According to a study prepared for the Government of Ontario, despite the decline in coal usage in Ontario, coal-fired electricity generation in 2009 still caused 246 deaths, 342 hospital admissions, 406 emergency room visits and almost 123,000 minor illnesses (e.g., asthma attacks) in Ontario. Asthma now affects over 2.7 million Canadians, including one in eight children. In Canada, rates of childhood asthma have risen dramatically. From 1978 to 1999, the percentage of children with asthma increased five-fold to its current level of greater than 12 per cent. By eliminating the province’s largest source of smog builders like nitrogen oxides, and a huge source of particulate matter, which irritates lungs and can carry toxins into the bloodstream, we will all breathe a little easier. By also helping to curb climate change, a coal phase out will also lessen the threat of extreme heat events that increase air pollution and can even kill.