"THEY ASK WHETHER THESE (Health Issues) ARE RELATED TO CONTAMINATION IN THE CREEK. NO ONE CAN ANSWER."

Well in actual fact that second sentence in the title is not accurate. In fact lots of people can answer but it simply is not in their best long term financial and economic interests to do so. For example professionals in risk assessment, hydrogeology, biology, chemical contamination and related health problems all have employers to please. If they are employed by so called independent consulting firms, those firms all want future contracts and let's face it many of their clients are polluters of the worst sort. If their employers are governments whether provincial, regional or municipal then they follow orders from their political masters. Most politicians, government "regulators" and polluters have learned that cooperation is in all their best interests and the public interest be damned. Essentially real public consultation is mostly about leading the public down the garden path in the direction exactly where the self-interested parties want to go. Many of these self-interested and self-serving stakeholders share responsibility and culpability for the public health and environmental problems in the first place. Our so called "regulators" such as the Ontario Ministry of Environment have been captured decades ago. How couldn't they be? Their master, the Ontario government, whether Liberal or Conservative, have underfunded them intentionally both to mollify their corporate donors as well as to siphon tax payers funds to the politicians pet projects and legacy projects. Well funded multi national corporations know this and have the funds to stick it to negligent, incompetent, underfunded and equally guilty government regulators in court. Hence a long term self-serving rapport has developed. You protect our interests and we'll protect yours. Once again the public interest is given mere lip service. ................................................................................................................. The quote in the title above is from the report that a TAG member provided to their fellow TAG members regarding the upcoming creek Risk Assessment. This report is titled "Vulnerabilities of the Old Order Mennonite Farm Community". The quote in the title immediately follows other quotes in my Saturday June 19/21 posting titled "Elmira's Shame". These quotes list a litany of serious health problems sufferred by Old Order Mennonite families living along the Canagagigue Creek, downstream of Uniroyal/Lanxess Canada. ............................................................................................................................. The two closest neighbours to Uniroyal/Lanxess, the Strohs and the Martins have received some compensation for obvious and immediate damages to their crops and livestock. Possibly the Martin compensation was a one time payment for cattle that died drinking water from the creek around 1965. The other neighbour has advocated well for himself in discussions/negotiations with the MOE/MECP and Uniroyal/Lanxess over the years. ...................................................................................................................... A further quote from the report submitted to TAG (Technical Advisory Group): "Despite efforts by the GRCA to keep livestock in this area out of the Creek and floodplain, some are occasionally pastured in some areas of the floodplain, drink from the Creek, and stir up sediment in the Creek and floodplain. The families consume primarily meat raised on their own farm, vegetables raised in their own gardens, and in the past, fish caught in the Canagagigue Creek. They drink milk from their own cows. They thus have potentially greater than normal exposure to toxins through these food sources." ...................................................................................................................... Rest assurred in regards to the so called Human Health Risk Assessment these high exposures will probably be given lip service with one hand while mathematically reduced with the other. Nothing in Canada supercedes the rights of corporations to make and save their corporate profits, including collateral damage in the form of human life and health. Risk Assessments can not and should not ever be in the control of the polluting and guilty parties.