Dear sir:
I am writing this letter in response to an article that appeared in the Fort Frances Times on Jan. 29.
I cannot believe Dr. Sarsfield and his “team” from the Northwestern Health Unit would have the nerve to come out and directly point “the finger” at the residents in this area for not making the proper choices in life.
Dr. Sarsfield, if you and your “team” are so concerned about how much we eat and drink because it’s affecting our lives and causing us so many problems, may I ask you this . . . where were you when the effluent spill occurred in August, 2001 in Fort Frances?
The Town of Fort Frances, Moncreif Construction, and Abitibi-Consolidated were involved in some work being done in the north end of Fort Frances when an estimated 1.8 million gallons of raw effluent spilled on to the back lawns and gardens of some Walker Avenue residents.
If your concern for the public health is so prominent, why weren’t you involved?
The day the spill occurred, we, the residents, were extremely concerned about the putrid odour coming from the hot effluent. We asked the advice of Dave Coates, one of the Northwestern Health Unit employees, and he said he couldn’t advise us to go to a hotel because by doing so, the health unit could incur an indirect liability.
Thank you very much once again for your concern.
A letter was sent to the Walker Avenue residents saying that if any of the effluent got into your home to contact the Northwestern Health Unit and they would give a preliminary assessment.
They were contacted by two residents and they did go to the homes where the effluent-affected area was observed inside the homes. These homeowners were told they had a right to be concerned but if they went to a hotel, it was on their own accord because the health unit didn’t want any liabilities.
Almost every home on this affected land had a garden on it (we were trying to promote healthy food choices), but now these gardens are vacant or have been seeded with grass.
Without mentioning any names (he knows who he is), we even were told, by an Abitibi representative/employee, that we should be grateful that the raw effluent was on our lawns because it should be a good fertilizer?
Would you eat a carrot from my garden, Dr. Sarsfield?
So you can see where my frustration at the article printed last week arises. The only time I heard anything from the Northwestern Health Unit was when I called and inquired myself about the situation.
I will say that when I did contact Bill Limerick at the health unit, he did answer some of my questions, but wasn’t too concerned about my fears of what this raw effluent would do.
To this day Dr. Sarsfield, after hearing you proclaim your stand on no tolerance for unsafe health conditions concerning the people of Northwestern Ontario, I have to wonder where you have been when all this has been going on with me.
Is it just too political for you? I find that hard to believe.
I mean, you can’t get more political than dealing with your smoking issue, the issue of how poor our diet is, the issue of how we drink too much, the issue of how we incur more serious injuries than most, the issue of how our mortality rates are higher because most of the cancer, cardiovascular disease, strokes, injury, and poisoning are self-imposed . . . these issues that are prominent in the Kenora/Rainy River districts.
Would you care to take a stand in a hospital ward where people are dying of chronic diseases and tell them it’s all their fault? No, I didn’t think so.
So each time you stand in front of a group of people, Dr. Sarsfield, and state that their health is your concern, remember me, the person you forgot!
Thanks for the space.
Signed,
Sue Fletcher
Walker Avenue
P.S. To this day, I still have not received nor have been offered one cent of monetary compensation from the August, 2001 effluent spill in Fort Frances from any of the involved parties.
