When it comes to the BC Hydro Smart Meters both Health Canada and The Canadian Cancer Foundation are asleep at the wheel again, or still depending on which way you look at it.

31 years ago a young man started on his Marathon of Hope because he understood that more funds and public awareness were needed to find any cures for a disease he had – cancer.
Although the cancer research projects have been overfunded by public donations since the early 1960’s there was no real money being spent on this research from any level of government, and of course pharmaceutical companies did not and still do not want a cure. My mother died as a result of cancer in 1965 and my brother did some research and as a result we refused to ask for donations for the cancer research as there was already more donated money then than could be spent in 20 years !

Now all these years later I would be willing to bet that no one actually knows how much money has been raised around the world in the name of that young man, Terry Fox, and even more appalling just where it has been spent.

Offshoots of this money raising effort have grown from our own Cops “Tour de Rock” here on Vancouver Island, to “Bike for the cure” from Vancouver to Seattle, to the international three day walk “to end breast cancer” events, and even at one time “do it for Dad”; along with numerous firefighters, teachers, students and unionist efforts.
All very laudable, and I feel tears when my grandsons walk and collect for THE RUN and I will always support them.

But:

There is still no cure available to normal people for cancer.

The pharmaceutical companies almost certainly know how to do their bit to end the disease, but why would they wish to stop the flow of money from coming their way? Deaths of people such as Jack Layton will boost the donations enormously and are very desirable from their point of view.

The Canadian Cancer Society would go out of business, as would the various provincial Breast Cancer Foundations, and we could never have that now could we? Well yes, we the people could very easily have that, but not the corporate bottom liners as the sources of free money for all drug development would dry up and they would have to spend their own money to develop things like Viagra or Cialis.

We are being bombarded with carcinogens every day, and Health Canada is indifferent, being more interested in cadmium in jewelry (which the Health Minister still will not recall because the regulations are not yet imported from overseas corporations telling her to do this through her new Consumer Product Safety Act.! Press conference 25th July 2011) and with shutting down natural foods outlets. These outlets are a natural way to help prevent disease, therefore must be closed down, to the benefit of increased drugs and vaccinations.

Here in BC, as with Ontario and who knows where else, these so called hydro smart meters are being forced onto our homes in spite of the newest report from WHO about the possibility of cancer resulting from their proximity to people. For Health Canada and the federal and provincial politicians and the B C Provincial Medical Officer this means nothing. The contracts have been signed, the kickbacks have been paid and it’s a done deal and to hell with the health of Canadians.

There is also the fact of the mercury in the switches in these meters:

According to Itron’s manual each smart meter contains a cylinder switch with mercury. The Head of Environment Canada’s Mercury Section estimated that the amount of mercury in this switch to be at least 1000 mg. This compares to 3-5mg. in a CFL light bulb. Milt Bowling in Health Action Network quotes US Sen. Mike Enzi as reporting that the mercury from one CFL bulb is enough to contaminate 6000 gallons of water beyond safe drinking levels set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Where is the voice of the Canadian Cancer Foundation on this?
Absent because they are still glowing in their victory in getting 18 year olds banned from tanning beds in the CRD of Victoria BC ! Watch out Canada this ban may be coming your way too, whilst the smart meters will be accepted as safe without any shadow of doubt for any age.

Smart meters can be wired and do not have to be wireless radio stations, and what is wrong with only placing them when the old meters have to be replaced instead of filling the landfills with still functioning meters?
What is wrong with B C Hydro spending only a few million (instead of billions) on establishing a factory, or factories, to make a new mechanical style, wired, mercury free meter and selling them to the rest of the world who wish to remain cancer free? That would more than pay for the cost of meter readers and line men working overtime in the winter as well as giving much needed employment to BC.

That’s just too simple, even for people like, Christy Clark, Rich Coleman, commentators such as Vaughan Palmer or Tom Fletcher who make their living commenting on a legislature that usually only sits for 14 days or so a year under this Liberal regime, or even the Federal Minster responsible for health, because she hasn’t been told what to do.

At one time in our past, BC Hydro would have already have that factory up and running, but this Liberal government is not interested in home grown industry, and employment for the people of BC; they are only concerned with the interests of foreign corporations and the future directorships coming from them. The health and welfare of the BC people is of no interest even though the new premier did say that families were to be her top priority – that didn’t last long did it?

City councils are trying to do the job of Health Canada, the Federal and provincial governments and are trying to ban the installation of Hydro Smart Meters until they are proved safe. Good for them, and good luck.
Subsequent to writing this we had the meter exchange done in our area and I wrote this letter to our local paper The Peninsular Review, of Sidney BC

Dear Editor,

Last week the crews from Corix descended on Tanner Ridge like a swarm of locusts and changed all the meters that they could over to the new radio transmissions station “smart meters”

I asked a man I was told was the crew boss where the reception / transmission towers were and he looked at me as if I was from Mars and said the meters were talking to the hydro poles ! Obviously I now live in a Douglas Adams world microwave.

Now I wonder what will happen to the birds and insects and even the trees in my neighbourhood. Will they disappear?

If the man tells me radio stations are talking to wired hydro poles obviously B C Hydro, Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark, Rich Coleman, (Dr.) Perry Kendall, and even Leona Aglukkaq. MP and writers such as your Tom Fletcher and Vaughan Palmer have no idea what is going on and no concern for the other creatures that live in BC.

On the other hand Rafe Mair, Damien Gillies and Jack Etkin do seem to have a grasp on reality.

We have a problem with loosing bees, and how long will it be before any bird or insect will be unable to remain in BC and take the barrage of radio waves? What will happen to our farmers, flowers (Butchart Gardens ) then? I have already noticed a change in the bird calls here on my tree lined road., as these meters start to chatter to each other.

Does anyone know what has happened to the old meters ? Harland Road landfill maybe, or perhaps sent overseas to be recycled? Surely there is no money to be made here in BC doing that is there?

I am not impressed with those charged with our interests

This letter was partially because after a night shift I woke in the late morning to hear what sounded like a cuckoo or a pigeon calling out in real distress, and I then noticed the silence of the other song birds. We also had a hive of the harmless kind of wasps which was suddenly deserted,  moths seem to have gone, and I haven’t seen any ants.

For those of you outside Victoria BC, Jack Elkin can be found by Goggling “Face to Face with Jack Etkin”, a great weekly 1 hour independent local TV show produced by Steve Poole and broadcast by Shaw, and Rafe and Damien can be found at The Common Sense Canadian. http://www.thecanadian.org where their seemingly tireless efforts on behalf of the people, fish, wildlife and rivers of BC can be found.

Where are we heading and why is the question I dread being asked by my grandchildren.

Jeremy Arney