Journal articles on the topic 'Sustainable development – Ontario – Toronto Region'

The research finds evidence in support of and wide recognition of the practical value of management system standards (MSS) by assisting municipalities in meeting their human health protection, environmental objectives, addressing environmental and property damage risks, and providing an additional mechanism of public accountability and transparency. Semi-structured interviews were applied to assess perceptions with practitioners and environmental non-governmental organizations on whether a similar approach to the legally required drinking water quality management standard (DWQMS) could be applied for the municipal wastewater and stormwater sectors. Twelve Ontario municipalities have adopted or are in the process of adopting an ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard for their wastewater and/or stormwater systems, which represents 66% of Ontario’s population. With the large urban centres (e.g., Toronto, York Region, Durham Region, Halton Region and Peel Region) adopting the standard, this is likely to influence small to medium-sized cities to follow a similar approach. Although, resources might be a factor preventing the cohort of smaller utilities voluntarily taking this path. Regulations governing Ontario’s municipal drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utilities were compared via gap analysis. Gaps on management of the system, performance monitoring, auditing and having minimum design criteria left the municipal wastewater and stormwater sectors behind in comparison with recently updated (2004–2008) regulatory framework for the drinking water sector. Based on the identification and review of significant gaps in wastewater and stormwater regulation (compared with the drinking water sector), environmental MSS should be incorporated to strengthen the regulatory framework of these sectors. These phenomena also depict a form of sustainable governance with the use of MSS, which are initiated, developed and regulated by non-state actors, recognizing the value of non-state rule instruments in the water, wastewater and stormwater sectors.

Forested lands in southern Ontario are threatened by a myriad of demands. In order to capture the multi-scale, multi-use and multifunction reality of forests within such intense human-nature interdependent landscapes, an integrative approach to sustainable forest management is necessary. Such forest management may be possible by combining the framework of landscape ecology with an understanding of forest multifunctionality. Within the Greater Toronto Area, the management of forests is provided by several agencies; some are responsible for 1) geological landscapes (e.g., the Niagara Escarpment), 2) for watersheds (e.g., Conservation Authorities) and 3) for political regions (e.g., York Region). In this paper, case studies reflecting important management issues are introduced. Wildlife research is then presented to link these issues to landscape ecology and forest multifunctionality in order to illustrate a means of enhancing sustainable forest management. Key words: landscape ecology, multifunctionality, multifunctional approach, sustainable forest management, Greater Toronto Area, wildlife function, integrative forest management

The author is an environmental economist who provides consulting services to a wide range of clients from private industry, environmental interest groups and the federal and provincial governments. He has worked with the federal departments of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries and Oceans and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment; lectured at Concordia, the University of Ottawa and Wilfred Laurier University in Public Administration and Sustainable Development; and written widely on a range of environmental topics. Ray Rivers was the Canadian co-author of the Land Use sections in the 1996/1998 State of the Lake Ecosystem Conferences. The text that follows is an edited and revised version of a paper presented at the international symposion on "The Natural City," Toronto, 23-25 June, 2004, sponsored by the University of Toronto's Division of the Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, and the World Society for Ekistics.

Ingrid Leman Stefanovic is Associate Professor of Philosophy at St.Michael's College, University of Toronto, Canada. She is also a full member of the graduate Institute for Environmental Studies and teaches interdisciplinary courses in Environmental Decision Making and Environmental Philosophy. Research interests address how taken for granted values and perceptions affect decision making and policy development. Previously, she worked in Leman Group Inc., together with her father, Alexander B. Leman. She has co-edited a book on the Great Lakes Megalopolis. Her most recent book is entitled Safeguarding Our Common Future: Rethinking Sustainable Development (SUNY Press, 2000). She is a member of the World Society for Ekistics (WSE). The text that follows is a slightly edited and revised version of a paper that the author intended to present at the WSE Symposion "Defining Success of the City in the 21st Century," Berlin, 24-28 October, 2001, in which she was finally unable to participate.

The paper summarizes the changes in modal transport choice behaviour that occurred in the Toronto region between 1986 and 1991. The evidence presented shows that the region has become more dependent on automobile travel, making the sustainable transport targets adopted by Canada even more difficult to achieve. These changes are analyzed in terms of (i) changes in the size of the socio-demographic market segments that influence modal transport choice, (ii) changes in the choice probabilities of these market segments, and (iii) changes in the spatial structure of the Toronto region. The socio-demographic changes during the 1986–1991 period are less favourable to public transport and the probabilities of selecting public transport for the journey to work have decreased substantially for most of the market segments. The paper shows the overwhelming influence of development density on modal transport choice and the beneficial influence of adjacent high density employment and residential densities on the use of nonmotorized travel. The paper argues that the excessive auto-dependency of the Toronto region is likely to change only if high density suburban development forms are created and comprehensive road and parking pricing schemes introduced. Key words: urban transport, transport mode choice, public transport, regional development.

Dr Stefanovic is Director of the Centre for Environment and Professorof Philosophy at the University of Toronto. She is also a member of the World Society for Ekistics and served as Chair of the Natural City symposion, a meeting co-organized by the University of Toronto and the World Society for Ekistics in June 2004, and was guest-editor for the special volume of Ekistics (vol. 71, no. 424-432, 2004) reporting on this symposion. A book of essays is in preparation for the University of Toronto Press, entitled The Natural City: Re-Envisioning the Built Environment. Dr Stefanovic's main area of research interest relates to how values and perceptions affect decision making relating to environment and human settlements. Projects have included work on evaluative images of the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail (reported in Ekistics,vol. 69, no. 415/416/417, July-December 2002) and, more recently, a research grant investigated risk perceptions underlying urban development in designated floodplains. She has published many articles on interdisciplinary issues affecting human settlements and a number of books, including the recent Safeguarding Our Common Future:Rethinking Sustainable Development (SUNY, 2000).

Sustainability, which attempts to balance environmental preservation and economic growth, includes puzzling problems such as better managing the world's water resources and enhancing the quality of life. Municipalities within the Nottawasaga Valley and Lake Simcoe Watersheds, north of Toronto, are now considered to have a high potential for significant growth. Both watersheds form part of the Georgian Bay ecosystem, within the Great Lakes Basin. Integrated watershed management planning by the Nottawasaga Valley and Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authorities is protecting water resources and ensuring the availability of water servicing for controlled development. This includes the maintenance of streamflows for the assimilation of treated sewage effluent from headwater basins and protection of unimpaired aquatic habitat at the same time. Monitoring the performance and success of the watershed plans is a vital component to sustain a healthy ecosystem pulse while accommodating growth. The comprehensive GIS based, multi-partnered monitoring program being used is unique. This low-cost, transferable approach for watershed monitoring includes a biological method known as BioMAP. The monitoring program has a proven track record for pre-design and post-construction stages of new development. Various case studies are presented.

Research in the area of sustainable urban infrastructure reflects the need to design and manage engineering systems in light of both environmental and socioeconomic considerations. A principal challenge for the engineer is the development of practical tools for measuring and enhancing the sustainability of urban infrastructure over its life cycle. The present study develops such a framework for the sustainability assessment of urban infrastructure systems. The framework focuses on key interactions and feedback mechanisms between infrastructure and surrounding environmental, economic, and social systems. One way of understanding and quantifying these interacting effects is through the use of sustainability criteria and indicators. A generic set of sustainability criteria and subcriteria and system-specific indicators is put forward. Selected indicators are quantified in a case study of the urban water system of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Key words: sustainable infrastructure, sustainability criteria and indicators, energy use, urban water systems.

Buildings in Canada account for a significant amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and net zero energy building technology has been identified as part of the solution. This study presents a conceptual model identifying barriers to the adoption of net zero energy housing and tests it by administering a survey to 271 participants in a net zero energy housing demonstration project in Toronto, Canada. Using multivariate correlation and multi-linear regression analyses this study finds that of all the innovation adoption variables it was the construction and design quality that was the most significant contributor to the adoption of a net zero energy home by a potential home owner. This study found that the (a) extra cost compared to a conventional home, b) lack of knowledge about the technology associated with a net zero energy home or (c) not knowing someone who owned a net zero energy home were not significant barriers to accepting net zero energy homes. Our results suggest that policy-makers should promote the diffusion of net zero energy home technology by encouraging housing developers to include net zero energy homes in their collection of model homes, with an emphasis on quality design and construction. Furthermore, engaging in trust building initiatives such as education and knowledge about the technology, its related energy cost savings, and the environmental benefits would contribute to a greater acceptance of net zero energy homes.

The application of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to the case of water management in the municipality of Guelph, Ontario, located at the periphery of Toronto, highlights the interactions between the multiple water actors in Canada who, while organised as an informal network, build knowledge together on “blue” and resilient cities. It provides a cross-cutting look at water resource co-management and the process of multiscalar public policy development by considering exchanges and negotiations between administrative bodies, the pan-Canadian water network and the organized local civil society. The water soft path approach has federated the actors of the network who share/build ideas together about sustainable municipal water management. The study of the water nexus in Guelph, of its territoriality and its history, allows for a better understanding of how and why a conservationist culture embracing the principles of “green living” has developed in Guelph and why it has become a centre for water innovation in Canada.

Abstract. Many stakeholders are seeking methods to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in urban areas, but reliable, high-resolution inventories are required to guide these efforts. We present the development of a high-resolution CO2 inventory available for the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding region in Southern Ontario, Canada (area of ∼ 2.8 × 105 km2, 26 % of the province of Ontario). The new SOCE (Southern Ontario CO2 Emissions) inventory is available at the 2.5 × 2.5 km spatial and hourly temporal resolution and characterizes emissions from seven sectors: area, residential natural-gas combustion, commercial natural-gas combustion, point, marine, on-road, and off-road. To assess the accuracy of the SOCE inventory, we developed an observation–model framework using the GEM-MACH chemistry–transport model run on a high-resolution grid with 2.5 km grid spacing coupled to the Fossil Fuel Data Assimilation System (FFDAS) v2 inventories for anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) land carbon model C-TESSEL for biogenic fluxes. A run using FFDAS for the Southern Ontario region was compared to a run in which its emissions were replaced by the SOCE inventory. Simulated CO2 mixing ratios were compared against in situ measurements made at four sites in Southern Ontario – Downsview, Hanlan's Point, Egbert and Turkey Point – in 3 winter months, January–March 2016. Model simulations had better agreement with measurements when using the SOCE inventory emissions versus other inventories, quantified using a variety of statistics such as correlation coefficient, root-mean-square error, and mean bias. Furthermore, when run with the SOCE inventory, the model had improved ability to capture the typical diurnal pattern of CO2 mixing ratios, particularly at the Downsview, Hanlan's Point, and Egbert sites. In addition to improved model–measurement agreement, the SOCE inventory offers a sectoral breakdown of emissions, allowing estimation of average time-of-day and day-of-week contributions of different sectors. Our results show that at night, emissions from residential and commercial natural-gas combustion and other area sources can contribute > 80 % of the CO2 enhancement, while during the day emissions from the on-road sector dominate, accounting for > 70 % of the enhancement.

Receiving water quality concerns associated with increased construction activities in recent years in the Greater Toronto Area has prompted the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to evaluate design criteria for sediment control ponds employed during the construction period. Stormwater management ponds located in the towns of Richmond Hill and Markham were monitored to obtain stormwater runoff quantity and influent-effluent quality data during site development. The ponds were designed and constructed in accordance with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment Stormwater management planning and design manual 2003 for an enhanced level of protection (i.e., 80% total suspended solids removal). A hydrodynamic and sediment-transport model was used to examine the effect of pond geometry on sediment removal efficiency under varying storm events. The monitoring data and the modelling results clearly demonstrate the importance of proper pond size and geometry design. This paper focuses on the effect of the ratio of pond length to pond width in minimizing the short-circuiting effect and improvement of the sediment removal efficiency of stormwater management ponds. The results of this study will be useful in updating the design criteria for stormwater management ponds.Key words: stormwater, management, pond, design, sediment.

Globalization has increased the flow of transnational migrants into many European and North American cities. These shifting socio-demographic patterns have resulted in the rapid development of ‘cosmopolitan’ urban centres where difference and diversity are ubiquitous (Sandercock, 2003). However, as ethnic enclaves form outside the urban core in suburban communities, there is uncertainty about whether cultural homogeneity is desirable or sustainable in a multicultural country. Indeed, planning communities for increasing diversity and difference will remain, what Leonie Sandercock (2004) calls, “one of the greatest tasks for planners of the 21st century”. Thus, this article uses the theory of hyper-diversity to illuminate how immigrants’ interactions with their local suburban community represents cultural pluralism and diversity beyond ethnicity. Specifically, this study explores differing attitudes, activities and lifestyles among diverse immigrant populations in the Region of Peel, one of the fastest growing and most culturally diverse areas in Canada. Focus groups with 60 immigrant youth and 55 immigrant adults were conducted to qualitatively capture perspectives and experiences in ethnic enclaves. The findings highlight the existence of attitudes in favor of multicultural lifestyles, activities that take newcomers beyond the borders of their enclaves, and lifestyles that require additional infrastructure to support sustainability of immigration in the suburbs. In conclusion, this article adds to the debate on cultural pluralism and ‘homogeneous’ ethnic enclaves by using the emergent concept of hyper-diversity as a way to think about the future sustainability of suburbs in an era of global migration.

The urban green belts mechanism was part of the city planning landscape of the 20th century for sustainable urban management. Greenbelt is a land-use policy and designation used in land use/land cover planning. The green belt has long been a design policy that also has a base in London accepted by other renowned cities such as Ottawa, Birmingham, Seoul, Frankfurt, Tehran's, Mashhad, Beijing, Gulbarga, Ontario, etc. Benefits include the value of living close to the green belts, recreational resources, productive farmland, transport connectivity, and a wide range of life support ecosystem services. The study investigated the present green space condition and its infrastructure with other cities around the world and prescribed the other mechanism in reviewing the Master Plan and the Detailed Area Plan of Chittagong city, Bangladesh along with a significant number of journal articles, books, and reports. The study found that the city of Chittagong is facing various problems in the present decades with its various problems like green space, recreational facilities, disaster, public health risk and so many. It also found that the city's geographical condition is suitable for developing an effective green belt in its periphery area. Although green wedges is another park system proposal for the barriers of urban green belt. The importance of land allocation for urban green space is usually neglected or easily reported in the city transition region. Besides, the city of Glasgow, Stockholm, Melbourne, and Copenhagen, etc. are accepted green wedges mechanisms. For some barriers as like as industrial development and some exclusive economic zone, some green wedges are much suitable in the gap of urban green belt in Chittagong city. The concept of green belt and green wedges both supports sustainable urban management in the city of Chittagong. However, these findings and analysis will be of great importance to the urban planners and decision-makers, for making environment-friendly sustainable future planning of modern and the planned Chittagong city.

The article attempts to present dilemmas related to shaping metropolitan policy in Canada, and then relate them to problems occurring in Poland. It is a part of the debate on seeking the right governance configurations and discourses in response to the communities’ needs. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of the scales of governance and socio-spatial relations in the Toronto metropolitan area. The article has been divided into four main parts. Part one outlines the theoretical framework and the context of the conducted analyses. Part two describes the structures and processes of regional and metropolitan governance in Southern Ontario, with the earlier reference to the institutional conditions and directions of reforms characteristic of the whole of Canada. Part three of the study concerns the governance arrangements that may constitute important reference points for the scientific and political discourse taking place in Poland. Part four is an attempt to capture the similarities and universal premises that have a decisive influence on the processes of forming metropolitan structures and policies, both in Canada and in Poland. The assumption was made that, despite different historical and socio-cultural conditions, comparing Canadian and Polish experiences is justified, necessary and possible. Firstly, due to the reason that socio-spatial relations in various territorial systems are subject to the same development processes and the accompanying processes of transformation and adaptation. Secondly, residents (members of local, metropolitan, regional, national and supranational communities) have similar needs and expect a high quality of life. Decision-makers and actors of political scenes in different geographical spaces have (or may have) the same technologies, ways of information processing, access to knowledge and knowledge of socio-economic processes. They also face challenges related to the inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes. The analysis of metropolitan processes in both countries emphasizes the differences resulting from various historical and economic contexts of development and also makes it possible to identify universal mechanisms and regularities independent of these contexts. The practice of metropolitan policy proves that the process of re-territorialization of power structures and governance is shaped as a resultant of the impact of forces and interests at all levels of territorial authorities: central, regional and local. Based on the analysis of the processes of the formation of metropolitan structures in Canada and Poland, it can be stated that the rank and position of regional authorities play a key role in it. In Canada, strong regional authorities initiate actions for the shaping of metropolitan structures and formulate the scope of their competence and organization. The importance of central authorities for the dynamics of metropolitan processes is secondary in this case. The weakness of regional authorities in Poland leads to the inability to give metropolitan processes the dynamics of development and the legislative rank adequate for the role played by urban regions in the socio-economic development of the country. As evidenced by the example of Toronto, the evolution of the governance system in practice initiates the process of self-learning the system which goes from one to another phase of development, improving the quality of its operation. In Poland, however, the process of creation of governance structures adequate for realistically existing functional metropolitan areas has been stopped, notably, due to the unfavourable political decisions at the central level.

In recent years the two-tier model of metropolitan government has declined in importance as metropolitan authorities have been circumscribed, weakened, or abolished. At the same time, however, new urban patterns and changing political and economic circumstances are creating needs that point to the continued validity of the two-tier model. In particular, economic pressures resulting from global competition, and societal pressures associated with the need for sustainable development, are providing a basis for new responsibilities and new expectations with regard to metropolitan governance, and there continues to be a case for two scales of response. A major point of difference from the past is that the metropolitan scale is now much larger in spatial terms, and as a result it is useful to consider the upper tier in terms of regional or mesolevel government, and the concept of city-region, adapted to present-day circumstances, may provide a useful framework for future development. Recent proposals for Toronto are illustrative of the changing needs with regard to metropolitan government.

58 Background: Emerging evidence indicates that the transition of well breast cancer survivors to primary care is safe and effective. Methods: Prospective longitudinal cohort study across 14 health regions in Ontario, Canada. Each region received $100 000 (CAN) to develop and implement a sustainable new model of survivorship care for BC survivors that involved transition from medical oncology-led practice. Each region had a designated lead, and support from primary care. Funding could be used to develop any aspect of the model including personnel support, development of communication materials and outcome measurement. A minimal dataset reporting requirement included a description of the program, documentation of transitioned BC survivors as well as standardized patient and provider experience feedback once transition completed. Results: All 14 health regions in Ontario participated and all developed a survivorship care plan and patient educational materials. The models developed included direct transition to primary care in 6 regions, a nurse-led transition clinic in 4 and a GP-led transition clinic in 4. To date, 3,418 BC survivors have transitioned. Of 676 BC respondents to date, 83% felt there was a clear plan for follow up and 87% felt adequately prepared for transition. Feedback from primary care providers demonstrated that many feel informed about intent of transition and understand their role in on-going follow-up care. Process outcomes such as re-referral back to cancer center and adherence to follow-up guidelines are currently underway. Conclusions: The wide scale transition of appropriate BC survivors to a primary setting appears feasible with high acceptability by patients and providers.

As any social phenomenon, the evolution of suburbs can be seen as at the confluence of two contradictory sets of forces. There are first forces of change, which propel suburbs in new directions. Much of the present literature on suburbs highlights suburban transitions in the form of social and economic diversification, and of new forms of development. The article attempts to rebalance the discourse on suburbs by emphasizing forces of durability. It does not deny the importance of observed suburban transitions, but argues that there is, at the heart of North American suburbs, an enduring automobility-induced transportation dynamic, which reverberates on most aspects of suburbs. The article explores the mechanisms undergirding suburban durability by linking the suburban transportation dynamic to the self-reproductive effects of a suburban lifestyle and culture and their political manifestations. These forces impede planning attempts to transform suburbs in ways that make them more environmentally sustainable. To empirically ground its argument, the article draws on two Toronto region case studies illustrating processes assuring the persistence of the durable features of North American suburbs: the layout of large suburban multifunctional centres and the themes raised by Rob Ford during his successful 2010 mayoralty electoral campaign.

Abstract: Sustainability transitions require societal change at multiple levels ranging from individual behavioral change to community projects, businesses that offer sustainable products as well as policy-makers that set suitable incentive structures. Concepts, methods and tools are currently lacking that help to initiate and design transition governance processes based upon an encompassing understanding of such diverse interactions of actors and intervention points. This article presents a methodological framework for the initiation and design of transition governance processes. Based upon a conceptualization of sustainability transitions as multilevel learning processes, the methodological framework includes participatory modeling, a systematic literature review and governance system analysis to identify social units (learning subjects and contexts), challenges (learning objects) and intervention points (learning factors) relevant for initiating case-specific transition governance processes. A case study on sustainable food systems in Ontario, Canada is provided to exemplify the application of the methodological framework. The results demonstrate the merit of combining stakeholder-based and expert-based methods, as several learning factors identified in the participatory process could not be found in the general literature, and vice versa. The methodological framework allowed for an integrated analysis of the diversity of existing initiatives in the case study region and specific intervention points to support place-based sustainability innovations. Initiators of transition governance processes can use the results by designing targeted interventions to facilitate and coordinate existing initiatives or by setting new impulses through purposeful action.

The article provides an overview of trade fairs for breeding cows at the international and regional levels in a historical context. The purpose of such exhibitions is an exchange of practical experience in breeding cattle of various breeds, promotion of selection achievements of the best farm businesses, identification of champion cows based on comprehensive assessment. An animal exhibition is also a show consisting of various entertainments, contests, including events for children. This is a place for spending time with one’s family, for communication, having meals, buying souvenirs, etc. The paper offers a description of the summarized experience accumulated and acquired at international cow exhibitions in foreign countries. Using “The Royal” exhibition as an example (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), an insight is provided into certain features of preparing cows for exhibition or subtle details of cow styling. It has become customary in Ukraine to hold Agroindustrial Exhibition in early June on the premises of the Expocentre of Ukraine, National Complex in Kyiv. One of the major events of this exhibition is the Animal EX display – demonstration and auction of breeding animals. CHAIKA State-Owned Company (Boryspil District, Kyiv Region) is a permanent participant in cow exhibitions. The article provides an analysis of milk productivity of show cows during higher lactation (both in the first 305 days of lactation and in the entire lactation period), including per generation, within a decade (2011-2019). In that period show animals also withdrew from the herd, so their lifetime production and breeding capacity were also assessed. It is concluded that cattle exhibitions are one of the main tools for selection and pedigree breeding. Such events are necessary for the successful development of dairy cattle breeding, for exchange of experience, development of new methods of selection, animal management and feeding technologies, an extension of the information field in that sphere.

Public transit is central to sustainable multimodal transportation systems; however, designing an effective transit network remains an analytically challenging and complex task. Given the spatial nature of the problem, geographic information systems (GISs) can support transit network design by identifying subsections of urban areas within and between which very high travel demand exists. Once these corridors are identified, local knowledge and expertise may be used to develop routings that satisfy these demands. This paper presents a spatial approach to assist in designing transit networks and describes the development and application of an automated, spatial multicriteria aggregation algorithm implemented as a user-friendly GIS tool coded by using the Python scripting library (ArcPy). Using population and employment densities, spatial adjacency, and geographic and administrative boundaries, the GIS tool leverages readily available demographic data to classify and merge traffic analysis zones into larger urban activity centers. The tool then aggregates regional origin–destination matrices to visualize only the flows associated with the activity centers. The results show that this approach significantly reduces the number of origins and destinations to be considered in designing the network but retains a large proportion of regional trips. This paper demonstrates how the tool can be applied through an example from the region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where the local transit agency is developing a transit network to support a central light-rail transit line.

Climate change-driven forces and anthropogenic interventions have led to considerable changes in coastal zones and shoreline positions, resulting in coastal erosion or sedimentation. Shoreline change detection through cost-effective methods and easy-access data plays a key role in coastal management, where other effective parameters such as land-use/land-cover (LULC) change should be considered. This paper presents a remotely sensed shoreline monitoring in Sandbanks Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, from 1984 to 2021. The CoastSat toolkit for Python and a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network classifier were used for shoreline detection, and an unsupervised change detection framework followed by a postclassification change detection method was implemented for LULC classification and change detection. The study assessed the recent coastal erosion and accretion trends in the region in association with spatiotemporal changes in the total area of the West and East Lakes, the transition between LULC classes, extreme climate events, population growth, and future climate projection scenarios. The results of the study illustrate that the accretion trend apparently can be seen in most parts of the study area since 1984 and is affected by several factors, including lake water-level changes, total annual precipitations, sand movements, and other hydrologic/climatic parameters. Furthermore, the observed LULC changes could be in line with climate change-driven forces and population growth to accelerate the detected accretion trend in the East and West Lakes. In total, the synergistic interaction of the investigated parameters would result in a greater accretion trend along with a lower groundwater table amid even a low carbon scenario. The discussed findings could be beneficial to regional/provincial authorities, policymakers, and environmental advocates for the sustainable development of coastal communities.

Background: The global prevalence of hypertension in children and adolescents has increased over the past 2 decades and is the strongest predictor of adult hypertension. South Asians have an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome associated risk factors including abdominal obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. All these factors contribute to their increased cardiovascular disease burden. Accurate and early identification of hypertension in South Asian children is a necessary aspect of cardiovascular disease prevention. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is considered the gold-standard for pediatric blood pressure (BP) measurement. However, its utilization is limited due to the lack of validated normative reference data in diverse, multiethnic pediatric populations. Objective: The primary objective is to establish normative height-sex and age-sex-specific reference values for 24-h ABPM measurements among South Asian children and adolescents (aged 5-17 years) in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. Secondary objectives are to evaluate differences in ABPM measurements by body mass index classification, to compare our normative data against pre-existing data from German and Hong Kong cohorts, and to evaluate relationships between habitual movement behaviors, diet quality, and ABPM measurements. Design: Cross-sectional study, quasi-representative sample. Setting: Participants will be recruited from schools, community centers, and places of worship in Southern Ontario (Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, including the Peel Region) and Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. Participants: We aim to recruit 2113 nonoverweight children (aged 5-17 years) for the primary objective. We aim to recruit an additional 633 overweight or obese children to address the secondary objectives. Measurements: Ambulatory BP monitoring measurements will be obtained using Spacelabs 90217 ABPM devices, which are validated for pediatric use. The ActiGraph GT3X-BT accelerometer, which has also been validated for pediatric use, will be used to obtain movement behavior data. Methods: Following recruitment, eligible children will be fitted with 24-h ABPM and physical activity monitors. Body anthropometrics and questionnaire data regarding medical and family history, medications, diet, physical activity, and substance use will be collected. Ambulatory BP monitoring data will be used to develop height-sex- and age-sex-specific normative reference values for South Asian children. Secondary objectives include evaluating differences in ABPM measures between normal weight, overweight and obese children; and comparing our South Asian ABPM data to existing German and Hong Kong data. We will also use compositional data analysis to evaluate associations between a child’s habitual movement behaviors and ABPM measures. Limitations: Bloodwork will not be performed to facilitate recruitment. A non-South Asian comparator cohort will not be included due to feasibility concerns. Using a convenience sampling approach introduces the potential for selection bias. Conclusions: Ambulatory BP monitoring is a valuable tool for the identification and follow-up of pediatric hypertension and overcomes many of the limitations of office-based BP measurement. The development of normative ABPM data specific to South Asian children will increase the accuracy of BP measurement and hypertension identification in this at-risk population, providing an additional strategy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

INTRODUCTION Winter snow and ice can have a significant impact on our mobility, whether on foot or by car. Alongside plowing, arguably the greatest tool in combating snow and ice is salt. The most commonly used salt for winter maintenance is Sodium Chloride (NaCl), the same salt used in food and water softeners, is applied to roads, sidewalks, and parking lots as it is an effective deicer when temperatures are between 0°C and −12°C. Studies have shown that deicing with salt reduces accidents by 88% and injuries by 85% (Salt Institute 2017). The effectiveness of road salt, as well as its relative affordability, means that as much as four million tonnes may be applied annually in Canada for deicing (Environment Canada 2012). However, while salt is relatively inexpensive to purchase, there are a number of external costs that are becoming increasingly apparent. These include corrosion of vehicles and infrastructure like concrete, bridges, and water mains; damage and staining to the interior and exterior of buildings; impacts to roadside vegetation and soils; and the contamination of fresh water. In fact, the environmental impacts are such that it prompted Environment Canada to propose that winter salt be considered a toxic substance primarily due to the quantity that is applied annually (Environment Canada 2001). The Lake Simcoe watershed, approximately 3,400km2 in size, is situated just 20km north of Toronto, Ontario, with the southern portion of the watershed being considered part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. As part of the GTA, the Lake Simcoe watershed has experienced and continues to experience considerable growth, and with this growth comes an increase in the amount of impervious surfaces requiring winter salting. Indeed, chloride has been showing a strong increasing trend in the urban creeks and in Lake Simcoe itself over the last 30 years. Even rural creeks are showing an increasing trend, albeit not as severe, nor are the concentrations of chloride reaching the same levels (LSRCA 2015). The highest chloride level recorded in a Lake Simcoe tributary was 6,120mg/l in the winter of 2013. Chloride guidelines for the protection of aquatic ecosystems utilize a guideline of 120mg/L for chronic exposure and 640mg/L for acute exposure (CCME 2011). While the high value recorded in the Lake Simcoe tributary greatly exceeds these guidelines, it is still drastically lower than values being recorded in larger, intensively urbanized catchments such as Cooksville Creek in Mississauga, Ontario, which sees concentrations in excess of 20,000 mg/L, the concentration of sea water, nearly every winter (Credit Valley Conservation personal comm). Similarly, in July of 2011 a small population of Atlantic blue crabs, a marine species, was found surviving in Mimico Creek in Toronto (Toronto Star: May 26, 2012). That a marine species was able to survive in this fresh water creek in summer demonstrates that the impacts of winter salt are not just limited to winter but are impacting shallow groundwater and thus summer baseflow, maintaining high chloride concentrations year round. The same is being seen in some urban creeks in the Lake Simcoe watershed, with summer baseflow concentrations exceeding the chronic guideline and trending upwards (LSRCA unpublished). While not yet as extreme as rivers in the more densely urbanized parts of the GTA, these examples foreshadow what is in store for Lake Simcoe rivers if current winter salt practices continue along with the projected urban growth. During the winter of 2012 an estimated 99,300 tonnes of salt was applied in the Lake Simcoe watershed, an amount that equals nearly 250kg of salt per capita, or ~3 times the average person's body weight in salt. This estimate was generated through a survey of local road agencies along with the total area of commercial/institutional parking lots within the watershed. The exercise served to highlight a knowledge gap around application practices and rates in commercial/institutional parking lots. The majority of road agencies were found to record annual volumes, application dates and rates whereas literature values range from 10–40% of the salt applied in a catchment come from commercial/institutional parking lots (Perera et al, 2009; Trowbridge et al, 2010; Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, 2015), and a survey of winter maintenance contractors cite an average value of approximately 58g/m2/application (Fu et al, 2013) ( Figure 1 ). [Figure: see text] While these values were used in the estimation as they were the best available, observational data suggested these may be on the conservative side ( Figure 2 ). [Figure: see text] Therefore, monitoring of a 14 ha commercial lot was undertaken for the winters of 2014/15, 2015/16, and 2016/17 to better quantify the amount of salt coming from this type of land use. The winters of 2014/15 and 2016/17 saw similar applications of 1,067 and 1,010 tonnes applied respectively, while the mild winter of 2015/16 saw 556 tonnes applied. While the amounts varied somewhat each winter, the impacts downstream were consistent. Maximum concentrations recorded in the melt water reached 3.5 to 4 times the salt concentration of sea water every winter, equating to chloride concentrations of 70,000mg/L to 85,000mg/L; two orders of magnitude above the water quality guideline. As with most parking lots constructed in the last two decades, the runoff from this parking lot is captured in a stormwater pond prior to entering the receiving watercourse. Interestingly, the winter salt also caused persistent chemical stratification in the permanent pool of the pond. The pond was monitored with continuous monitors for the ice free period of 2015 and 2016 (April to December) during which the bottom water chloride concentration remained distinct from the surface chloride concentration, indicating stratification ( Figure 3 ). This has two significant implications; first of which is that this pond, and therefore many other ponds like it, may not be functioning as designed which is leading to diminished performance (McEnroe 2012, Marsalek 2003). Second is that ponds are acting as salt reservoirs, slowly releasing salt year round and contributing to river chloride concentrations that continually exceed the chronic exposure guideline and thereby exposing aquatic life to harmful concentrations during sensitive life cycle stages. [Figure: see text] To determine the extent to which the catchment land use type impacts stormwater ponds, chemical profiles were measured on three ponds in February 2017. The catchments included the 24.6 ha commercial catchment with 14 ha of salt application surface, an institutional catchment (14.3 ha) with 6 ha of salt application area that includes parking lots and roads, and a 16.4 ha residential catchment with 3 ha of salt application area comprised of tertiary municipal roads. Interestingly, all three ponds showed chemical stratification, with the severity of the stratification and highest chloride concentrations relating to the amount of salt application area in the catchment. The residential pond yielded a maximum chloride concentration of 3,115mg/L in the bottom waters, the institutional yielded 16,144mg/L, and the commercial yielded 25,530 mg/L with chloride concentrations in the bottom 0.5m of the pond exceeding that of sea water. The maximum chloride concentration recorded in the receiving watercourse downstream of the commercial lot was measured at 5,406 mg/L, well in excess of the acute guideline of 640 mg/L. These results highlight that commercial parking lots are not only receiving a significant volume of salt but are also having the most dramatic impacts on receiving stormwater infrastructure and watercourses.

Canada, along with other countries that are considering the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive wastes from nuclear power generation, is undertaking a program of research into deep geological disposal. This program, led by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) with support from Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, other federal government departments, universities, and industrial consultants, has been in progress since early in 1973. Geoscience research, the subject of this symposium, complements research on fuel waste immobilization to provide the data and information essential to the design and assessment of a complete disposal concept involving both natural and engineered barriers to the migration of radioactive material from the waste vault.During the early phases of the program, prior to 1975, an evaluation of the potential of Canadian salt deposits for nuclear waste disposal, as well as a preliminary assessment of the suitability of other geological formations, was made. Because the Province of Ontario was, and remains, the principal region in Canada for nuclear power development and because resources available for geoscience research would not permit simultaneous, intensive research on a number of rock types, the decision was taken to direct the main thrust of the geoscience research toward plutonic igneous rocks of the Canadian Shield in Ontario (Scott 1979). Lesser studies of salt and other sedimentary formations, including seabed, are continuing within the Geological Survey of Canada.Because the rock mass surrounding the vault will provide the principal barrier to the migration of radionuclides, should these be released from the emplaced wastes, knowledge and understanding of potential pathways through the rock mass and of the mechanisms of radionuclide transport and retention within the rock mass over the functional lifetime of the vault are fundamental requirements.Accordingly, the objectives of the geoscience research program (Dormuth and Scott 1984) are the following:(1) Develop and apply techniques to define the physical and chemical properties of large rock masses and of fluids within these rock masses.(2) Use these techniques in selected field research areas to calibrate and evaluate models developed to calculate fluid flow and mass transport through a large rock mass containing a hypothetical underground nuclear fuel waste-disposal vault.(3) Establish procedures to evaluate quantitatively rock bodies for their potential as disposal sites and thereby acquire the capability to compare different rock bodies.(4) Determine the long-term stability of plutonic rock masses by assessing the potential disturbance by seismic activity, glaciation, meteorite impact, and other disruptive events and processes.To achieve these objectives it has been necessary to undertake simultaneously a large number of research tasks involving the disciplines of geology, geophysics, hydrogeology, geomechanics, geochemistry, and mathematics. Some of these tasks are concerned primarily with regional aspects of the Canadian Shield, such as stress distribution, glaciation, and tectonic history; others with details of the surface and subsurface geology and hydrogeology of specific field research areas; and still others with the development and application of exploration technology to detect and evaluate the structural characteristics of igneous rock masses of relatively high integrity and uniformity. Field and office studies are supported by laboratory investigations of the physical and chemical properties of plutonic rocks, with specific reference to origin, history, and ability to retard or transmit radionuclides.Deep exploratory drilling and detailed surface mapping are carried out at designated field research areas in the Canadian Shield. Geoscience work at research areas has the two-fold purpose of (i) testing new and existing exploration techniques for the evaluation of rock masses; and (ii) through application of these airborne, surface, and subsurface techniques, providing the field data necessary for the development of concepts and models that form the basis for establishing site-selection criteria and performing safety analyses.The latest research areas have been established at Atikokan, Ontario, an area underlain by granitic rocks, and at East Bull Lake north of Massey, Ontario, where gabbroic rocks are the dominant type. These research areas complement previously established research areas developed on granitic rocks at AECL properties at Chalk River, Ontario, and Pinawa, Manitoba, and at a research area, also on granitic terrane, near White Lake, Ontario, where work was done early in the program to test geophysical exploration and borehole-logging equipment.The ability to predict subsurface geological and hydrogeological conditions at future waste-disposal sites is one of the primary goals of geoscience research in the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program (CNFWMP). One of the most important program elements designed to test this predictive capability was the construction of the Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in the Lac du Bonnet Batholith near the site of the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment. Airborne, surface, and borehole methods were used to develop a geological model on the site, and hydrogeological investigations were carried out to establish preconstruction groundwater characteristics. As the excavation of the URL facilities proceeded, the geological features encountered and the changes in the hydrogeological systems were carefully monitored. These data are being used to assess and improve the geological and hydrogeological models being developed for the rock mass surrounding the URL.The URL provides an excellent opportunity to (i) study the effect of excavation techniques, heat, and stress on a rock mass; (ii) simulate and study the complex systems that may exist in a disposal vault environment; and (iii) develop and test shaft- and drift-sealing techniques. Recently, a bilateral agreement between AECL and the United States Department of Energy was signed for co-operative research on nuclear fuel waste disposal. A substantial part of this co-operative effort will be directed toward extension of the URL shaft beyond its present depth of 240 m and conducting a variety of nonnuclear experiments within the shaft and excavated chambers of the URL.From the time of formalization of CNFWMP over 10 years ago, a concerted effort has been made by AECL and other program participants to ensure both peer review of and widespread accessibility to results of research arising from CNFWMP. This symposium is the third to be sponsored by the Geological Association of Canada (GAC)—the two previous symposiums were held at GAC annual meetings in Winnipeg in 1982 and Toronto in 1978. In addition to these major symposia, general information meetings sponsored by AECL have been held annually at various centres across Canada, and research elements of CNFWMP formed a significant part of the technical program for an international meeting held by the Canadian Nuclear Society in Winnipeg in September 1986.Since 1979 the CNFWMP review process has been further enhanced by the Technical Advisory Committee chaired by L. W. Shemilt, McMaster University. This committee, comprising members nominated by major Canadian scientific and technical societies including the Canadian Geoscience Council, has annually provided a publicly available report of constructive criticism and recommendations for improvement in the research content of CNFWMP.During the second half of 1988 it is expecte

Climate change induced sea-level rise (SLR) is on its increase globally. Regionally the lowlands of China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and islands of the Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos are among the world’s most threatened regions. Sea-level rise has major impacts on the ecosystems and society. It threatens coastal populations, economic activities, and fragile ecosystems as mangroves, coastal salt-marches and wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the current state of knowledge of sea level-rise and its effects on both human and natural ecosystems. The focus is on coastal urban areas and low lying deltas in South-East Asia and Vietnam, as one of the most threatened areas in the world. About 3 mm per year reflects the growing consensus on the average SLR worldwide. The trend speeds up during recent decades. The figures are subject to local, temporal and methodological variation. In Vietnam the average values of 3.3 mm per year during the 1993-2014 period are above the worldwide average. Although a basic conceptual understanding exists that the increasing global frequency of the strongest tropical cyclones is related with the increasing temperature and SLR, this relationship is insufficiently understood. Moreover the precise, complex environmental, economic, social, and health impacts are currently unclear. SLR, storms and changing precipitation patterns increase flood risks, in particular in urban areas. Part of the current scientific debate is on how urban agglomeration can be made more resilient to flood risks. Where originally mainly technical interventions dominated this discussion, it becomes increasingly clear that proactive special planning, flood defense, flood risk mitigation, flood preparation, and flood recovery are important, but costly instruments. Next to the main focus on SLR and its effects on resilience, the paper reviews main SLR associated impacts: Floods and inundation, salinization, shoreline change, and effects on mangroves and wetlands. The hazards of SLR related floods increase fastest in urban areas. This is related with both the increasing surface major cities are expected to occupy during the decades to come and the increasing coastal population. In particular Asia and its megacities in the southern part of the continent are increasingly at risk. The discussion points to complexity, inter-disciplinarity, and the related uncertainty, as core characteristics. An integrated combination of mitigation, adaptation and resilience measures is currently considered as the most indicated way to resist SLR today and in the near future.References Aerts J.C.J.H., Hassan A., Savenije H.H.G., Khan M.F., 2000. Using GIS tools and rapid assessment techniques for determining salt intrusion: Stream a river basin management instrument. 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Investment in capacity for implementation of leading practices in regional-level health workforce planning is essential to support equitable distribution of resources and deployment of a health workforce that can meet local needs. Ontario Health Toronto and the Canadian Health Workforce Network (CHWN) co-developed and operationalized an integrated workforce planning process to support evidence-based primary care workforce decision-making for the Toronto region. The resultant planning toolkit incorporates planning processes centred around engagement with stakeholders, including environmental scanning tools and a quantitative planning model. The outputs of the planning process include estimates of population need and workforce capacity and address challenges specific to Toronto, such as patient mobility, anticipated rapid population growth, and physician retirement. We highlight important challenges and key considerations in the development and operationalization of workforce planning processes, particularly at the regional level.

Urbanization is considered as one of the main factors affecting global change. The Halton Region as part of the Great Toronto Area (GTA), is regarded as one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, generating 20% of national GDP. It is also one of the most desirable places for living and thriving business. This research attempts to assess the urban expansion in the Halton Region, Ontario, Canada from 1989 to 2019 using satellite images, analysis approaches and landscape metrics. Multi-temporal Landsat images, and the supervised learning algorithms in GIS software were used to explore the dynamic changes, and to classify the urban and non-urban areas. The temporal urban expansion in the Halton Region experienced a dramatic rise, and mainly occurred from the centre of the area. The analysis of landscape metrics based on different methods, including Land Use in Central Indiana (LUCI) model, Vegetation-Impervious Surface-soil (V-I-S) model, and the census data of Canada was carried out to understand the transition mode of the urbanization in the Halton Region. Also, the population growth in the centre of the Halton Region was considered as one of driven forces affecting urban expansion. The results showed that most of the landscape metrics rose between 1989 and 2019, indicating leapfrog pattern of urbanization occurred over the entire period. The contribution of this research is to evaluate the urbanization in the Halton Region, and give the city managers a clear mind to make appropriate decisions in further urban planning.

AbstractA key aspect of contemporary fish habitat management is the need to account for losses and gains associated with development and offsetting measures while protecting high quality features. We propose an ecological accounting framework for aquatic ecosystems using habitat equivalents scaled to aquatic productivity, and using fish-to-habitat associations by life stage, based on local fish community needs. The framework uses both landscape-scale and site-level evaluations of pre- and post-project habitat changes to assign and track habitat parcels, using ecological baselines and fish-habitat target setting. Concepts of natural capital reserves and productivity-based ecotypes are used for trading losses and gains between impacts from development projects and offsets, including restoration actions, while maintaining ecologically important areas intact. Traditional accounting terms such as deposits, withdrawals, and transfers are defined using scaled habitat-equivalents as the currency. Other key features of the framework include setting a service area that is ecologically meaningful, and conducting habitat transactions guided by habitat conservation, protection, and restoration (habitat CPR) principles. The nearshore area of the Toronto and Region is used as a case study to illustrate the eco-accounting framework and how habitat banking could be incorporated along with planned restoration to remediate this degraded but continually developed area. The framework represents significant advances in managing cumulative habitat effects in an integrated way, moving away from a focus on only project- or site-level assessments. We feel this approach could be adapted to other ecosystem types in addition to the lake, nearshore area example provided here.

PurposeToronto's heritage program is reporting year over year growth in both the number of listed and designated properties and the amount of money secured for heritage projects. At the same time, it is widely recognized that heritage trade skills are in decline. The purpose of this research is to examine Toronto's heritage policy in its regulatory and economic context to understand why heritage trades are struggling while the heritage program and the market for heritage professional services flourish and to suggest solutions based on existing policy tools.Design/methodology/approachThis research looks at the policy documents at the federal, provincial and municipal level that determine the minimum standard for heritage conservation in Toronto. It refers to secondary research on the economic context for these regulations to understand how they are applied and why they tend to produce certain outcomes. It introduces the regulatory context set by Canada's Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places and the Ontario Heritage Act. It goes on to analyse Toronto's local policy in more detail including density bonusing programs, the Toronto Official Plan and Heritage Conservation District planning standards.FindingsToronto's heritage policy creates asymmetrical opportunities for heritage professionals and heritage specializing tradespeople. While the work that heritage professionals do is required or strongly encouraged by policy and increases reliably with the amount of funding secured for heritage projects, heritage tradespeople do not enjoy similar advantages. Their work is not required in the same way as heritage professionals' or encouraged to the same degree, and money secured for heritage projects does not necessarily go towards work that would engage the building trades necessary to maintain heritage structures.Originality/valueThe value of job creation in heritage trades is a mainstay of heritage economic advocacy, and there is growing interest in the value of these trades skills as a resource for sustainable building practices. There is relatively little research considering how heritage policy and theory affect career opportunities for workers with these trades skills, and none that addresses those systemic pressures in the context of municipal heritage programs in Canada.

ObjectiveThe James and Hudson Bay Region, consisting of six remote Indigenous communities, have experienced barriers accessing regional health data. To inform local health planning, the Minomathasowin Healthy Living department in the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA), ICES and Laurentian University developed a Collaboration, to co-create enhanced Indigenous data stewardship. ApproachThe Collaboration combines expertise in Indigenous knowledge with quantitative and qualitative analyses to develop relevant data intended for public dissemination. Through a community-driven and strength-based approach, local knowledge guides the direction of the research. Indigenous data governance principles are applied, supporting local data ownership, and supplementing local knowledge on population health issues. This ensures the development of research projects that have meaningful impacts. The Collaboration is part of a larger partnership and is continually engaging local Indigenous stakeholders. Protocols ensure research is done in a manner that respects and reflects community well-being and is undertaken in a good way. ResultsThe Collaboration is an ongoing, living initiative and has enabled WAHA to become a local hub for Indigenous stakeholders to obtain health data for their respective communities. It adheres to the importance of following protocols within Indigenous communities, acknowledging qualitative research activities can be undertaken at the community-level. Projects from this Collaboration identify and prioritize the most pressing health issues impacting the Region including mental health and addictions, COVID-19 surveillance, hospitalization trends, and the prevalence of lupus. The success of the Collaboration is demonstrated through increased requests from the Region to WAHA for support on health planning and decision-making. Data access barriers in the Region are being addressed through the combined expertise of the Collaboration and local knowledge. This approach is enhancing Indigenous data stewardship. ConclusionsThe Collaboration advocates for Indigenous-led and -driven research that recognizes the value of combining local knowledge with quantitative and qualitative data analyses to put communities first. The Collaboration supports equitable data access and the development of relevant research projects. This is leading to sustainable, impactful health planning for the Region.

Stemphylium leaf blight (SLB), caused by Stemphylium vesicarium, is a foliar disease of onion worldwide, and has recently become an important disease in the northeastern United States and Ontario, Canada. The symptoms begin as small, tan to brown lesions on the leaves that can progress to defoliate plants. Crop loss occurs through reduced photosynthetic area, resulting in smaller, lower-quality bulbs. Leaf necrosis caused by SLB also can compromise bulb storage, as green leaves are required for the uptake of sprout inhibitors applied prior to harvest. The pathogen can overwinter on infested onion residue and infected volunteer plants. Asymptomatic weedy hosts near onion fields may also be a source of inoculum. Production of ascospores of the teleomorph (Pleospora allii) peaks in early spring in northeastern North America, often before the crop is planted, and declines rapidly as daily mean air temperatures rise. Conidia usually are present throughout the growing season. Application of fungicides is a standard practice for management of the complex of fungi that can cause foliar diseases of onion in this region. Recent assessments have shown that populations of S. vesicarium in New York and Ontario are resistant to at least three single-site mode-of-action fungicides. Three disease prediction systems have been developed and evaluated that may enable growers to reduce the frequency and/or number of fungicide applications, but the loss of efficacious fungicides due to resistance development within S. vesicarium populations threatens sustainability. The lack of commercially acceptable onion cultivars with sufficient resistance to reduce the number of fungicides for SLB also limits the ability to manage SLB effectively. Integrated disease management strategies for SLB are essential to maintain profitable, sustainable onion production across eastern North America.