Your Voice Matters

Both ATMs are located in the lobby so they are very close to the inside of the branch. There is always a strong scent presence as soon as I open the front door even after hours.

I was able to find out that it was an employee working at the bank who was wearing the perfume that I recognized in the entrance more than once and not a customer. By pure chance this employee was arriving at work at the same time I was trying to get to the ATM. He was walking right in front of me in the parking lot. I kept a good distance because I immediately felt a strong presence of scent as I walked in his footsteps. I was sure it was the same scent that had bothered me during my last visit to the bank. What a disappointment it was to see him sitting at the reception desk right next to the counters in the lobby.

Suffering from MCS, it is now impossible for me to go to the branch near my home since there is no “scent free” policy. Receiving services by phone or video conference is fine but it does not allow me to withdraw cash or receive any other type of service at the counter that would not be available online.

If that person I was following outside had been a customer, I probably would never have thought to write the comment I wrote to them in the customer satisfaction survey which I completed online. Well, well, I thought! Here’s my chance to let them know about this terrible disease that isolates us so much and also deprives us of receiving services on site.

So in the general comment box at the end of the survey I took the liberty of submitting excerpts from the ASEQ- EHAQ website and suggested that they implement a “fragrance-free” policy in their facilities. Here’s basically what I wrote to them:

I mentioned that I suffer from multiple chemical sensitivities and that I could no longer go to the branch nearest to my house or even to the ATM in the lobby. That I now had to go to another bank’s ATM drive-through and pay extra fees for each withdrawal.

I also shared some information I found on the ASEQ-EHAQ website.

According to scientific studies read on the Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) website “Fragrances are mixtures of chemical substances intended to create a particular scent. A single synthetic fragrance can contain up to 500 ingredients, 95% of which are petroleum-derived volatile organic compounds (VOCs),” and, “Approximately one-third of Canadians experience symptoms when exposed to perfumes, fragrances, or other scented products. This includes people with asthma or other respiratory conditions, migraines, allergies and environmental sensitivities. “

I added the information that this condition is recognized as a disability by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. I also copied the hyperlink (available on the ASEQ-EHAQ website) to the Canadian Human Rights Commission Policy on Environmental Sensitivities where it states “The Canadian Human Right Act protects people with allergies or environmental sensitivities, like any other disability”: https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/sites/default/files/publication-pdfs/policy_sensitivity_2019.pdf.

Finally, I suggested contacting ASEQ-EHAQ for more information on the subject!

I liked the advice found in an ASEQ-EHAQ model letter on accommodation (http://www.hypersensibiliteenvironnementale.com/images/pdfs/en/model_letter.pdf) and it says: “It is essential to be polite and patient. Most people are unfamiliar with environmental sensitivities and are unaware that the products they use have toxic properties.”

In addition, to help us with our accommodation and accessibility to services requests, ASEQ-EHAQ has prepared a letter for you to have accessibility and especially to essential services, for example, health care and shopping for food, (signed by Michel Gaudet, Executive Director) that we can print or send my email, for a request for accommodation and accessibility. https://aseq-ehaq.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Letter-of-support-EN_Website.pdf

I suddenly feel inspired with a mission…to stop being silent in suffering in silence and take the time to politely inform! 🙂

Second testimonial: Facebook post – Liberal Party of Canada Poll

I clicked on this post which was titled Progress Poll; What are your priorities? There were 3 multiple choice questions and a last open question with a nice comment box! Well, well, well, just my luck I thought! I suggested a “fragrance-free” policy with excerpts from the ASEQ-EHAQ website:

Here is the comment I sent:

A “fragrance-free” policy for all federal government workplaces and public services.

Why?

Nearly one-third of Canadians experience symptoms when exposed to fragrances, perfumes and scented products (Sears, 2007; Steinemann, 2018). See: https://aseq-ehaq.ca/en/resources/fragrance/

This condition is a disability. The Canadian Human Rights Act protects people with allergies or environmental sensitivities in the same way it protects people with any other disability. See: https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/sites/default/files/publication-pdfs/policy_sensitivity_2019.pdf

Info: According to numerous scientific studies read on the website of the Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) “Fragrances are mixtures of chemical substances whose purpose is to create a particular scent. A single synthetic fragrance can contain up to 500 ingredients, 95% of which are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) derived from petroleum”. More info: contact ASEQ-EHAQ: https://aseq-ehaq.ca/en/contact-us/

By setting an example, the federal government will certainly influence the provincial governments who in turn will perhaps do the same, so that the 1/3 of citizens who experience symptoms upon exposures to perfumes/fragrance, and who only have ”avoidance” as a means to “control” their symptoms, are able to avoid being in contact with triggering products such as perfumes/fragrances, will finally be able to obtain services without the risk of being sick when visiting government and other public establishments.

People with multiple chemical sensitivities must advocate one at a time to obtain a “fragrance-free” workplace and/or public and medical services. This road can be arduous and too long for those suffering with MCS.

Despite the right to reasonable accommodation, it is extremely difficult and time consuming to obtain accommodation at every location they must attend – especially when one is ill.

I read the sage advice found in an ASEQ-EHAQ model letter on accommodation (http://www.hypersensibiliteenvironnementale.com/images/pdfs/en/model_letter.pdf) and I quote: “It is essential to be polite and patient. Most people are unfamiliar with environmental sensitivities and are unaware that the products they use have toxic properties.”

So, I decided to build a document that I have saved and in which I will add the different comments sent over time to companies and/or government authorities that I have written to. This will make my task easier each time I want to send a comment to other government bodies or companies!

I believe that the more of us who take the time to write a simple comment or send a polite and patient email explaining the existence of this disease and the need for “fragrance-free” policies, the more businesses that serve the public will be aware of the existence of this disability and the need to ban fragrances in services and businesses.

In addition, to help us with our accommodation and accessibility requests, ASEQ has prepared a letter (signed by Michel Gaudet, Executive Director) that we can print or send via email to a request for accommodation and accessibility. https://aseq-ehaq.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Letter-of-support-EN_Website.pdf

I suddenly feel inspired with a mission…not to remain silent by suffering in silence and to take the time to inform politely! 🙂