National

B.C. launches class-action lawsuit against makers of 'forever chemicals'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Jun, 2024 01:35 PM

The British Columbia government says it has filed a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers of so-called "forever chemicals" involved in what it calls widespread contamination of drinking-water systems.

Attorney General Niki Sharma says the province is the first Canadian jurisdiction to sue makers of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

B.C. has filed similar class-action lawsuits in the past, targeting tobacco manufacturers in 1998 and opioid makers in 2018 to recover health-care costs associated with those substances.

Sharma says in a statement that the province is filing the lawsuit to "ensure that companies that created the problem, and profited from these chemicals, pay their fair share."

According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the chemicals have been used in consumer goods ranging from non-stick cookware to cleaning products.

The institute says research shows exposure may lead to childhood obesity, weakened immune systems and certain types of cancer.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

The federal government recorded a budgetary deficit of $8.2 billion between April and September, $3.9 billion of which was in September. The finance department says in its monthly fiscal monitor that the deficit between April and September compared to a surplus of $1.7 billion during the same period last year.

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract

Nearly 300 Rogers Communications workers have voted strongly in favour of a new contract, ending a company lockout that began two weeks ago. The United Steelworkers union Local 1944, Unit 60, says in a statement that its members voted 96 per cent in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement reached last Friday.

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract

'Bank of mom and dad' study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own

A Statistics Canada study into what it calls the "bank of mom and dad" shows home ownership among young high earners in British Columbia increases more than anywhere else in Canada if their parents are homeowners, too. The study also finds that nationally, people born in the 1990s are twice as likely to own a home if their parents are homeowners, compared to those whose parents are not.

'Bank of mom and dad' study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own

Port Moody Police arrest knife brandishing teen

Police in Port Moody are investigating after arresting a 15-year-old who allegedly brandished a knife while chasing another teen through a crowd of students at a busy bus stop. Police say it happened yesterday afternoon (in the 13-hundred block of David Avenue) when a fight between two young people escalated into the armed chase.

Port Moody Police arrest knife brandishing teen

Eby says governments must step up on housing, can't rely on private sector

British Columbia Premier David Eby says it's "hard to understand" why other politicians still believe in relying on the private sector to deliver affordable housing and instead it's time for governments to step up. Eby says there are proposals at the federal level to sell public land and buildings to help solve the crisis, but B.C. is doing the opposite by taking inventory of provincially and municipally owned land in order to build more homes.

Eby says governments must step up on housing, can't rely on private sector

Victoria Police warn pedestrians of cougar roaming near downtown

Police are warning pedestrians about an adult cougar roaming near downtown Victoria, telling them to avoid the area this morning. Victoria Police say on social media the cougar was spotted near Jutland Road and Dunedin Street, near the Victoria waterfront and north of the downtown core.