Patricia Kearns

On Saturday morning, October 1st, Montrealers were alerted to BCAM’s October Action Campaign when they opened up the front section of the Gazette to find environmental writer Michelle Lalonde’s article, “Activists to take over John and Yoko’s suite.” The piece explained, “On Thursday morning, four Montreal women will climb into the famous bed in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel from which John Lennon and Yoko Ono asked the world to ‘give peace a chance.’”

And that they did! Rosanne Cohen (BCAM’s Executive Director), Beverley Thorpe (a member of our Advisory Board and co-director of Clean Production Action), Nancy Guberman (longtime active member) and Carol Secter (past president and current member of the Board of Directors) mounted the majestic bed and delivered, in early morning glory, a new version of the classic hit.

All we are saying is give prevention a chance. That’s the new tune, and it’s delivered to our federal health minister, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, every time someone signs the BCAM petition demanding “recognizable symbols on products that contain cancer causing chemicals,” which can be found on BCAM’s website. (If you haven’t already signed, please go to: www.bcam.qc.ca.)

Creating a petition was a collective action – a push for new labeling laws – which was supported by 16 environmental, women’s health and anti-cancer organizations including the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, the Réseau québécois d’action pour la santé des femmes and the Réseau des femmes en environnement.

“We want to make the link between John and Yoko’s 1969 Montreal bed-in and our own protest of the environmental toxins Canadians are involuntarily exposed to everyday,” Rosanne Cohen told the press. The story of our demand was reported on CTV national and local television, CBC radio and online news, CJAD radio, The Gazette, the Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen as well as various blogs, including Yoko Ono’s.

There was something very special about being in room 1742 where John and Yoko staged their week-long bed-in 42 years ago. Gorgeous, large, and enhanced by framed black-and-whites by photographers Ted Church and Gerry Deiter, the suite held clear reminders of a time when activism was a healthy part of the landscape. Today, breast cancer activism has more to do with consumerism than social change. We are told that when we buy pink products we are contributing to finding a cure for the disease and fulfilling our civic duty.

BCAM doesn’t buy it. Along with many others, we are asking questions about why and how cancer affects such a vast number of people. And we are taking action. When scientific evidence connects environmental contamination with the rising rate of cancer in the population, it’s time to act.

The BCAM petition that was launched from the John and Yoko suite is only the first step in our demand for legislative changes governing the regulation of hazardous chemicals in Canada. Demanding clear labeling is an effective strategy for raising public awareness. Our hope is that it will be the first step toward creating real regulatory reform concerning hazardous chemicals so that all Canadians can be safe.