City onto poison playgrounds

Contrary to allegations by the Toronto-based Earth Defence Canada, the City of Montreal is taking the issue of tainted wood in playgrounds very seriously. [The Front, "Arsenic and old wood," July 17]. A simple call to the City of Montreal by your reporter could have enlightened your readers to the following facts:

This May, the city sent notices to all 27 boroughs requesting a full inventory of park equipment in the more than 1,200 parks scattered across the island. The goal of this endeavour is to take note of any equipment that may contain treated wood and employ measures to improve the situation, either through replacing the equipment or sealing the wood. The city hopes to have the inventory completed as soon as possible in order to take any corrective action that may be necessary.

This spring, the city's environmental labs also sent comprehensive guidelines to all 27 boroughs explaining different ways to test for the presence of arsenic in the sand at city playgrounds. The boroughs have the option of hiring a private firm to carry out the tests or the lab will do the work.

As for the EDC's allegations that three of the five playgrounds tested in the borough of LaSalle had arsenic levels that were above Canadian safety guidelines, several other facts need to be highlighted in order to avoid giving the impression that certain parks pose public-health risks.

When the EDC first approached the LaSalle borough to inform them of the results of their study, they were never able, despite numerous requests by elected officials, to indicate the methodology used to arrive at their findings. Still, the borough took the allegations seriously enough and spent more than $5,000 to carry out their own tests, which resulted in drastically different results than the EDC's. More than 20 samples carried out in the alleged "tainted" parks concluded that in fact, the parks didn't pose any public health threat at all. Other Montreal boroughs that have followed suit and authorized tests for the presence of arsenic in playgrounds also came back negative.

As well, in the nine boroughs that cover the territory of the former City of Montreal, any park equipment containing treated wood has either already been replaced or treated with sealant. In the new City of Montreal, park maintenance falls under the jurisdiction of the boroughs except in the case of large parks such as Mount Royal and Parc Lafontaine where it is the central city that has the responsibility.

While the EDC's mission of enlightening the public about the potential dangers of tainted wood in city parks is a laudable one, the environmental group still has the responsibility to ensure they are aware of the facts before making public statements concerning the City of Montreal's position on this very important public-health matter. Montreal has done its homework on the issue and is employing all means possible in order to arrive at a global vision of the situation in order to undertake the appropriate solutions.

» Darren Becker, Press attaché, City of Montreal

Shedding light on Sunday

In response to the story on NDG's annual Sunday in the Park ["Sunday in the Dark," July 17], I feel compelled to clarify that Steve Laudi's music festival is in no way affiliated with the 30-year-old community festival Sunday in the Park, hosted by Head and Hands.

While it is true that we are taking a year off to reflect and restructure, the Montreal Music Festival has no connection to this process, and I am unclear as to why any correlation was drawn in the first place. Aside from a similar venue, the two events have nothing in common. The objectives of Sunday in the Park are to promote youth empowerment and provide a forum for creative expression and information sharing between community groups and the public at large.

» Nicole Fournier Sylvester, Director, Head and Hands

Bully pulpit

They said they could not play with us on the avenues in Verdun as kids. We were different from them. We were English. We were Protestant. If they played with us they would go to hell. And thus they never did. Nor did we. Who told them this, I leave to you.

Those who did not play together as children in most cases do not party together as adults. It is called alienation. Socially engineered to be that way. As kids they came at us in gangs. We ran. Like Spitfires in the sun we waited for them. One on one. They ran. Some of us married their sisters, having been converted. It did not matter if we ever saw the insides of the church after that. We were now at least belonging to the true church.

Kristian Gravenor in the Mirror [Kristian Perspective, July 10]: the bullied become the bully. We never gave them Bill 101. Or put bombs in their mailboxes where their kids passed to go to school. Did we?

» John C. Underwood

I agree that negation isn't sound basis for a movement - political, religious or other. And yes, the bullied can often become the bully.

But I disagree with the way Kristian Gravenor seeks to dismiss the aspirations for independence with anecdotal tidbits taken from the bios of ageing politicians [Kristian Perspective, July 10].

By the way: how about spelling correctly "indépendantiste"?

» Alexis Gagnon

I, sad single mom

As a 40-year-old single mother, I was pleasantly pleased when I read Kristian Gravenor's anti-divorce rant "Army of sad kids" [Kristian Perspective, July 10]. "I can't believe I'm reading this in the Mirror," I thought to myself. "This is exactly how I feel!"

Ever since my husband left me and my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter (she's now 10), I have done my best to be "cool" with the whole thing. That seems to be how most people of my generation deal with divorce or separation when kids are involved.

The truth is, my daughter and I have both been sad ever since. Oh sure, we have lots of fun and do lots of great stuff together. But there is always this underlying sadness. She is still in contact with her dad though I have sole custody. I have told her many times that her dad still loves her; it's just that he doesn't love me anymore so he decided to go live somewhere else (with someone else but I don't mention that, though she has figured that one out by now). "Why Mommy?" "I don't know sweetie. Sometimes married people just don't get along after a while." "What a lame answer," I think to myself, but I don't know what else to say. And I wonder, "What kind of example is this to set for a child?" Here I am teaching her the importance of equality, respect and not hurting other kids' feelings. In the meantime, she has a father who placed his needs above those of his own daughter's. And I feel the hypocrisy of the situation.

I appreciate the time Rebecca White took to try to refute Gravenor's arguments against couples with kids divorcing, and she does make some thought-provoking points [Letters, July 17]. But her statements: "I have been brought up to believe that the only thing I cannot do is ‘settle,'" and "If I were to embark upon a relationship that was to prove unhappy, under no circumstances would I stay in it," worry me and expose her young age and naïveté. I want to tell her that all relationships are unhappy at times and sometimes it's okay to "settle" if it's for the good of another human being, namely your children.

We need more articles like "Army of sad kids" that go against the popular notion that it's alright to break up a family if one member feels that their needs aren't being met. Once you have kids, it's not only about your own needs anymore. We should stop secretly shuddering while politely nodding when our friends with kids announce they are separating. We should say, "Whoa minute! Are you sure?" And suggest counselling. Divorce is a drastic measure that should be taken more seriously by more people.

» Melanie Kerridge

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