___________________________________________________________ June 20, 2005 Hi .. First of all, let me say that your website is very well done, you beat me to it!!...I am also in the process of building a site, but now that I have seen yours, I am not sure that another one is necessary. However, I do have some suggestions and more information. Perhaps you could have a page where civilians who were exposed and poisoned could register rather than posting to a forum. That way a database could evolve of civilians who have been poisoned. I know that posting names and medical information is something that has to be seriously considered, not only because of our privacy act, but it leaves the door open for possible abuse. However, if we cannot get the names of people who were poisoned and are sick as a result, then how do we organize them to be a united voice against the government. Thought provoking isn't it? I have more information about the spraying which I feel should be put online. There are some facts which I would like to bring to your attention concerning the spraying of defoliants at CFB Gagetown. 1) The defoliation occurred from 1956 to 1967 inclusive on a large scale. The story of "tests by the US military" is just part of the cover up that went on for the past 49 years. The U.S. tests covered very small areas by comparison of our own government policy to defoliate thousands of acres. The military needed the forests of the training area defoliated so troops, tanks and artillery would have easier access to the training area. In 1956, defoliation started on a massive scale involving thousands of acres throughout the ensuing years, using a product called Bushkill. BrushKill contained 2,4,D & 2,4,5,T, in effect it is Agent Orange. However, what is not currently known is the level of Dioxin in the Brushkill. Emails that I have been receiving from former sprayers of Brushkill are insisting that the toxicity was far higher than "the watered down version of Agent Orange". It would appear that because Base Gagetown had the defoliation policy in place since 1956 to clear the brush and forest by applying Brushkill, that the Americans were given permission to test their versions of defoliants because DND was already defoliating on a wide scale basis. And the American versions of the defoliant were the same chemicals, just that they were given names like Agent Orange, Agent Purple, Agent White, Pink and so on dependent upon the chemical mix and the colour of the broad strip painted around the middle of the 55 gallon (250 litre drums). These became known as the "rainbow" herbicides in their use in Vietnam. 2) There was a spray accident in 1964, which involved the spray now known as Agent Orange. The spray was blown off the Base because of a temperature inversion and poisoned civilian communities over a wide area on the opposite side of the St. John River in the areas of Sheffield, Lower Burton, Maugerville & Upper Gagetown. Most of these communities were market-garden orientated. It is interesting to note that the Crown compensated the farmers for extensive crop damage in the amount of $250,000 in 1964 dollars. From the National and CBC Radio World Report,
June 13 and 14, 2005
Reporter: Louise Elliott
In 1964 there was a spray application accident. Increased winds carried the spray to the Upper Gagetown and Sheffield area. The Crown paid approximately $250,000 to several market gardens in the area as reparation for the damage to their crops.
So the government has already set a precedent of compensating civilians for exposure to and poisoning by Agent Orange. One of the concerns that immediately comes to mind is that fact that these lands along the St. John River have been producing vegetables on a massive scale for decades. If the farms were so damaged by Agent Orange in 1964 that the Crown had to compensate them, why were these farms allowed to grow produce that would have gone into the food chain via grocery stores, not only in New Brunswick but by exporting of the produce to other parts of the country. Ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption are all routes of exposure to Dioxin. Dioxins are insoluble in water but lipophilic (soluble in fats) and other hydrophobic materials, and bind to solid material such as soil and fly ash. They have a low rate of metabolic breakdown, they preferentially accumulate in adipose tissue, skin, liver, and breast milk in mammals. In soil TCDD has an extremely long half-life time, greater than 10 years. The biologic half-life in humans has been measured to be in the range of 5 to 8 years however, since it is lipophilic it binds to fat cells in the liver and stays there eventually causing toxic reactions in the form of various type of cancers, heart ailments, neurological disorders, diabetes, lipid problems and so on. Since Dioxin has a half-life of greater than 10 years in soil, that means the farmers in that area of the St. John River who grew and sold vegetables from 1965 to present are selling produce that probably was and continues to be contaminated with Dioxin although to a much lesser degree in the past two decades. It makes one very concerned not only as to why they would have been allowed to sell their produce, but how has that produce affected the people who consumed the vegetables. Because I allowed my story, name and email address to be used on New Brunswick MLA Jody Carr's website, I have been receiving dozens of emails from people all across Canada with horror stories of their families dying of all kinds of cancers, organ dysfunctions of all kinds, some like mine, and some having various neurological disorders, miscarriages, birth defects etc...the common thread among all these emails is that they were all military families that were based at CFB Gagetown/Oromocto during the late fifties and throughout the sixties. So the anger out there is growing as the stories keep unfolding. Thought you might like to know. Ken Dobbie - Ken Thank you for your suggestions and information. I belive that your idea of having a database or registry of individuals who are affected by the spraying is excellent. A databse will be installed on this site in which people can register so that those affected can be a united voice. Thank you Ken for your thoughts and contribution they are genuinely appreciated :) -Art _____________________________________________________________________________ June 15, 2005 First Name: Ken
Last Name: Young
City: Nanaimo
E-mail Address: Kentar@telus.net
Comments: Thanks for the site. There can't be enough said about this problem. This is suposed to be the year of the Vet. Please put a link page up so that differant sites within Canada can join. To gether we might tip the scales. -Thanks for the great idea Ken...consider it done :) -Art ______________________________________________________________________________ June15, 2005 Dear Mr. Connolly I would like to thank you for your letter regarding Agent Orange. I went to your web site and I am very impressed with your work. I will be sure to pass it on to those who contact my office. I have also included what information I could collect to help those who are getting started with obtaining information on Agent Orange. Please feel free to use any of it on your web site. Cheers,
Dave MacKenzie, M.P.
Oxford
447 West Block
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
(613) 995-4432
Cell: (613) 558-7032
brentbabcock@bell.blackberry.net -Thanks for the info and compliment Dave. I have posted the info to the links page (Agent Orange Infro Sheet, Disability Application and Legion Contact Info ) -Art ______________________________________________________________________________ June 15, 2005 I saw on CBC National Tonight that Minister Bill Graham has announced there will be a meeting held at Base Gagetown that the public will be invited to regarding Agent Orange. No date and no time set. Jody Carr MLA - Oromocto ______________________________________________________________________________
June 15, 2005 From: Carr, Jody (LEG)
Sent: June 15, 2005 8:59 AM
Subject: Carr and Thompson Push for Compensation for All CARR AND THOMPSON PUSH FOR COMPENSATION FOR ALL CBC TV National News, Tuesday Evening 10pm Louise Elliot Reporting http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/elliott_purplcomp050614.mov ___________________________________________________________________________ June 16, 2005 Dear Art Connolly How sad this is. As you probably already know Mr. Thompson is not one to give up and although compensation cannot bring back those you love, it may improve the quality of life of those left behind. Thank you also for providing your website. Please, keep in touch with us. Frances Smith, Executive Assistant to Greg Thompson, M.P. ______________________________________________________________________________ June 17, 2005 Dear Art:
Thank you for your letter detailing your personal side of the Agent Orange story at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. It is saddening hearing of the degradation and loss of life associated with the use of this substance by the military. Even Canadian Forces personnel posted to CGB Gagetown following 1967 and members of the community have potentially been exposed to Agent Orange, as it remains in the soil and has potentially contaminated the water table. Canadian Forces service records are the only source which would indicate whether or not a veteran may have been exposed to Agent Orange. Concerned veterans are encouraged to contact the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has access to these records. Dave MacKenzie and Gordon O’Connor, critic for National Defence, are the spokesmen for the Conservative Party. They have been in the media frequently over the last 3 weeks and I will continue to support them in holding the government to account for its actions. The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to provide disability pensions to Canadian veterans who can establish a medical case linked to Agent Orange, however those who lived in the community and are not veterans have no similar program. You may wish to write a letter to the Minister of National Defence or the Minister of Veterans Affairs, to point out this discrepancy in compensation. They can be reached at: Honourable Bill Graham
Minister of National Defence
House of Commons
Ottawa ON, K1A 0A6
grahab@parl.gc.ca
Honourable Albina Guarnieri
Minister of Veterans Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa ON, K1A 0A6
guarna@parl.gc.ca
I hope that this information proves useful to you and I can assure you that I will continue to press the government to account in all its activities. Sincerely,
Joe Preston MP
Elgin-Middlesex-London
Parliament Hill Office
Confederation Building, Rm. 142
Ottawa, ON. K1A 0A6
Tel: (613) 990-7769
Fax: (613) 996-0194
Constituency Office
24 First Ave, Unit 2
St. Thomas, ON. N5R 4M5
Tel: (519) 637-2255
Fax: (519) 637-3358
Toll Free: 1-866-404-0406 ______________________________________________________________________________ June 17, 2005 Dear Mr. Connoly, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your email dated on June 16, 2005. The case of Agent Orange has been put forward by the Federal Government. The Hon. Andy Scott, said Thursday that he is trying to organise a public meeting with Health Canada, Veterans Affairs, National Defence and Environment Canada for people who fear their health was harmed by the use of toxic herbicides a a New Brunswick military base in the 1960s. The Hon. Bill Graham said earlier this week that he is open to compensating civilians for ailments they may have suffered as a result of exposure to chemical sprays. The NDP beleives that the Federal Government is realizing that the use of Agent Orange, Agent Purple and AGent White have now been an error and they are seriously dealing with it. I have enclosed a copy of a newspaper article published today. This will give you a good idea of the situation. Mr. Godin has a military field in his riding. He is very concerned about the use of toxic herbicides. Be assured that Mr. Godin is keeping an opened eye on this issue. Thank you for contacting the office of Mr. Godin on this matter. Sincerely, Christine Chiasson-Abela
Ajointe parlementaire/ Parliamentary Assistant
Yvon Godin, député/ MP
Acadie-Bathurst
tél: (613) 992-3574 ______________________________________________________________________________ June 17, 2005 Dear Mr. Connolly, Thank you for your email regarding your exposure to Agent Orange as a family member of a serviceman stationed at Gagetown. Our Veteran's critic, Peter Stoffer, has been dealing with this issue on behalf of veterans. I have forwarded your letter to his office for his consideration. Thank you, Calinda Brown
Legislative Assistant to Jean Crowder, MP
Nanaimo-Cowichan
613-943-2181 fax 613-993-5577 CEP 232 ______________________________________________________________________________ June 17, 2005 Mr. Conolly, I have visited your website and read your story - I'd like to share my sympathy for the losses you have experienced. During the last month Mr. O'Connor and several of his colleagues have repeatedly asked questions of the government regarding their approach to dealing with the fallout due to the use of Agent Orange, and have called on the government to provide compensation to veterans and civilians affected by the spraying. I have attached an information sheet and also would like to direct you to Mr. Robert Basque, who is the Intake Manager at the Ombudsman's Office who may also have answers to any questions you may have. Have you gone to any of the authors of the stories you have posted on your website with your own story? They may be interested in your personal story and what you have to say. The reporters in NB who are covering the issue may be most interested in the story. Chip Martin (London Free Press) is covering the story in your area. If there are specific questions that you would like to put to the Minister of Defence or Veterans' Affairs please do let us know and we would be happy to draft a letter on your behalf and send it to the Minster(s) on your behalf. If we can be of any further service please do let us know. Kind regards, Frances Frances Ryan
Legislative Assistant
Gordon O'Connor, M.P. Carleton-Mississippi Mills
Official Opposition Critic for National Defence
(613) 992-1119
oconng0@parl.gc.ca
www.gordonoconnor.ca
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