"Canadians are increasingly aware of the importance of the environment and how it impacts on their health and well-being. In 1996, the Canadian Institute of Child Health launched a comprehensive national initiative to investigate the impact of environmental contaminants on children's health. As part of the initiative, the National Symposium was held to gather practitioners and policy makers in the fields of environmental science, health and children. Health Canada and Environment Canada worked together with CICH on the project and were joined by other federal and provincial agencies as well as non-governmental organizations and the private sector in providing leadership, expertise and financial assistance."

"Health Canada and Environment Canada are especially concerned about the effects of airborne pollutants on the health of Canada's children. Our collaborative effort with the CICH is one more positive step towards ensuring the preservation and protection of Canada's environment and the health of children in Canada. We cannor affort to take our health or our environment for granted. The importance of the linkages between health and the environment is reinforced by the 1997 Declaration of the Environment Leaders of the Eight on Children's Environmental Health, agreed to by the Ministers of the Environment from G-8 countries at their meeting in Miami [May 5-6, 1997]".

This document contains the full statement of the 1997 Declaration along with ten key papers presented at the National Symposium (May 25-27, 1997).