Ontario says Wi-Fi safety is an Ottawa responsibility

Health Canada and World Health Organization believe technology is safe, says minister.

Toronto (19 Aug. 2010) - Ontario Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky says the issue of whether wireless Internet technology is safe in Ontario schools is a federal government responsibility.

"This is a responsibility of Health Canada to ensure that these technologies ... are safe," she said this week. "That's what we're asking them to look into."

Dombrowsky said she is expecting an answer "within weeks" from the federal health minister after sending a letter following complaints from parents in two areas of the province - the Simcoe and Peterborough.

"The best information that I have from Health Canada and the World Health Organization very much conflicts with what has been presented by families," Dombrowsky noted.

Elizabeth Witmer, opposition health critic and a former education minister, said the province should not leave the issue to Ottawa to resolve.

"The McGuinty government and the ministry of education have a responsibility to take a look at the issue because this is what the parents and teachers are asking for," Witmer said.

NDP health critic France Gélinas has called on the province's chief medical officer of health to give "clear public health guidelines for exposure to Wi-Fi technology for different age groups, including school aged children."

Gélinas said she has heard from many parents who are worried about the symptoms their children show when they are exposed to microwave radiation from wireless technology.

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More information:
Ontario parents suspect Wi-Fi making students sick