The Intersection of Indigenous Public Health With Law and Policy in Canada

In their introduction to the latest edition of Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, the editors are unequivocal about the importance of this area of growing interest and scholarship. This text, they explain, “explores a range of perspectives that examine how law, in many forms and contexts, plays a critical role in protecting the public from known and emerging threats and promoting conditions for health.”

Written and edited by leading health law scholars and featuring contributions from legal and health experts from across the country, this book provides a comprehensive overview of our Canadian public health law and policy system. Now in its fourth edition, Public Health Law and Policy in Canada continues to be the definitive guide to the foundations of our public health law system. Building on past content, it offers an in-depth analysis of current critical public health issues and includes new chapters on incarceration, mental health law and pharmaceutical regulation, making it a valuable resource for anyone working in the public health sphere – from academics, to practitioners, to policymakers.

This chapter presents an overview of the law, policy and governance practices that are most directly implicated in the population health of Indigenous people who reside in Canada.