– MCS 101.3: MCS in Canada

MCS 101 – Part 3

MCS In Canada at a Glance

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HOW BAD IS IT, REALLY, IN THE TRUE NORTH?

Here is the “MCS Statistics” page from http://www.aeha-quebec.ca/, the Environmental Health Association of Quebec, a dynamic and highly informative website on chemical pollution more generally, as well as on MCS. With thanks for this great piece that provides a picture at a glance of the extent and impact of MCS in Canada:

Percent of Canadians with MCS…………………….12

Number of Canadians with MCS…..approximately 4 million

Severe cases…………………………half a million

Number disabled by this condition……………….5000

Number who apply for CPP annually………………50-60

Number who know what triggered their illness…3 million (80 percent)

Number who blame pesticide exposure……….1.8 million (60 percent)

Number of different pesticide residues contained in the average peach in Canada………………………………………..31

Economic Impact: Lost productivity due to MCS…………….$10 billion.

Lost taxes……………………………..$1 billion

Avoidable health care costs………………$1 billion

Avoidable disabilities…………………..$1 billion

Homelessness rate within the general population…….1%

A staggering 57% of MCS sufferers have been homeless at one time or another.

At the time of the survey 10% had no homes and 10% were staying in temporary accommodations.

About 60 percent of the most severe cases also involve suicide attempts and about the same figure applies to family breakups.

To give a more sociological, familial and personal sense of the consequences of MCS, here is some text from their site:

The effect of environmental sensitivities can be overwhelming. Productive people may suddenly or gradually become unable to tolerate offices, homes, schools, hospitals and public places. Employers, who may or may not be aware of the problem, may refuse to make the accommodations necessary to allow people affected to continue working in safety. Many people with sensitivities lose their jobs if they are not provided with the accommodations they need to work productively. Some become homeless. All too often, retirement savings are depleted and debts are incurred in an attempt to create safe living conditions and to fund the cost of treatment. Treatment of these problems can be expensive and difficult to obtain, and includes avoidance of offending agents. Some people with sensitivities do improve after many years if they are able to find a safe environment in which to live and work, and if they can obtain (and afford) treatments that are both tolerable and effective for them. Sadly, despite skills and education, some people with sensitivities end up on social assistance. Many become socially isolated as they are forced to retreat from places and activities they love, and for some, the devastation extends to losing spouses, family and friends who may not believe that they are ill.

The disability may be invisible, but it is real. Like others with disabilities, persons with sensitivities have special needs which include, but are not limited to: housing in a safe and tolerable environment so that their bodies can heal, well-tolerated, environmentally safe products available at a reasonable cost, consumer self-help groups, a support system, tolerable meeting places, publicly funded treatments, safe hospitals, schools and other pubic facilities, and accommodation in the workplace.

Like all Canadians, we are entitled to freedom from discriminatory treatment, which includes the right to accessible workplaces, accommodation and public facilities. Notably, environmental sensitivities have been recognized as disabilities by the Canadian Human Rights Commission and many provincial human rights commissions.