Category Archives: Life

Remember Remember

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Today is the end of the second long day of meetings here in Toronto for the PWRDF and Youth Council. It has been a good day, surrounded by good people, doing good work.

It has also been a weekend of serendipitous connections with people across this country. I had been asked to rework a piece I wrote for the justgeneration.ca website (and also posted here) as a part of the public engagement team piece. Then, while I was en route to Toronto on Thursday, I was reading through all of the documents in preparation for the meetings and I recognized the name of one of the nominees for honorary membership to PWRDF. That recognition brought forth a flood of memories and caused me to rework what I had intended to say.

Instead of a strict public engagement talk, a talk about how promotional placemats introduced me to the Primate’s Fund, I ended up talking about “placemats and a passionate person.” Because more than the placemats, there was a key member of the church I grew up in who, with her husband, pushed social justice and and international relief and development like very few people I know. Apparently she is still doing it today (centre back of the table as I remember her in 1995) at 90+ years of age and has now been honoured with an honorary memorship to PWRDF.

The flood of memories continued to think about these wonderful relationships that I and my family have been blessed to have through the church community and the sadness of how many of them are no longer.

Yes, today is year eight. And so again I say, I love you Mum. I remember. I miss you.

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Any responsible society should guard its integrity by respecting the rights of minorities: if not for the sake of justice, then for the salvation of society itself. For it is from the disadvantaged and often disenfranchised that new wisdom comes. This is a lesson we can learn from the study of nature, for in nature new changes generally come from the margins of stable systems, rather than from the stable areas. System theory in thermodynamics and in biology will often show that closed systems do not lead to progress or change, whereas open systems can bring about change and innovation.

Graham Cotter, “Redemptive Ministries”, Cotter’s Weekly #61 (Taken from the ED Report for PWRDF’s AGM this weekend.)

Another Goal Reached

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One of my goals for each year is to read the equivalent of a book every week = 52 books per year. This week, I am happy to say that I have reached that goal and it is all more books from here on in! There are a lot of different books on that list and I’m not too picky about what is a book (though I haven’t been reading picture books this year): there are graphic novels, 900 page historical accounts of particular events, novels, and text books. All that counts is that I read it cover to cover. Now that I’ve reached my goal, that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop reading! On the contrary, in the 2 months left in this year, I should be able to hit 60…!

World Food Day

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Where does your food come from? Today is World Food Day. As you eat your food, think about where it was grown, who picked it, and how it got from there to your table. One of the best parts of being cook on Offshore was the opportunity to go to the market. There we would interact with all of the people (usually ladies) who were selling the food they had grown themselves in their plots of land. In countries where we did not speak the language, these interactions were usually quite humerous and involved a lot of pointing, gestures, and laughter. Often the laughter was at our expense as they would get a great deal of enjoyment out of watching two skinny white girls buy enough produce to feed forty and then attempt to carry it all away on our two backs, shoulders, and heads.

I have also talked with people who are starving and, if not for international food relief, would have killed themselves rather than die of shame and/or hunger.

I live in a land of plenty. Where I can walk down the hill to the grocery store and get pretty much whatever I want without even thinking about who might not have any food or without thinking of who might have been mistreated in the production of that food. Chocolate and coffee, two of my favourite things, are big culprits.

So today, think about your food. Give thanks for it and for the people who produced it. And think about eating sustainably, ethically and responsibly.

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Only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core into the other person without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without creating “the other,” reducing the other into a thing, and without becoming addicted with the other. They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness cannot be taken by the other, because it is not given by the other.

Osho

Sunday Evening

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I was walking through downtown after dropping someone off at the ferry terminal. I decided I needed a coffee, and so hit up a favourite place on the edge of Chinatown. From there, it is only a couple blocks to a bus stop where the bus that drops me practically at my front door stops.

As I walked through the square, I noticed a crowd of people gathering under an overhang. Not yet close enough to see what it was, I initially thought it was the Sunday market gone into overtime. As I drew closer, I saw that it was something else entirely. I began to suspect it was CARTS as I started to recognize some of the individuals standing around. It was interesting to see clients I am used to seeing at the Shelters in another context entirely.

I continued on to the bus stop, wondering if I should say hi. Obviously that would be weird and a complete breach of confidentiality, so I did not. Some of the individuals drifted over to the bus stop and loitered for a while before crossing Douglas St to another part of town. Others I have seen since, wandering around town. Many do not recognize me from shift to shift at the shelter, so I am not sure why I think they might recognize me outside of the shelter. If they did recognize me, I don’t think that would make any difference to how I reacted. Once again, however, I am struck by how thin the line is that separates me from them.

Wait! There is More!

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Now that I have the attention of the government…

I received an emailed letter from the Minister of the Environment, The Honourable Peter Kent today. I’m hoping for a letter from the Minister of Health next, and, since Kent forwarded my letter to them, I’m also anticipating hearing from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Labour. I should start a scrap book.


Does it sound like he agrees with us but isn’t allowed to outright say so?

In which I discover that the government does read mail. And then they respond with a lecture.

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UPDATE 09/27: A second letter from the Minister of the Environment!

This is a long one… if you don’t read everything in the Government’s letter (and it is all a load of crap), at least scan to the end for my editorializing…!

Back in July, asbestos was in the news a lot. Canada, a leading exporter of the stuff, was getting in hot water internationally for exporting it and not ensuring it was used safely overseas when it is something banned in this country. I got a little miffed about that, given my family history with asbestos, and made some comments on Facebook. Those comments turned into a series of long debates with friends which my sister, Jen, proposed that we incorporate into a letter to the Prime Minister. Since I had just done something similar a couple months earlier, I was definitely game to hate mail our government once again.

July 4, 2011

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

As you may have noticed, your efforts at the recent Rotterdam Convention to keep chrysotile asbestos off the Annex 3 list of hazardous chemicals have garnered some attention.  We are writing you to voice our own concerns about Canada’s continuing role in exporting asbestos.  We are sisters; Gillian is 29 and Jennifer is 26.  

Our relationship with asbestos began fairly personally.  Our grandfather worked for an oil company at their refineries for his entire career.  As a manager, he brought his family to live in onsite housing when his children were young.  This is likely how the family received most of their exposure to asbestos.  When our grandfather died of cancer in 2003 he was also suffering from asbestosis.  When our mother was diagnosed with mesothelioma in the fall of 2000, doctors were shocked to see the disease in a patient so young.  She fought it for three long years, far beyond the maximum 8 months she was originally given, and died a few months shy of her 50th birthday.  Jennifer was 18 and Gillian was 21.  Asbestos touches real people.

We are also concerned about Canada’s place in the global village.  If we ban a substance in our own country but continue to sell it to others, what does that make us? Profiteers at the expense and certain harm to others? Would we expect the federal government to prop up the manufacture of drugs so that we can ship them to other countries? Opiates have a use in the health care industry, as does marijuana, but in reality we get upset at countries that don’t crack down on the manufacture and export of drugs that are illegal in Canada.

Canada should agree to let chrysotile asbestos be listed as a hazardous material and also provide the training necessary for its proper use.  Unfortunately, developed countries have a tendency to sell resources to developing countries with no regard for safety, often exposing them to risks that would never be acceptable here. If we are a global village, we need to act like neighbours who actually care about each other more than making a dollar.

We worry about possibly watching our mother’s three siblings deal with asbestos-related diseases.  We worry about other children losing their parents.   We worry about Canada’s tarnished reputation on the world stage because of the government’s stance on this issue, and we are ashamed.

Sincerely,

Gillian and Jennifer

I didn’t receive a response to the first letter that I sent (though, unlike this one, I only sent it to the PM and not my MP) and so, that was the last I thought of it. Until today. I arrived home this afternoon to a letter in my mailbox from the Ministry of Natural Resources. Ministry of Natural Resources? It wasn’t until I was halfway down the driveway with the closed letter in my hand that I realized what it must be. Inside, I received a two-page lecture from the Hon. Minister Joe Oliver… (text follows) (Sorry for the bad lighting in the first image. Not sure what happened. It was the same time/place… I should get a scanner.)

Dear Ms Gillian and Ms Jennifer:

The Prime Minister’s Office has forwarded to me a copy of your letter of July, 4, 2011, in which you express some concerns related to Canada’s position with respect to chrysotile asbestos.

Please accept my sympathy for the asbestos-related death of your mother and your grandfather. I understand and appreciate your concern for the well-being of others, and assure you that the health and safety of workers and the public is a priority for the Government of Canada.

It is important first to clarify how we use the term “asbestos.” A great deal of confusion arises from the common use of the generic commercial term “asbestos” to describe two different and distinct classes of mineral fibres found naturally in rock formations around the world: amphibole and serpentine.

Chrysotile, the only “asbestos” fibre produced in and exported from Canada, belongs to the serpentine class. Serpentine minerals are structurally and chemically different from the amphiboles. Chrysotile is the only “asbestos” fibre that does not belong to the amphibole group. The risk posed by using chrysotile fibres can be managed if adequate controls, such as those established in Canada, are implemented and completely observed.

In 1979, the Government of Canada adopted the controlled-use approach to asbestos. This means that, through the enforcement of appropriate regulations to rigorously control exposure to chrysotile, the health risks associated with processes and products can be reduced to acceptable levels.

Chrysotile is regulated under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. The objective of the regulations is to prevent the exposure of consumers to products containing or consisting entirely of any type of asbestos and which can readily shed loose fibres that can be inhaled and cause adverse health effects. Canada does not ban naturally-occurring substances. Canada manages the risks of products and practices derived from these substances where and when required and applicable.

The illnesses we are currently seeing in countries that have intensively used “asbestos” fibres are linked to past high-level exposures and inappropriate uses. These uses have been prohibited or discontinued in Canada since the late 1970s. A total ban on chrysotile is neither necessary nor appropriate. Implementing a ban would not protect workers or the public against past uses that have been prohibited for many years.

More than 93 percent of the world production of chrysotile is used in chryso-cement-manufactured products in the form of pipes, sheets and shingles. Five percent is used for friction materials such as brake pads and linings. Canadian-manufactured products include brake pads, gaskets and specialty products. Fibres are encapsulated in a matrix in those products, thus preventing the release of fibres and allowing their use.

We all share the objective of protecting human health. Since 1979, Canada has promoted the controlled-use approach, both domestically and internationally. Canada continues to work with other countries on matters related to the safe use of chrysotile through the Chrysotile Institute.

The Chrysotile Institute, a not-for-profit organization established in 1984 by the governments of Canada and Quebec, labour and industry, has the mandate to promote the controlled use of chrysotile both domestically and internationally. The Chrysotile Institute provides information to governments, industry, unions, media and the general public on how to safely manage the risks associated with the handling of chrysotile fibres. This information includes technical regulations, control measures, standards and best practices. Over the years, the Chrysotile Institute has assisted knowledge and technology transfer in more than 60 countries.

Thank you for writing.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Joe Oliver, P.C., M.P.

Did anyone else notice the excessive use of quotation marks around “asbestos”?

I find it interesting how, in the same breath, asbestos use in Canada is both condoned as safe and labelled as risky. Please, make up your mind. And then instead of giving me a history lesson and lecture, trying to placate me with lots of information and overwhelm me to silence, actually address my concerns. While I appreciate that the government actually replied to my letter (First time that the Conservatives have ever replied to anything I have written. Though I would also like to take this opportunity to state that my wonderful NDP MP has responded to every letter I have ever written her.), I feel a little patronized and completely unsatisfied by this response. Basically, it is another rehashing of this government’s position: “I am right, you are wrong. Shut up, get out of our way while we screw this country over.”