Elections 2021
TAKE ACTION
This campaign is now complete, thank you for your participation!
If you want to make a difference:
Open Letter to all of the Federal Political Parties in Canada, from ASEQ-EHAQ
The letter above was sent to each party on August 18, 2021. Their responses are linked below.
Party Responses to the Open Letter
Questions for all Political Parties
Responses
With Statistics Canada reporting over 1 million Canadians experiencing MCS in 2016, a number that has continued to rise in the past 20 years, accessibility is a critical issue for many Canadians. With this in mind, ASEQ-EHAQ has worked to generate a list of questions that has been sent to all of the political parties. These questions ask for concrete commitments to address barriers in society including employment barriers, housing, healthcare, and a lack of research. With so many people impacted by MCS and the barriers that exist throughout Canadian society, these responses are critically important to make decisions and understand the future of accessibility in the next parliament.
The questions can be found here.
Once we have received a response, we will post them here on our website, and send them to our mailing list. If you would like to receive these emails as a part of our mailing list, consider becoming a member here: Become a member – ASEQ-EHAQ
TAKE ACTION
Oftentimes people can feel unheard, and unseen by their elected officials. This rings particularly true for individuals with environmental sensitivities such as multiple chemical sensitivities. With very few least-toxic and fragrance-free spaces and no investment in patient care and research by the government, it can be challenging to feel represented, but together, we can change this.
With Elections 2021 here, we can make our voices heard in order to promote the introduction of inclusive legislation, which removes barriers, for the future and for increased accessibility for the disability of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) across Canada. Political figures facing re-election are particularly interested in the voices of their constituents during election cycles, which means that we must act now to let them know that we need appropriate accessible accommodations for people experiencing MCS.
At ASEQ-EHAQ we have been working to develop a list of necessary changes that need to be made in order to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of individuals experiencing multiple chemical sensitivities. This list spans many different areas, from increasing legislation, and education, to promoting accessibility in public spaces like healthcare, to ensuring safe and accessible housing.
With over 1 million Canadians diagnosed with MCS, as well as high rates of isolation, homelessness, and poverty within the community due to unavoidable exposures in public spaces, it is imperative that public officials are called upon to take action and protect their constituents.
This list not only benefits individuals with ES/MCS, but also helps to ensure safe, healthy spaces for all Canadians. We must come together in order to let the government know that these changes are essential.
The list of demands that we have generated is as follows:
- Provide immediate appropriate, affordable housing with a keen focus on indoor air quality, suitable for people who experience this disability.
- Election spaces must be accessible (fragrance-free with least toxic products being used for cleaning, etc.) so that people disabled with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) have accessible spaces to exercise their right to vote.
- A Diagnostic Code for MCS must be implemented similar to the way it is implemented in other countries such as Germany, Japan, and Spain.
- Awareness and education on MCS from the Government website must be expanded to educate, create awareness and eliminate the severe stigmatization that currently exists. This content must be created with the collaboration of people with MCS and MCS groups given that they have lived experience with MCS. Nothing about us, without us!
- All Human Rights Commissions across Canada must offer the same protections for all Canadians. This must be clearly mentioned with clear definitions of all accommodations on the websites of all the commissions.
- The development of private sector research to develop healthy products must be encouraged and supported so that there are safe products for people experiencing MCS.
- Healthy products for all applications must be supported and prioritized.
- Implement legislation to change the use of chemical products legal in Canada to reduce the growing numbers of people developing MCS. This type of legislation has been created for example Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals or REACH in Europe which has been in force since 2007 and has limited the production of chemical products.
- Implement legislation to ensure companies disclose the harmful chemicals such as carcinogens, endocrine disruptors (EDCs), neurotoxins, sensitizers (leading to MCS), contained in their products. This legislation exists in California, titled Proposition 65, and ensures consumers can make informed choices about their chemical exposures.
- Federally funded centers for excellence for MCS must be established in all provinces and territories: for health care, research, awareness and education.
- Expand Federally funded research on MCS.
- Under UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, mandate that all health care in Canada is fragrance-free, an essential and appropriate accommodation in order to ensure access to healthcare facilities for people with MCS.
- Use only effective, least-toxic solutions during this pandemic and future events, keeping in mind the health condition of MCS.
- That the work being presently done for accessibility, for people experiencing MCS, under the Accessibility Act, be implemented in all Government of Canada buildings and in those establishments with a federal mandate, and remain following the elections, and that people and groups with lived experience be actively included in the process.
In order to make your voice heard, call or email your elected representatives so that they can hear directly from you.
Follow the link below in order to find a phone call script to read, and your representative’s phone number – check out the new candidates in your area and contact them too! This is a time when people can be reached more easily. Let your candidates know about your concerns.
Need us to help you? Contact us:
Email: office@aseq-ehaq.ca