QUEBEC CITY – Quebec City’s public health agency is launching a new investigation into the high incidence of cancer in Shannon, a small municipality near the Valcartier military base.
The rate of cancer in Shannon is four times higher than the national average.
Residents blame the federal government and two private companies for having allowed the use of trichloroethene or TCE, a known carcinogen, to clean ammunition on the nearby military base from the 1940s to the 1980s.
“I always told them there was more cancer in Shannon than any other place in the province.”
Dr. Claude Juneau was the first to sound the alarm a decade ago when cases of cancer in Shannon started to multiply. He told Global News regional public health never backed him up.
“I always told them there was more cancer in Shannon than any other place in the province. That was my experience as a doctor. Each time, public health told us that there was no more cancer in Shannon than in any other place and I was not accepting that,” Juneau said.
He and hundreds of victims went to court. Only a few families were compensated; the case is now being appealed.
Jacques Charlebois has lived in Shannon for 30 years and has lost many friends. He said it’s a good thing public health is re-opening the file.
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“On my street, at least four people had cancer. My friend recently died of kidney cancer. It’s not normal,” he said.
Another resident, Sylvain Lemay, added it’s important the government support families who are suffering.
At the National Assembly, Health Minister Réjean Hébert weighed in.
“It’s the public health’s responsibility to oversee the environmental factors affecting the health of the population,” he said.
The public health agency said it has hired international experts to pour over the medical records of about 500 people, records they couldn’t access before the court case. They intend to pay close attention to cases of brain cancer.
Although the new investigation may take many more months, Juneau said he hopes new evidence will bolster residents’ class-action suit.
“I’m very happy because I think it will prove that we were right.”
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