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Twenty-Four Canadian Groups Say: Suspend 5G Until Proven Safe   Appeal to the Government of Canada “Look Before We Leap”

For Immediate Release  May 14, 2020

Ottawa:  Scientists and citizens groups from across Canada, including several from British Columbia, are launching an Urgent Appeal demanding the right to say “No” to 5G in their neighbourhoods. Twenty-four Canadian groups are banding together and calling for a national moratorium on the roll out of 5G until questions about its human health effects are resolved.

“This has nothing to do with Covid-19. All groups launching this Appeal condemn acts of violence such as burning antenna towers,” said one of the organizers. “The Parliamentary Health Committee has been investigating the negative health impacts of cell phones, cell towers and Wi-Fi for over a decade. So far the only assurance that it’s safe comes from the wireless companies profiting from it, but scientists disagree.”

The Appeal is also requesting that Health Canada conduct a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the health effects of radiofrequency radiation.

“Health Canada’s 2015 guidelines for human exposure to non-ionizing radiation (Safety Code 6) were out of date before they were published, and the review process was flawed,” said Dr. Meg Sears, PhD, Chair of Ottawa based Prevent Cancer Now, one of the signatory groups. “Hundreds of peer-reviewed, published studies show that radiofrequency (RF) radiation can cause cancers, damage sperm and DNA, impair reproduction, learning and memory, and more. We should be limiting public exposure, not increasing it.”

“We have sufficient data to classify RF radiation as a Group 1, known human carcinogen, along with, for example, asbestos and tobacco smoke,” states Dr. Anthony Miller MD, Professor Emeritus of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, who worked with the International Agency for Research on Cancer on the 2011 scientific review. Dr. Miller is a signatory to the appeal.

Numerous 4G and 5G microcell antennae are appearing in neighbourhoods with no prior notice; some being placed by children’s bedrooms. This blatant disregard for potential health consequences is unCanadian and unnecessary. A safer, faster, and more environmentally friendly Internet option is available — fibre optic cables connected right to the home.

Oona McOuat of Salt Spring Island says, “COVID-19 has shown us we need dependable and affordable Internet. With the government increasing connectivity funding, and the Connected Coast bringing fibre optics to 154 BC communities, now is the perfect time to connect fibre to our homes. Rural communities like Denman, Hornby and Salt Spring islands and the Slocan Valley are exploring how to create net neutral and energy efficient community-owned fibre networks. These networks may be up to 20 times faster than wireless 5G, while offering untold financial and other benefits.”

“The proponents would prefer that we hear only about the up-side – the additional billions in purported  revenues from 5G – but there is little recognition of the increased costs,” said Frank Clegg, former President of Microsoft Canada and CEO of Canadians For Safe Technology.

“Canadians deserve a full economic analysis including the unspoken increased costs to our healthcare system, which is particularly stressed right now. Also the lost productivity from adverse health effects; security and privacy breaches; increased energy consumption, damage to the environment; and risks to safety and property should be included. We are living in a different world than we were three months ago, and this is a standard cost-benefit analysis that might open the eyes of the public that is paying for it,” said Clegg.

The Appeal requests that Ottawa give local governments and their citizens proper notification and grant them a decisive say over the placement of cell towers and microcell antennas.

Visit the Appeal here: http://c4st.org/5Gappeal/