A Radioactive Waste Dump In Malvern; A Citizen's Account

"This is a meticulously researched, comprehensive and truly harrowing account by one of the litigants in a lengthy grievance against the Government of Ontario initiated by the residents of Malvern, an east Toronto neighbourhood. The situation, put briefly, concerned the discovery that the houses built in 1974 on McClure Crescent, expressly for low-income home buyers and with provincial funding, were permitted despite the government's knowledge that the soil was contaminated. It had been used as a radium disposal site in 1945, but the toxic materials were not dumped with due care. Although the province authorized a thorough search for radioactive waste, its examination of the subdivision's land was haphazard to the point of negligence. The result, in 1980, was the revelation that McClure Crescent was contaminated by radioactive waste. At this point, the residents were assured that there was little danger ( Dr. Eaton stated that it was no worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes, daily).For nearly a decade, the community made various attempts to obtain compensation. Their first victory came in 1983, when they successfully presented their case to the Ontario Municipal Board to their taxes to a $100 nominal assessment. The Malvern case by this time, received a great deal of media coverage, inspiring other communities to actively contest prospective radioactive dumps in their community. Finally, in light of a similar case in Surrey, British Columbia that decided in favour of the affected residents, the Malvern Radioactive Account Committee initiated litigation. The government's feeble attempts to buy out the homes and thereby resolve the lawsuit out of court were not accepted by the litigants. After a few failed attempts in court, at both federal and provincial levels, this case was brought before the Supreme Court of Ontario.Heighington vs Ontario, as this first hand account by the Committee's Corresponding Secretary testifies, became an enormously complex case. The litigants argued that the Ministry of Labour, through its Atomic Energy division, knew the location of the radium dumps in the province and nonetheless forged ahead ahead in its housing development without due warning to prospective buyers. In July 1987, the case was resolved in favour of the Malvern residents. The story does not end with that victory, however more homes in the neighbourhood were found to be radioactive, leading to ineffectual attempts to remove the contaminated soil. After a number of twists and turn, there were further legal actions, including an appeal by the Ontario Government and various limited remediation projects, before the story finally ended with the Supreme Court decision being upheld.Over a decade of struggling to be compensated, the residents of this planned community saw their property devalued, and their health and peace of mind "shattered", as the author aptly sums up the situation. No doubt their faith in the government and the legal system was equally undermined. Ultimately, the nightmarish story of Malvern, told here from an insider's perspective, serves to warn us all about the ongoing costs of environmental degradation ( Ontario Historical Society, Bulletin, December 2016, page 8).This is a story that gives people "hope". We, were low -socio economic, culturally diverse families confronted by the indifference of government. 48 families bonded with no signed agreements. The key was to share all documents. English for many may have been a second language, but they could read the written word. The legal action wrote CASE LAW in Canada as it applies to the clean up of waste on land. Whilst Governments can change legislation, it is extremely difficult to over turn a legal action. This is exactly why Governments and their like groups to include all libraries, universities, schools, do not want citizens to read about this case. As George Orwell wrote "On Way of Falsifying History is by Omission."