sign-on Letter
Aggie Black, (Rt) BC Representative speaking out about the healthcare costs of LNG. Aug. 2024
Helen Boyd BC Representative speaking out for Climate Justice, Planetary Health Rally-BC Legislature Nov.2021
CANE-BC partnered with the Association of Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia (NNPBC) to offer an award for planetary health to two distinguished nurses in January 2025. NNPBC and CANE-BC formally recognized the two award recipients at the Nursing Awards of Excellence Gala on January 9, 2025 in Vancouver.
The two award recipients include:
