Dear everyone, if you are Canadian, please sign this petition, and no matter where you are, please share this with all the Canadians you know!
e-2729 Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
…
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Create an international classification of disease designation code in Canada for environmental sensitivities so that those affected may have access to medical care;
2. Include environmental sensitivities as a disability that must be accommodated on all relevant documents and forms in governmental departments and organizations that minister social assistance, housing, medical, and other public services; and
3. Ensure all indoor public spaces are declared scent and fragrance-free.
Posted in Accessibility, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Government, Health Care, Human Rights, Policy, Public Health
Tagged allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, CIRS, EHS, environmental illness, fibromyalgia, fragrance-free, human canaries, IAQ, ICD, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, mould, multiple chemical sensitivities, petition, scent free, TILT, video
Toronto’s Mayor John Tory has lent (not given) his support with a Proclamation for for Awareness Day:
(I’m sorry there’s no written transcript for the image)
Continue reading
Posted in Accessibility, Community, Disability, Environmental Sensitivities, Health Care, Housing, Human Rights, Policy
Tagged allergies, asthma, CFS/ME, chemical sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ecopsychology, EHS, fibromyalgia, fragrance-free, human canaries, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MAID, MCS, multiple chemical sensitivities, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, proclamation, suicide, video
There have been several articles in the news lately about the experiences of people who have been forced to endure quarantine or social isolation due to the coronavirus.
Many other people are worried about having to stay at home for a couple of weeks, without access to their regular activities, because they have never had to think about what it’s like, but some of us (indeed millions around the world) have been forced to stay confined and isolated, sometimes for most of our lives! Our stories are seldom told, and when they are told, they’re often dismissed as anomalies and quickly forgotten.
When I saw the following articles, I felt the need to add a different perspective.
Posted in Accessibility, Environment, Environmental Health, Health Care, Policy, Public Health
Tagged accessibility, allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, coronavirus, environmental sensitivities, invisible disabilities, isolation, MCAS, MCS, ME/CFS, multiple chemical sensitivities, quarantine, social distancing, solitary confinement, toxic trespass
“Accepting the leadership offered by the Task Force on Environmental Health to address the health care system, proactive change can begin immediately at all levels of society including federal, provincial, and municipal governments and public departments and agencies.
These would include, but are not limited to, public transportation providers, school boards, and the private sector.”
screenshots
of the report recommendations
with source added
The Legal Rights and Challenges Faced by Persons with Chronic Disability Triggered by Environmental Factors
From ARCH Disability Law Centre and the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), September 2019
“3. Conclusion While there has been significant research and study into barriers to include persons with EH disabilities, critical obstacles remain.
Seeking help in the health system, trying to find and/or retain adequate housing or employment, entering public spaces, shopping, or using public transportation, limit the inclusion of persons with EH disabilities in our communities.
Much more needs to be done to acknowledge the significant hurdles faced by persons with EH disabilities.
Posted in Accessibility, Air Quality, Disability, Environmental Health, Health Care, Housing, Human Rights, Policy, Pollution, Public Health
Tagged allergies, ARCH, asthma, autism, barriers, cancer, CELA, chemical sensitivity, education, employment, environmental sensitivities, federal, fragrance-free, IAQ, jobs, marginalization, MCS, MCS/ES, multiple chemical sensitivities, municipal, non-toxic, poverty, provincial, scent free, shopping, stigma, toxic chemicals, transportation, universal design, VOCs
Two new petitions have been brought to my attention. Both of them are on change.org.
Please sign and share if you are able:
Make all health care facilities and services “fragrance free.”
…”Please ask the secretary of HHS to provide leadership on addressing this issue and require all health care facilities and service providers to be scent free.”…
and
Stop the Human Rights Violations of Disabled British Columbians.
…”Health supporting housing is needed for low income British Columbians living with MCS. Currently there is no safe, affordable housing in BC for people with this chronic illness. In fact, the housing that is available is making people with MCS more ill by exposing them to off gassing building materials, strong chemicals used in building maintenance, laundry venting, cigarette smoke, and toxicant containing household and body products used by fellow renters.” …
…
Severe sensitivity to household chemicals leaves GTA man
homeless for the holidays
Environmental sensitivities have forced Oliver Zhang to move 70 times in 3 years
I hope that someone can offer or help create a safe place for Oliver Zhang to live.
I also hope that something is done soon to ensure safe, affordable, accessible, non-toxic, mold-free, housing is available for all the other people who have MCS/ES (a condition, not disorder) who need safe and accessible housing.
Since finding a safe place to rest one’s head and body is so challenging, even in the best of current circumstances, Oliver Zhang should not be forced to leave the shelter where he is currently residing if it is physically safe enough for him to be there. He is in crisis.
Forcing people onto the streets creates preventable trauma and mental health problems in addition to the serious challenges that already exist when trying to survive with MCS/ES in a society full of systemic accessibility barriers.
I know of many people who have had to move numerous (even countless) times in their quest to find housing that doesn’t hurt and disable them. I hear from too many who are in crisis, seeking accessible housing. I know people who no longer have the energy to keep looking for a needle in a haystack, because each toxic haystack leaves them more and more incapacitated. I know people with MCS/ES who are sleeping in cars and tents, and I have also known more than a few people who weren’t able to find safe housing and are no longer with us.
This is a preventable crisis.
Oliver Zhang and all the other people who are homeless due to the lack of accessible housing for people with MCS/ES, have been put into this position due to systemic neglect (if not deliberate discrimination) and bad policies, not through any fault of their own.
The City of Toronto has known about the critical need for accessible housing for people with MCS/ES since at least 2007, and most likely long before.
In 2008:
“The City of Toronto has launched a consultation process on the development of the City’s ten-year affordable housing plan, known as Housing Opportunities Toronto (“HOT”); and
Posted in Accessibility, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Health Care, Housing, Human Rights, Mental Health, Toxic Trespass
Tagged accessibility barriers, accessible housing, allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivity, community, environmental refugees, Fragrance, fragrance-free, hazardous air pollutants, homelessness, IAQ, invisible barriers, invisible disabilities, MCS, medically required housing, tents
Dear Minister of Health, we’re ready for action!
According to official statistics:
250,000 Ontarians had been diagnosed with MCS in 2014
and the discrimination is still systemic in 2018
SUBJECT: Accommodation for People with Disabilities
Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister of Health (at hjaczek.mpp@liberal.ola.org )
On September 29, 2017, Ontario quietly released the report “Time for Leadership: Recognizing and Improving Care” for those with myalgic encephalomyelitis /chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and environmental sensitivities /multiple chemical sensitivity (ME/CFS, FM and ES/MCS). This report was produced by the Task Force on Environmental Health for the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
The report found that throughout the Ontario health care system and in society at large, there is:
• a lack of recognition of the seriousness and severity of these conditions
• a profound shortage of knowledgeable care providers
• a dearth of clinical tools to support and guide care
• a discouraging shortage of services and supports for people living with these conditions
• an absence of support for family caregivers
The lack of knowledge and appropriate accessible care has devastating effects on Ontarians struggling with ME/CFS, FM and ES/MCS.
Posted in Accessibility, Action, Environmental Health, Health Care, Human Rights, Policy
Tagged allergies, chemical sensitivity, Chemicals, environmental sensitivities, fibromyalgia, fragrance-free, hazardous air pollutants, IAQ, MCS, MCS/ES, ME/CFS, multiple chemical sensitivities, Ontario, Task Force on Environmental Health
I saw something that shocked me, and I don’t know how anyone involved with this could have thought it was a good idea.
This is what I saw
If you are a Canadian, you will probably understand.
.
It’s pretty much the same thing as this (slightly revised) image:
(pretend it’s done all the way)
What would you think if you saw that?
Shoppers Drug Mart is the antithesis of scent or fragrance free!
Posted in Accessibility, Disability, Environmental Health, Fragrance, Health Care, Human Rights
Tagged accessibility barriers, allergies, asthma, cancer, chemical sensitivity, Environmental Health Clinic, environmental sensitivities, fibromyalgia, fragrance-free, gaslighting, hazardous air pollutants, health care access for people with MCS/ES, IAQ, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, multiple chemical sensitivities, petrochemicals, ShoppersDrug Mart, smoke-free, tobacco, toxic chemicals, VOCs, WHO
The Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s long awaited Environmental Health Task Force Interim Report has finally been released!
“We found that, throughout the health care system and in society at large, there is:
•a lack of recognition of the seriousness and severity of these conditions
•a profound shortage of knowledgeable care providers
•a dearth of clinical tools to support and guide care
•a discouraging shortage of services and supports for people living with these conditions
•an absence of support for family caregivers.
The lack of knowledge and appropriate accessible care has devastating effects on Ontarians struggling with ME/CFS, FM and ES/MCS.
…
For those living with ME/CFS, FM and ES/MCS, the lack of recognition of these serious and debilitating conditions is as harmful as the lack of treatments. …
We urge the Minister to act now to raise awareness of these conditions and address the barriers that keep people with ME/CFS, FM and ES/MCS from getting the care and services they need.”
…
From the press release:
Posted in Accessibility, Action, Environmental Health, Health Care, Human Rights, Policy
Tagged AODA, environmental sensitivities, ES/MCS, fibromyalgia, FM, hospitals, invisible disabilities, MCS, MCS/ES, ME/CFS, mental health, multiple chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivity, OHIP, Ontario
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Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 