Public health physicians in B.C. are calling for an independent assessment of possible health impacts related to the oil and gas industry.

The request comes from the Health Officers’ Council of B.C., who passed a resolution in November 2025 outlining the need for an assessment.

Dr. Tim Takaro is a physician and researcher with Simon Fraser University, whose work is focused on environmental and occupational health.

“The cumulative impact in terms of both air pollution and water pollution is primarily what we’re concerned about,” he said.

He moved the resolution and said the aim is to examine the oil and gas industry in its entirety — fracking in the northeast, transport and compression stations, LNG facilities in the northwest and emissions.

“If we really accounted for all of those health effects and in particular the long term health effects of future generations, this industry would have been shut down a long time ago,” he said.

According to Takaro, Canada has been slow to study health in relation to the oil and gas industry, with most studies being done in the United States. He says there’s never been a comprehensive assessment of the industry in B.C.

Causation isn’t easy to prove and can’t be done in a singular study, says Takaro, noting numerous environmental factors have to be considered.

He cautions climate change is also a killer, noting the devastation caused by the 2021 heat dome.

“If we do hit four degrees, which is seemingly very likely now by 2050,” he said. “That will be devastating for human health. It’ll mean many more heat waves, people dying from that, more flooding, more wildfires.”

City of Dawson Creek issuing letter of support

Last month, Dawson Creek city council voted in favour of issuing a letter of support for the Health Officers’ Council’s resolution, brought forward in a memo by Coun. Charlie Parslow.

A long term resident of the South Peace, Parslow said he understands the economic importance of the oil and gas industry to the region, but is concerned about health impacts.

“We all know the oil and gas is is part of a way of living. We all depend on it. But we also need to be concerned about the health impacts,” he said.

“Perhaps we can improve the safety for all residents and also for the oil workers.”

He’s not advocating for oil and gas activities to stop, but would like see protections for people’s health, especially for those living near gas plants or flaring.

“I’m just advocating that we establish the highest standards of preventative health regimes,” said Parslow.

Studies on industrial impacts already underway

Dr. Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, a PhD researcher with the University of Toronto’s health department, says association doesn’t necessarily mean causation. She’s in favour of the independent assessment.

“How do you extrapolate which you measure in a cell to what happens in the real human being with all of their complexities?” she said.

“It’s not an easy task. And it brings limitations and the interpretations we can make.”

A 2016 to 2019 study collected hair, nails and urine samples from Indigenous and non-Indigenous pregnant women in northeast B.C., along with tap water and air samples from their homes.

Chemical levels were higher compared to the general Canadian population, says Caron-Beaudoin. The study took into consideration the number of oil and gas wells near the homes and individuals sampled.

“For some contaminants, we did find, kind of, positive associations,” she said. “Meaning that pregnant women in our cohort that had the most wells around their home at the highest levels of exposure to some of these contaminants.”

A study is currently being conducted on asthma in northeast B.C., in relation to air quality data over the past twenty years, looking at what could make symptoms worse.

Caron-Beaudoin is also working on a study examining contamination of traditional Indigenous foods in partnership with the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations, keeping an eye out for heavy metals in particular.

The food study isn’t solely focused on oil and gas activity, taking all industrial activity into account, including the recently completed Site C dam.

Local doctor supportive of research

Dr. Ulrike Meyer, a Dawson Creek family physician of more than 30 years, says she’s seen prevalence of rare cancers at an alarming frequency, which she claims is related to fracking.

She wants the health risks of oil and gas contaminant exposure to be explored, noting there’s a been a long standing interest by medical professionals for an independent assessment.

“The causation will be hard to prove. We know that the chemicals they use for the fracking process, that 11 are known to be carcinogenic,” said Meyer.

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