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Restructuring and Health in Canadian Coastal Communities

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Abstract

Environmental and socioeconomic restructuring has had profound consequences for coastal communities in Canada. The decline of traditional resource-based industries—fisheries, forestry, and mining—and the emergence of new economic activities, such as tourism and aquaculture, compounded by concurrent shifts in social programs, have affected the health of environments, communities, and people. Drawing on research conducted as part of the interdisciplinary major collaborative research initiative Coasts Under Stress, we examined the implications of interactive restructuring for the health of people and communities on Canada’s east and west coasts. The research is guided by a socioecological framework that identifies the pathways from interactive restructuring through health determinants to health risks and health outcomes. The utility of the proposed framework is exemplified by a specific place-based example in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and a case-based example from coastal communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. A focus on interactive restructuring draws our attention to the many challenges associated with promoting health in a context of rapid and often accelerating environmental and institutional change that is relevant to other areas and contexts.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for supporting this project and for jointly funding Coasts Under Stress (http://www.coastsunderstress.ca). We also acknowledge the CUS research team for their valuable feedback on earlier versions of this article, as well as several reviewers who provided insightful and constructive feedback. A version of this article was presented at the 10th International Symposium in Medical Geography in Manchester, UK, in July 2003. Special thanks also go to Ken Josephson, Ole Heggen, and Carrie Holcapek for producing the figures and to Mia Reimers for helping to compile Prince Rupert community information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Victoria, 3050, Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P5, Canada

    A. Holly Dolan

  2. Office of the Vice-President, Research, University of Victoria, 1700, Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada

    Martin Taylor

  3. Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Barbara Neis

  4. Office of the Vice-President, Research and Coasts Under Stress, University of Victoria, Sedgewick Building, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3P6, Canada

    Rosemary Ommer

  5. McMaster Institute of Environment and Health, Charles Burke Science Building, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada

    John Eyles

  6. Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, A1B 3X7, Canada

    David Schneider

  7. Psychology, Biology and Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Bill Montevecchi

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  1. A. Holly Dolan
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Correspondence to A. Holly Dolan.

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Dolan, A.H., Taylor, M., Neis, B. et al. Restructuring and Health in Canadian Coastal Communities. EcoHealth 2, 195–208 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-005-6333-7

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