By Steven Dominey
Ottawa Centre MP Mac Harb has taken up the cause of people who suffer from environmental illnesses.
Last year, Harb proposed a private member’s bill in Parliament. It was referred to the House of Commons health committee but went nowhere procedurally and eventually died when the election was called.
Harb says the fight isn’t over, however. At a conference held at regional headquarters last week, Harb said he’d continue to lobby on behalf of environmental illness sufferers.
“You can bring about change, all you have to do is work together. You can bring about change, all you have to do is put facts before elected officials,” Harb told a crowd of about 50 people.
“Parliament does in fact hear the interests and concerns of the people and they will take action on your behalf.”
Harb reiterated this message in a later interview. “There’s a commitment by the department and the minister of health. Eventually it will be heard, I’ll make sure it is,” said Harb.
The conference was hosted by the Environmental Illness Society of Canada and was designed to educate and motivate people diagnosed with environmental illnesses. These illnesses are acquired disorders that are triggered by exposure to chemical and allergenic sources such as perfumes, household cleaners and pesticides.
Ottawa resident Charles Lemmon says the sooner it’s heard the better. Lemmon originally intended to attend the conference with his wife, Barbara, who has been suffering from environmental illnesses for 15 years. However, she was unable to attend because her symptoms of muscle control loss, muscle pain, extreme fatigue and chemically induced migraines became so bad she couldn’t leave the house.
“Our bodies have lost their ability to detoxify our symptoms from many of the chemicals and pollutants that are found in our daily environment and this needs to be recognized by the public,” says Lemmon.
“If people understand that what they’re doing, what they’re wearing could impact a person, it causes them to think about that and perhaps take some action like leaving the perfume at home.”
Dr. John Last, professor of epidemiology and community medicine at the University of Ottawa, says one way to help people with these illnesses is simply to diagnose them correctly.
“To call something environmental illness and leave that label as a sort of ragbag that covers a multitude of illnesses isn’t really satisfactory in my opinion,” says Last. “It’s really just a lazy way of attaching a label. You’ve got to find out what’s really wrong and treat that.”
Last says it’s going to take more than a motion by an MP to get things done. “I’m not sure what the purpose of that motion was other than to perhaps get some local support from his constituents,” says Last.
Harb insists that his role is more extensive.
“(Environmental illnesses) have real symptoms. I know a lot of my constituents have those symptoms and it’s fact, it’s not fiction, and I’ll try to help them.”