December 12, 2006

A ton of Canadians will agree with this crackdown on toxic chemicals

Alan Ferguson

The Vancouver Province

Canadian executives polled for their views on the environment have given a thumbs-down to the Kyoto accord, but say Ottawa should make it a priority to cut the poisons in our air, water and food.

Now, we don't always have to agree with the boss, but on this issue I'd guess that a whole lot of Canadians would share the executives' view.

Poisonous chemicals pumped into the air or used in products ranging from cookware to computers or found in the flesh of the foods we eat are destroying the health of our nation.

This isn't some computer-modelled theory propounded by wild-eyed fantasists.

Each year, several thousand Canadians face an early death because of air pollution. Asthma is common among kids as young as four. Around the world, pesticides kill 200,000 people annually.

Thousands of new chemicals hit the market without proper testing.

Yesterday, more than 700 scientists from across Canada sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper warning about the perils of these poisons. They are demanding that the feds tighten up the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, currently under review in Parliament.

For years, these scientists say, governments in Ottawa have sat on their fannies as manufacturers churned out products hazardous to our health.

Perhaps Harper got word of the campaign. By the time the scientists' letter was released, the Tory leader had already announced a plan to crack down on toxic chemicals.

Companies responsible for producing the most noxious substances will have to prove they are safe, rather than the government having to prove they are harmful.

No one knows how much avoidable damage has been done to the health of Canadians over the years.

An experiment by the Toronto-based lobby group Environmental Defence, using blood samples from 11 volunteers, found their bodies contained at least 60 poisons, including cancer-causing agents.

For years, Ottawa turned a deaf ear to calls for the "bio-monitoring" of a wider sample of Canadians.

Elizabeth May, now federal leader of the Green Party, long ago called for the testing, calling it the "first step in shifting the (pesticidal) burden from our bodies back to the corporate boardroom where it belongs."

Harper now says it will happen. Beginning next year, Health Canada will start to test the blood, urine and breast milk of hundreds of Canadians. They may also sample hair, nails, fat, bone and other tissues.

But we won't have to wait that long to find out how poisonous some of our leading politicians are. Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, Health Minister Tony Clement, federal NDP leader Jack Layton and Liberal environment critic John Godfrey gamely volunteered blood samples to discover how many contaminants are lodged in their bodies.

The folks at Environmental Defence expect the results any day now.