GOVERNMENTAL PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY

Governmental negligence and blatant stupidity have caused unknown quantities of pain and suffering world wide. Ontario and Canada are not exempt. While kowtowing to monied and powerful interests, here at home, they have subjected not only strangers to horrible deaths but even probably their own friends and relatives.

There is evidence in the 60s and 70s that both governmental aerial spraying as well as private spraying of herbicides was done directly onto young Canadians in the woods and fields below. When Ontario Hydro were warning their employees as early as 1954 not to inhale the spray or get it on their faces; clearly there were health concerns from hunman exposure. These behaviours and the non prevention of them amount to criminal negligence at the very least.

Here in Elmira, Ontario we can not understand how our Ministry of the Environment could have looked the other way at overwhelming evidence of off-site leakage of DDT and Dioxins with eventual discharge into the Canagagigue Creek by Uniroyal Chemical. Then to add insult to injury the M.O.E.C.C. again looked the other way while a manmade Drain was installed in approximately 1985, technically on the neighbour's property but running parallel to the Uniroyal property and within twenty feet of it in places. This Drain has drained the wetlands which were the initial holding area of these persistent organic polutants (POPs). This information was discovered in May of this year and to date all we've received are blank stares and denials of knowledge. Such unadulterated bullshit. Add to this it now appears that while the public were demanding adherence to the 1991 Control Order which stipulated 100% hydraulic containment of all aquifers on the Uniroyal site; the company were secretly constructing a groundwater collection system on the east side to divert grossly contaminated groundwater again onto the neighbours property with discharge to the creek via the Drain. This alleged groundwater collection system has of course been denied by the company, now called Chemtura. It was publicly presented to the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) two months ago and since that time various excuses have been half heartedly put forward by both Chemtura and the M.O.E.C.C.. The evidence for this alleged collection system is satellite photos showing lines, scars or trenches on their property going back to the 90s.

In hindsight and with recent knowledge that our provincial government was actively involved with the spraying of Agent Orange throughout Ontario from 1949 until 1979, their behaviour becomes clearer. After transmitting Dioxins for three decades and exposing citizens to their effects, one can understand why now they don't want to reopen that can of worms. The Fact-Finding Panel has focused on provincial government participation but as usual thse studies conveniently ignore all the other sources of exposure, some of which are briefly mentioned. These would include private use by farmers and municipal use to control weeds within municipal boundaries. It would seem that a heavily funded health care system would be the only atonement our provincial government, past and present are willing to consider.