Evidence of meeting #34 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was wi-fi.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:40 p.m.
Director General, Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Safety Code 6, which we've heard a lot about and is a Health Canada document, is referenced in Industry Canada's regulations, and it's Industry Canada that regulates the telecommunications industry.
The levels set in the safety code, and therefore Industry Canada's regulations, are exactly the same as those in the United States and slightly more stringent than those of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Is there anyone who has more stringent regulations than we do?
12:40 p.m.
Director General, Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
You will hear of countries that do, such as Russia, but I do not believe they ever do any compliance checks. I think their cell towers, because the standard is much lower, probably meet the standard, but I doubt that their cellphones do. Certainly among the developed countries, no, there is no one that I am aware of.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Are our guidelines within the limits of the World Health Organization?
12:40 p.m.
Director General, Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Yes, the processes to develop the guidelines and the limits are according to the World Health Organization.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
I'd like to ask Mr. Bennett to comment. Also, while you are commenting, would you please give us your recommendation as to what you'd like to see come out of today's hearings?
12:40 p.m.
President, Thermographix Consulting Corporation
Absolutely. There's something I'd like to say about the World Health Organization--I say this with all the required professional humility--which is s that the World Health Organization missed the fact that there's an electrical conflict between frequencies.
As far as recommendations go, here is something that could be done immediately following the meeting. If Health Canada went to their industry-trained electrical professionals, the ones it has certified as professionals, and to the electrical engineers and any reference in Safety Code 6, and said that this is an electrical frequency problem between an unprotected conductor and these high frequencies, within one hour you would have those electrical professionals talking about this induced heat effect and this unintentional stimulation of tissue. That can be qualified before the end of the day.
The idea that we're going to subject children or anybody to this radiation when Safety Code 6 specifically says that example studies have shown nerve and muscle depolarization.... Any medical professional I've ever talked to, when you talk about your nerves not working... This is going to produce symptoms from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Ms. Pieterson, has Industry Canada ever been contacted to do any testing, that you're aware of, in the Simcoe County area?
12:40 p.m.
Director General, Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
No, not that I'm aware of. As I mentioned to Ms. Hughes, the only one I'm aware of that has contacted Industry Canada is the Toronto school board.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Palmer, is this widespread across Simcoe County? You must have a lot of schools in Simcoe County.
12:40 p.m.
Member, Simcoe County Safe School Committee
Again, I don't have the tools to determine exactly how widespread it is. We've asked the school board to do this. They can send a note and a health survey home with every child, and in about five days, they would find out how widespread this problem is. They've refused to do that. So we've set up a website for Simcoe County called safeschool.ca and have asked people to write to it.
We have similar symptoms being reported: these chronic headaches, and nausea, dizziness, and vertigo. Often they're reported by parents whose children have entered kindergarten, because they have the baseline: their children never had this problem at home and now they're getting it at school. Others say they noticed it when their child graduated to another grade that was out in a portable. Now, these portables are associated normally with toxic mould. The portables didn't have Wi-Fi and the children's symptoms disappeared. Profoundly strong and chronic headaches disappeared.
So the parents are kind of having these “aha” moments; they are in at least 14 schools across Simcoe County that have reported to us, and probably more by now. It's becoming something close to a full-time job for me to figure this out. I could organize the study—I already have—for the school board to actually figure it out properly with the Simcoe health unit, with the epidemiologists, and with all the proper professionals who are in place to do this, but so far they refuse to.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
The question was asked of you earlier whether all those board members were re-elected last Monday.
12:40 p.m.
Member, Simcoe County Safe School Committee
Some of them were re-elected. Some of them were not re-elected. In many cases, nobody runs against them—or at least in some cases.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
Member, Simcoe County Safe School Committee
It was an issue, but it's a very difficult one to turn over an election on, and believe me, I would have loved to. Simcoe County is one of the largest geographical districts; you have from Barrie to Penetang to Orillia to Collingwood. As you might know, to organize a grassroots political movement to kick out our school board trustees is difficult.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
Thank you very much. I think we're a little short of time now.
I want to thank our guests for coming today and for all your insightful comments. This is a very important committee and we take a lot of things under consideration.
I'm going to suspend the committee for just two minutes, and then we'll go back into our report. We will do that in camera.
[Proceedings continue in camera]