Smells Like another Paul Tukey Story. "My kid got ADHD and was Arrested multiple times for Marijuana Possession because of Pesticide Exposure"
Guaranteed The Canadian Cancer Society did nothing to help Nicole Bruinsma, except possibly offer a ride to the hospital for a one time $100 fee.
Film depicts Chelsea doctor’s fight against pesticides
By Lucy Scholey
Metro
Dr. Nicole Bruinsma fought for a ban against the pesticides she believed gave her cancer.
The family doctor, wife and mother of three in the rural community of Chelsea, Quebec was healthy, active and didn’t smoke. So when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 37 in 1997, she investigated the possible causes and deduced it was cosmetic pesticides.
She galvanized Chelsea and worked to create a municipal bylaw that completely banned pesticides on golf courses and home lawns. Her fight didn’t stop there. She took it to the House of Commons and she approached Loblaw Companies about discontinuing the sale of pesticides.
While she was a trailblazer for cosmetic pesticide bans, she could not win the battle against her own breast cancer. Dr. Bruinsma died in 2002 at 42 years old.
Her story is documented in Precautionary Principle: the Nicole Bruinsma Story, which is screening in Ottawa this week. Brenda and Robert Rooney, of Wakefield-based Rooney Productions, are hoping to take the film across Canada.
“Pesticides give us a reason to be cautious,” said Brenda Rooney, hence the film’s title. There’s no causal relationship between cancer and pesticides, but the Canadian Cancer Society’s website states that there “may” be a connection between the two.
While this film is about pesticide bans and Dr. Bruinsma’s personal story, it carries a bigger theme, explained Brenda Rooney.
“In our society, people feel that they have no power,” she said. “We wanted to highlight the fact that individuals can make a difference.”
Precautionary Principle: the Nicole Bruinsma Story will screen at St Paul University, 223 Main Street, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 at the door.
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