RSC Collection
FACETS is proud to be the official journal of the Royal Society of Canada’s Academy of Science. Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) comprises the Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Academy of Science; in addition to Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership, the RSC College. The RSC’s mission is to recognize scholarly, research and artistic excellence, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada and with other national academies around the world. This collection is a display of all published papers authored by at least one Member from the RSC
- OPEN ACCESS
- Tracie O. Afifi,
- Janique Fortier,
- Samantha Salmon,
- Tamara Taillieu,
- Ana Osorio,
- Leslie Roos,
- Ashley Stewart-Tufescu,
- Lil Tonmyr,
- Andrea Gonzalez,
- Melissa Kimber,
- Jitender Sareen, and
- Harriet L. MacMillan
Adolescents and young adults have been particularly vulnerable to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives were to identify youth's self-reported pandemic-related stressors and examine how these stressors were related to six negative health outcomes: self-perceived, fair-to-poor physical, and mental health, depression, anxiety, and at-risk alcohol and cannabis use. Data were from the Well-Being and Experiences Study (The WE Study) from Manitoba, Canada (17–22 years old; n = 587; collected from November 2021 to January 2022). The COVID-19 stressors reported most frequently since pandemic onset included: (1) not being able to spend time with friends (78.5%); (2) feeling lonely or isolated (69.9%); and (3) remote learning for school, college, or university (68.4%). In reference to the “past month”, frequently reported stressors were (1) remote learning (42.6%); (2) feeling lonely or isolated (41.2%); and (3) uncertainty about the future (41.1%). Overall, 26.1% of the sample perceived their physical health as fair-to-poor and 59.1% perceive their mental health as fair-to-poor. A number of stressors were related to fair-to-poor mental health, depression, and anxiety; fewer were related to fair-to-poor physical health and at-risk alcohol and cannabis use. These findings can inform future pandemics and recovery efforts to improve pandemic-related health risks among youth. - OPEN ACCESS
- P. Burgess,
- G.S. Betini,
- A. Cholewka,
- J.R. deWaard,
- S. deWaard,
- C. Griswold,
- P.D.N. Hebert,
- A. MacDougall,
- K.S. McCann,
- J. McGroarty,
- E. Miller,
- K. Perez,
- S. Ratnasingham,
- C. Reisiger,
- D. Steinke,
- E. Wright,
- E. Zakharov, and
- J.M. Fryxell
We used Malaise traps to sample arthropod community composition at biweekly intervals across an agroecosystem landscape in southern Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the relative impact of site spacing, seasonal timing, weather conditions, local plant community attributes, and agricultural extent across the local landscape on spatial and temporal variation in arthropod community composition. The 15 field sites sampled spanned a wide gradient of agricultural extent that in isolation had a strong impact on spatial variation in arthropod community composition. DNA metabarcoding of the samples identified >10 000 different arthropod biodiversity index numbers. Local variation in plant community composition and canopy cover best explained variation in arthropod community dissimilarity. Weather variables followed closely in explanatory power, driven primarily by seasonal variation in temperature. Significant effects of time remained after accounting for environmental variables, with little independent effect of spatial distance. The proportion of agricultural land at the landscape scale had little detectable effect after controlling for the influence of the other environmental variables. Our results suggest that plant community composition, cover, weather conditions, and seasonality structured the arthropod community to considerable degree. - OPEN ACCESS
- M. Brock Fenton,
- Paul A. Faure,
- Enrico Bernard,
- Daniel J. Becker,
- Alan C. Jackson,
- Tigga Kingston,
- Peter H.C. Lina,
- Wanda Markotter,
- Susan M. Moore,
- Samira Mubareka,
- Paul A. Racey,
- Charles E. Rupprecht, and
- Lisa Worledge
Globally, bats provide critical ecosystem services. Rabies, caused by rabies virus and related lyssaviruses, is one of the most significant zoonoses associated with bats. Bat biologists study bats in the laboratory and the field. To minimize the risk of disease, all bat handlers should be vaccinated against rabies and undergo routine serological testing to measure their rabies virus neutralizing antibody levels. They should use best practices to avoid exposures, such as personal protective equipment, especially gloves appropriate to the size of the bat(s) being handled. Attention to such details will prevent unnecessary exposures and avoid some of the accompanying negative perceptions that endanger bats on a global level. The small body sizes of many bats (<50 g, many <20 g) and small teeth makes their defensive bites easy to overlook. Breaks in the skin, however small, may result in exposure to lyssaviruses in the animals’ saliva. Exposure to blood-feeding bats is less common because these species are geographically restricted to the Neotropics and are the only species whose natural feeding behavior could involve transmission of rabies virus. Understanding viral transmission, preventing exposures, and responding appropriately to bites will minimize the consequences of this deadly zoonosis. - OPEN ACCESS
- Susan C.C. Gordon,
- Adam G. Duchesne,
- Michael R. Dusevic,
- Carmen Galán-Acedo,
- Lucas Haddaway,
- Sarah Meister,
- Andrea Olive,
- Marlena Warren,
- Jaimie G. Vincent,
- Steven J. Cooke, and
- Joseph R. Bennett
Canada’s provinces and territories govern species at risk across most of Canada, with the federal Species at Risk Act generally covering only aquatic species, migratory birds, and species living on federal land. More than a decade after a 2012 report by the environmental law charity Ecojustice on species at risk protection in Canada, we use the same criteria to evaluate the current state of provincial and territorial species at risk legislation, and we provide updates on changes in each jurisdiction since 2012. These criteria are as follows: whether at-risk species are being identified, whether these species are being protected, whether their habitat is being protected, and whether species recovery plans are being created and implemented. We find that there is considerable variation across jurisdictions, with shortcomings that result in inadequate protections for at-risk species, as well as strong components that should be adopted by all jurisdictions. We recommend seven key areas for improvement: dedicated and harmonized legislation, limited discretionary power, increased embrace of scientific and Indigenous knowledge, appropriate timelines for actions, reasonable exemptions to protections, habitat protection across land ownership types, and transparency throughout the process. We urge policymakers to address current shortcomings as they work toward meeting Canada’s biodiversity conservation commitments. - OPEN ACCESSBecause of Canada’s large size, it is impractical to obtain a comprehensive perspective on biotic change through morphological approaches. DNA metabarcoding offers a potential path, but its application requires access to a well-parameterized DNA barcode reference library. This study presents the current state of DNA barcode coverage for Canadian animals, highlighting progress, identifying gaps, and providing recommendations for future research. Our analysis indicates that many of the known species (100 000 terrestrial and 6000 marine) in the Canadian fauna possess DNA barcode coverage, but there are important gaps geographically and taxonomically. We summarize DNA barcode coverage for the species in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments by ecoregion, finding that 95.6% of the 2.3 million Canadian barcode records derive from terrestrial ecosystems. Although the density of barcode records per 100 km² is 13x higher for terrestrial than aquatic environments (22.4 vs. 1.7), coverage for 58% of marine species is available (54% for annelids, 52% for arthropods, 88% for chordates, 39% for echinoderms, and 46% for molluscs). By revealing data-deficient areas and taxonomic groups, this study offers a roadmap for expanding the DNA barcode library for the Canadian fauna as an essential foundation for the scalable biosurveillance initiatives that inform biodiversity conservation efforts.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Steven J. Cooke,
- Andy J. Danylchuk,
- Joel Zhang,
- Vivian M. Nguyen,
- Len M. Hunt,
- Robert Arlinghaus,
- Kathryn J. Fiorella,
- Hing Man Chan, and
- Tony L. Goldberg
Recreational fisheries involve an intimate connection between people, individual fish, and the environment. Recreational fishers and their health crucially depend on healthy fish and ecosystems. Similarly, fish and ecosystems can be impacted by the activities of people including recreational fishers. Thus, amplified by the global interest in recreational fishing, we posit that recreational fishing is particularly suited as an empirical system to explore a One Health perspective, with a goal of creating pathways to better manage such socio-ecological systems for the benefit of people, fish, and the environment. Although zoonoses are uncommon in fishes, fish can carry pathogens, biotoxins, or contaminants that are harmful to people. When captured and released, fish can experience stress and injuries that may promote pathogen development. Similarly, when humans contribute to environmental degradation, not only are fish impacted but so are the humans that depend on them for nutrition, livelihoods, culture, and well-being. Failure to embrace the One Health perspective for recreational fisheries has the potential to negatively impact the health of fish, fisheries, people, society, and the aquatic environment—especially important since these complex social–ecological systems are undergoing rapid change. - OPEN ACCESS
- Steven J. Cooke,
- Nathan Young,
- Kathryn S. Peiman,
- Dominique G. Roche,
- Jeff C. Clements,
- Andrew N. Kadykalo,
- Jennifer F. Provencher,
- Rajeev Raghavan,
- Maria C. DeRosa,
- Robert J. Lennox,
- Aminah Robinson Fayek,
- Melania E. Cristescu,
- Stuart J. Murray,
- Joanna Quinn,
- Kelly D. Cobey, and
- Howard I. Browman
This candid perspective written by scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds is intended to advance conversations about the realities of peer review and its inherent limitations. Trust in a process or institution is built slowly and can be destroyed quickly. Trust in the peer review process for scholarly outputs (i.e., journal articles) is being eroded by high-profile scandals, exaggerated news stories, exposés, corrections, retractions, and anecdotes about poor practices. Diminished trust in the peer review process has real-world consequences and threatens the uptake of critical scientific advances. The literature on “crises of trust” tells us that rebuilding diminished trust takes time and requires frank admission and discussion of problems, creative thinking that addresses rather than dismisses criticisms, and planning and enacting short- and long-term reforms to address the root causes of problems. This article takes steps in this direction by presenting eight peer review reality checks and summarizing efforts to address their weaknesses using a harm reduction approach, though we recognize that reforms take time and some problems may never be fully rectified. While some forms of harm reduction will require structural and procedural changes, we emphasize the vital role that training editors, reviewers, and authors has in harm reduction. Additionally, consumers of science need training about how the peer review process works and how to critically evaluate research findings. No amount of self-policing, transparency, or reform to peer review will eliminate all bad actors, unscrupulous publishers, perverse incentives that reward cutting corners, intentional deception, or bias. However, the scientific community can act to minimize the harms from these activities, while simultaneously (re)building the peer review process. A peer review system is needed, even if it is imperfect. - OPEN ACCESS
- Dylan Hillis,
- Kristina M. Barclay,
- Erin Foster,
- Hannah M. Kobluk,
- Taylor Vollman,
- Anne K. Salomon,
- Chris T. Darimont, and
- Iain McKechnie
Shellfish have supported Indigenous lifeways on the Pacific Coast of North America for millennia. Despite the ubiquity of clamshells in archaeological sites, shell size measurements are rarely reported due to a lack of applicable basis for generating size estimates from fragmentary remains. We present a linear regression-based method for determining shell length from hinge and umbo measurements of littleneck (Leukoma staminea; n = 239), butter (Saxidomus gigantea; n = 274), and horse (Tresus nuttallii; n = 92) clams using both contemporary and archaeological shells collected from three regions in coastal British Columbia, Canada. We examine the accuracy of these size estimations, which indicate that 83%–97% of the variability in dorsal shell length is predicted by umbo thickness and hinge length. Hinge length generated higher R2 values yet exhibited greater intra- and inter-observer error. While the predicted dorsal length for each species differed by region, this size difference was smaller than intra- and inter-observer error, suggesting broad applicability for these simple measurements. We applied these formulae to a Tseshaht First Nation archaeological clamshell assemblage (n = 488) on western Vancouver Island spanning 3000 years and observed profiles that resemble contemporary legal size limits, which suggests the sustained use and maintenance of local shellfisheries. The accuracy of these regression models for determining shell length from fragments highlights the utility of this approach as a basis for assessing past shellfish management practices. - OPEN ACCESS
- Sharon E. Straus,
- Robyn Beckett,
- Christine Fahim,
- Negin Pak,
- Danielle Kasperavicius,
- Tammy Clifford, and
- Bev Holmes
The Royal Society of Canada Working Group on Health Research System Recovery developed actionable recommendations for organizations to implement to strengthen Canada’s health research system. Recommendations were based on input from participants from G7 countries and Australia and New Zealand. Participants included health research funding agency leaders; research institute leaders; health, public health, and social care policy-makers; researchers; and members of the public. The recommendations were categorized using the World Health Organization’s framework for health research systems and include governance/stewardship: (1) Outline research logistics as part of emergency preparedness to streamline research in future pandemics. (2) Embed equity and inclusion in all research processes. (3) Facilitate streamlined, inclusive, and rigorous processes for grant application preparation and review. (4) Create knowledge mobilization infrastructure to support the generation and use of evidence. (5) Coordinate research efforts across local, provincial, national, and international entities. Financing: (6) Reimagine the funding of health research. Capacity building: (7) Invest in formative training opportunities rooted in equity, diversity, and anti-racism. (8) Support researchers’ career development throughout their career span. (9) Support early career researchers to establish themselves. Producing and using research: (10) Strengthen Indigenous health research and break down systemic barriers to its conduct. (11) Develop mechanisms to produce novel research. (12) Enhance research use across the health research ecosystem. - OPEN ACCESS
- Delon Omrow,
- Michelle Anagnostou,
- Phillip Cassey,
- Steven J. Cooke,
- Sheldon Jordan,
- Andrea E. Kirkwood,
- Timothy MacNeill,
- Tanner Mirrlees,
- Isabel Pedersen,
- Peter Stoett, and
- Michael F. Tlusty
International and transnational cooperation is needed to strengthen environmental governance initiatives with advanced technologies. In January 2023, Ontario Tech University hosted a symposium entitled Tech With a Green Governance Conscience: Exploring the Technology–Environmental Policy Nexus. Attendees spanned diverse disciplines, sectors, and countries, bringing unique and diverse perspectives to the technology–environmental policy nexus. Emergent themes arising from the symposium include the role of artificial intelligence in environmental governance, while eliminating the detrimental social impacts associated with these advanced technologies via algorithmic bias, misunderstanding, and unaccountability. The symposium explored the tech–society–ecology interface, such as the authoritarian intensification of digitalized environmental governance, “technocracy”, and the ethical implications of sacrificing democratic legitimacy in the face of imminent environmental destruction. Select participants (i.e., co-authors) at the symposium provided input on a preliminary framework, which led to this perspective article focused on the politics surrounding green governance in the 21st century. We conclude that while emerging technologies are being deployed to address grand environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion, the use of these various technologies for progressive environmental policy development and enforcement requires co-productivist approaches to constructive technology assessments and embracing the concept of technologies of humility. This necessitates a space for dialogue, reflection, and deliberation on leading adaptive environmental governance in the face of power and politics, as we interrogate the putative neutrality of advanced technology and techno-solutionism. - OPEN ACCESSStrontium isotopes are used for provenience and mobility studies in archaeology, ecology, and forensic studies, and rely on accurate baseline maps that are used to compare and interpret human and animal strontium ratios. Here, we present a bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr map, also called an isoscape, for southern British Columbia derived from modern plant samples’ 87Sr/86Sr ratios. We sampled 67 medium root depth plants over a 900 km transect from the southern BC coast to inland BC to capture the natural 87Sr/86Sr ratios of plants along the four major geological belts in British Columbia. Non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis and pairwise Wilcox tests were used to examine whether the geological belts had statistically significant mean differences. It was found that the province could be effectively divided into east and west, with the Coastal–Intermontane and Omineca–Foreland regions having statistically different means from each other. 87Sr/86Sr ratios had statistically significant relationships with salt deposition, volcanic deposition, and mean age of the underlying lithology. Generally, 87Sr/86Sr ratios increased with distance from the coast as the atmospheric input of radiogenic strontium from marine-derived rainwater decreased and the input of radiogenic strontium isotopes from the underlying geology of the Rockies in the far east of the province increased.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Amanda M. Schwantes,
- Carina Rauen Firkowski,
- Peter S. Rodriguez,
- Andrew Gonzalez, and
- Marie-Josée Fortin
Monitoring of global climate regulation ecosystem services is needed to inform national accounts, meet emission targets, and evaluate nature-based climate solutions. As carbon monitoring is context-dependent, the most useful methodological approach will depend on the spatial extent and resolution, temporal frequency, baseline, available data, funding, and dominant drivers of change, all of which will impact results and interpretation. Here, focusing on above and belowground carbon storage and sequestration, we review four groups of methods for estimating trends in carbon over time: (1) field-based measurements, (2) land cover maps with reference carbon values by land cover type, (3) statistical and machine learning models linking field measurements to remotely sensed data, and (4) mass balance models representing key carbon pools and flows between them. We discuss strengths, limitations, and best practices for each method to assist researchers in implementing an approach or critically evaluating whether an existing carbon dataset can be used for a different project. The best methods often account for spatial variability of carbon, ecosystem interconnections, and temporal stability of carbon stocks against future environmental changes. Effective carbon monitoring can help determine optimal conservation, restoration, and/or land management interventions with win-win outcomes for both conservation and nature-based climate solutions. - OPEN ACCESS
- S.J. Cooke,
- J. Vermey,
- J.J. Taylor,
- T. Rytwinski,
- W.M. Twardek,
- G. Auld,
- R. Van Bogaert, and
- A.L. MacDonald
Assisted migration is increasingly being considered as a potential climate change adaptation tactic even though it also comes with potential risk to ecosystems and society. When implementing conservation actions that involve risk, it is prudent to have policies and guidelines to ensure that such actions are conducted in ways that conform to regional standards and consider risks. Here, we report on a policy scan focused on assisted migration in the context of climate change adaptation originally as a protected areas tactic only, but then broadened to ecosystems in Canada beyond those boundaries. Policy scans are a useful strategy for understanding the evolving policy and regulatory landscape for a given topic and can guide the development of such policies in other jurisdictions. Our scan focused on Canada, where multi-scalar governance systems exist relevant to biodiversity and environmental management. Our comprehensive policy scan (involving scans of legislation, policies, and guidelines found online and through direct inquiries with government bodies) revealed major gaps in the assisted migration policy landscape with very few provincial/territorial or federal policies in Canada. A more rudimentary scan in the United States revealed a similar pattern. There was evidence that some jurisdictions anticipated need for such policies and even a few examples of very specific policies (e.g., seeds) that had already been developed, but there were not comprehensive policies or frameworks. Governments and other relevant bodies/organizations may wish to consider working collaboratively toward the development of robust, evidence-based policies for assisted migration given that we anticipate this conservation intervention becoming more popular as climate change impacts on ecosystems become more evident and dire. - OPEN ACCESS
- Colin J. Whitfield,
- Emily Cavaliere,
- Helen M. Baulch,
- Robert G. Clark,
- Christopher Spence,
- Kevin R. Shook,
- Zhihua He,
- John W. Pomeroy, and
- Jared D. Wolfe
In many regions, a tradeoff exists between draining wetlands to support the expansion of agricultural land, and conserving wetlands to maintain their valuable ecosystem services. Decisions about wetland drainage are often made without identifying the impacts on the services these systems provide. We address this gap through a novel assessment of impacts on ecosystem services via wetland drainage in the Canadian prairie landscape. Draining pothole wetlands has large impacts, but sensitivity varies among the indicators considered. Loss of water storage increased the magnitude of median annual flows, but absolute increases with drainage were higher for larger, less frequent events. Total phosphorus exports increased in concert with streamflow. Our analysis suggested disproportionate riparian habitat losses with the first 30% of wetland area drained. Dabbling ducks and wetland-associated bird abundances respond strongly to the loss of small wetland ponds; abundances were predicted to decrease by half with the loss of only 20%–40% of wetland area. This approach to evaluating changes to key wetland ecosystem services in a large region where wetland drainage is ongoing can be used with an economic valuation of the drainage impacts, which should be weighed against the benefits associated with agricultural expansion. - OPEN ACCESSCOVID-19 was a stark reminder that understanding a novel pathogen is essential but insufficient to protect us from disease. Biomedical and technical solutions are necessary, but they do not prevent or resolve misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, or resistance to public health measures, nor are they sufficient to advance the development of more equitable and effective healthcare systems. Responding to crises such as pandemics requires deep collaboration drawing on multiple methodologies and perspectives. Along with the science, it is imperative to understand cultures, values, languages, histories, and other determinants of human behaviour. This policy briefing argues that the humanities—a group of methodologically diverse fields, including interdisciplinary studies that overlap significantly with the social determinants of health—are an underused source of cultural and social insight that is increasingly important and could be better leveraged in such collaboration. Humanities disciplines approach health and illness as part of the human condition. Their historical perspective could be more effectively mobilized to explore the social and cultural context in which science exists and evolves, in turn, helping us understand the forces shaping perceptions, concerns, and assumptions.
- OPEN ACCESSPlant structures that enclose trapped air are morphologically and taxonomically diverse. They range from pubescence (trichomes) on various parts of plants to flowers, inflorescences, stems, culms (above-ground jointed stems of grasses), petioles, peduncles, scapes, fruits, bracts, leaves, galls, algal pneumatocysts, moss sporophytes, lichen podetia, and fungal fruiting bodies. Despite being familiar, such structures have not been studied systematically until recently when their complex thermodynamic functionality as microgreenhouses has been recognized. We propose the term “heliocaminiform” (Greco-Latin origin for “sun-room”) provides an umbrella term that describes form and function. Almost all the hollow structures we have examined have elevated internal temperatures of several degrees C above the surrounding air in sunshine, but those are abolished under cloud or at night. The potential importance for the additional heat is presumed to be in growth, maturation, reproduction, sexual function, and overall fitness of the plants. There seem to be no experimental studies on those effects even though they may help explain aspects of plants’ responses to climate change and to phenological mismatches with symbionts (mutualists and herbivores) as ecologically co-dependent partners. Our review and observations opens a remarkably new and hitherto surprisingly neglected avenue in botany which we hope others will explore.
- OPEN ACCESSIn Quebec, the Act Respecting Threatened or Vulnerable species (ARTV), adopted in 1989, aims to safeguard Quebec's wild genetic diversity by protecting species at risk. However, since its implementation about 30 years ago, it has been repeatedly pointed out that the application of the Quebec legislative framework for the protection of wildlife species at risk was often slow and inadequate. The aim of this article is therefore to make a series of observations on the limits of current legislation and then propose nine urgent recommendations to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts for species at risk in Quebec. Our recommendations aim to increase the efficiency and transparency of the designation process, reconsider compensation mechanisms for the loss of critical habitat, and harmonize species status between the federal and provincial levels. We hope that our article will pave the way for a constructive discussion leading to an improved protection of wildlife species in precarious situations and their persistence for future generations. The English version of this article is available in the Supplementary material file.
- OPEN ACCESS
- OPEN ACCESSHistorical gold mining operations between the 1860s and 1940s have left substantial quantities of arsenic- and mercury-rich tailings near abandoned mines in remote and urban areas of Nova Scotia, Canada. Large amounts of materials from the tailings have entered the surface waters of downstream aquatic ecosystems at concentrations that present a risk to benthos. We used paleolimnological approaches to examine long-term trends in sedimentary metal(loid) concentrations, assess potential sediment toxicity, and determine if geochemical recovery has occurred at four lakes located downstream of three productive gold-mining districts. During the historical mining era, sedimentary total arsenic and mercury concentrations and enrichment factors increased substantially at all downstream lakes that received inputs from tailings. Similarly, chromium, lead, and zinc concentrations increased in the sediments after mining activities began and the urbanization that followed. The calculated probable effects of concentration quotients (PEC-Qs) for sediments exceeded the probable biological effects threshold (PEC-Q > 2) during the mining era. Although sedimentary metal(loid) concentrations have decreased for most elements in recent sediments, relatively higher PEC-Q and continued exceedance of Canadian Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines suggest that complete geochemical recovery has not occurred. It is likely that surface runoff from tailing fields, urbanization, and climate-mediated changes are impacting geochemical recovery trajectories.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Vanessa Gruben,
- Elaine Hyshka,
- Matthew Bonn,
- Chelsea Cox,
- Marilou Gagnon,
- Adrian Guta,
- Martha Jackman,
- Jason Mercredi,
- Akia Munga,
- Eugene Oscapella,
- Carol Strike, and
- Hakique Virani
The International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy recommend that states commit to adopting a balanced, integrated, and human rights-based approach to drug policy through a set of foundational human rights principles, obligations arising from human rights standards, and obligations arising from the human rights of particular groups. In respect of the Guidelines and standing obligations under UN Treaties, Canada must adopt stronger and more specific commitments for a human rights-based, people-centered, and public health approach. This approach must commit to the decriminalization of people who use drugs and include the decriminalization of possession, purchase, and cultivation for personal consumption. In this report, we will first turn to the legal background of Canada's drug laws. Next, we will provide an overview of ongoing law reform proposals from civil society groups, various levels of government, the House of Commons, and the Senate. We end with a three-staged approach to reform and a series of targeted recommendationscr.