Evaluation of Health Canada’s Radiation Protection Program 2019-2020 to 2023-2024
Final report: Executive summary and Management Response and Action Plan
March 2025
Prepared by the Office of Audit and Evaluation
Health Canada
Note: The complete evaluation report is available upon request. Please send an email to oae-bae@phac-aspc.gc.ca.
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Executive summary
Background and evaluation scope
The evaluation assessed the impact of radiation protection activities and whether the Radiation Protection Program (the Program) has effectively delivered on its mandate over the last five years (2019-2020 to 2023-2024). The Program aims to help protect people in Canada from health risks associated with radiation exposure from natural and human-made sources.
This evaluation also considered the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the rapid pace of technological advancements, the growth of e-commerce activities, and the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation.
Radiation protection activities at Health Canada (HC) are delivered by the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch's (HECSB) Radiation Protection Bureau (RPB) and the Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau (CCRPB), with support from the Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB) and the Communications and Public Affairs Branch (CPAB).
Findings
The Program has helped inform people in Canada on the health effects of radiation. CCRPB and RPB have shown strong technical skills, effective collaboration, and improved communication, which has led to successes in various program areas.
RPB has maintained and enhanced its readiness for nuclear emergencies and incidents by coordinating nuclear response exercises with national and international partners, although opportunities were identified to clarify responsibilities of some federal partners for continued readiness. RPB is in the process of renewing the Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan (FNEP) and continues to update procedures based on lessons learned from exercises, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s Emergency Preparedness Review (EPREV), and the FNEP response to the invasion of Ukraine. The FNEP renewal aims at further clarifying interdepartmental roles and responsibilities to streamline accountability and support continual readiness, notably by removing duplication with emergency support functions defined in the Federal Emergency Response Plan (FERP) managed by Public Safety Canada.
Through numerous outreach initiatives aimed at promoting behavioural change and reducing radon exposure across diverse populations and regions, RPB and ROEB have played a key role in increasing public awareness of radon health risks, as well as the importance of related testing and mitigation. Although additional work is needed to increase radon testing and mitigation rates, radon mitigation falls outside HC's mandate, as it is under the jurisdiction of provinces, territories and, in certain circumstances, other government departments, such as Indigenous Services Canada.
The Program has made efforts to maximize efficiency and allocate existing resources to areas of greatest risk and need, such as updating safety codes, amending regulations, addressing outdated information technology (IT) infrastructure and facility issues, and responding to unplanned events. Nonetheless, there continue to be increasing demands for expert advice from federal partners and external stakeholders, including from special interest groups and members of the public, with requests from the public often being driven by the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation available online. These demands have led to delays in planned activities and challenged the Program's ability to keep stakeholders informed of operational updates and health risks from radiation exposure.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
Review program priorities and align resource allocation with reviewed and renewed priorities.
Despite substantial efforts to prioritize areas of greatest need, stakeholder demands for the Program's expert advice and demands from the public driven by misinformation and disinformation have continued to increase, leading to delays in planned activities. This also challenged the Program's ability to keep stakeholders informed of operational updates and the health risks related to radiation exposure. These demands have exceeded current resources.
Stakeholder requests for updates to certain guidance products, like for x-ray imaging, as well as delays in Radiation Emitting Devices Act (REDA) modernization and the FNEP renewal, reflect the trade-offs needed to keep pace with increasing demands on the Program. Emerging radiation issues have also affected resource pressures.
Recommendation 2
Clarify and communicate roles and responsibilities between Health Canada and its partners.
Objectives and recommendations coming out of exercises have identified opportunities to clarify the roles and responsibilities of some federal partners for nuclear emergency preparedness. Some functional overlap between stakeholders has been useful for maintaining program operations and corroborating study results. For example, since the last evaluation, Health Canada collaborated with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to increase efficiency in nuclear emergency preparedness. Work is underway to support response efforts, decrease risks to public safety, and continue progress on nuclear emergency preparedness.
Management Response and Action Plan
Recommendation 1
Review program priorities and align resource allocation with reviewed and renewed priorities.
Management response
Management agrees with this recommendation.
| Action plan | Deliverables | Expected completion date | Accountability | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1.1 Health Canada will review its program priorities while considering resource availability, possible efficiency, federal partner and stakeholder demands, and other major pressures affecting the Program. Health Canada will also develop a plan of priority activities for the Program that supports the allocation of available resources to activities of highest importance. |
1.1.1 A review exercise and/or discussion to identify priorities and/or efficiencies | February 2026 | Director General (DG), Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate (ERHSD), Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECSB) | Existing resources |
| 1.1.2 A plan of priority activities based on the review exercise | April 2026 | DG, ERHSD, HECSB | Existing resources |
Recommendation 2
Clarify and communicate roles and responsibilities between Health Canada and its partners.
Management response
Management agrees with this recommendation.
| Action plan | Deliverables | Expected completion date | Accountability | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2.1 Health Canada will work with interdepartmental partners to clarify, establish and implement respective roles and responsibilities for nuclear emergency preparedness and response, as part of its Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan (FNEP) renewal. This work will further strengthen Health Canada and its partners' readiness for nuclear emergencies and incidents. |
2.1.1 A consultation with federal emergency management partners to clarify roles and responsibilities | April 2026 | DG, ERHSD, HECSB | Existing resources |
| 2.1.2 A renewed Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan (FNEP), that sets out federal government roles and responsibilities for nuclear emergencies and incidents, submitted to the DG Emergency Management Committee (EMC) | April 2027 | DG, ERHSD, HECSB | Existing resources |
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