Tracking Abuse
The Advocacy Gateway for Environmental Sensitivities documents various parties’ contribution to the exclusion, injury and unnecessary killing of Canadians with sensitivities.
Documents
Documents on AGES.ca were collected during four decades of organizing, lobbying, case advocacy and bearing witness to the actions of people and organisations on all sides. These documents are gradually being deposited with archive.org, at https://archive.org/details/advocacy-gateway-environmental-sensitivities?sort=date
The Basic Dodge
Concerns long known to medicine—some involving legal liability—are being obscured behind controversy about a narrow stereotype born of the modern environment.
“These proceedings include a recommendation supporting the conclusion referred to by Ashford & Miller regarding the need to search for environmental causes prior to psychiatric workup in a particular case. It is proposed to publicize these recommendations widely with the aim of helping to educate physicians and the public.” – letter from Health Minister Perrin Beatty to Charles Caccia, MP.
Diane Marleau’s Horrific Mistake
Protections that Health Canada had been encouraging were abandoned after the 1993 election. Prevalence suggests undiagnosed sensitivities are a factor in a significant portion of Canada’s adverse drug event deaths and suicides. Prevalence also suggests that thousands of instances of lethal abuse result from acts of commission where there is a legal duty of care. However, there have been no prosecutions under ss. 216 or 217.1 of the criminal code. None of the bureaucrats or politicians who are negligently or actively causing this abuse and mortality has been brought to account since they were questioned before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health in 1988.
“Mr. Brown impressed me as being very knowledgeable and rather coherent in his views. Given that the question of environmental sensitivities is of concern to a number of Canadians, and given the clarity and forthrightness of Mr. Brown’s view on the matter, I thought it may be beneficial for the Committee to hear him.” – introduction by the late Mauril Belanger, M.P.
The Situation Today
Instead of protecting people in high risk groups, as they were encouraging in the late 1980s, Health Canada is invisibilizing their own past efforts to end the abuse. Until officials and politicians stop lying about past mistakes and corrections, Canadians will continue to be caused preventable harm by acts of commission in health care.
“I’ve worked with Chris Brown for nearly two years. I know his abilities as a researcher, reporter, and current affairs writer-broadcaster. In every capacity I learned to trust him to make the contacts, get the facts, and present them clearly.” – CBC TV News Assignment Editor, Sharon Cohen.