Remarks by John Gignac at Queen's Park, December 1, 2010

Remarks by John Gignac at Queen's Park, December 1, 2010
2nd Anniversary of Woodstock CO Tragedy - Eve of Ontario Legislature Vote on Bill 69

Two years ago this week carbon monoxide killed my niece Laurie, her husband Richard and their two children Cassandra and Jordan. Tomorrow, I am urging MPPs not to kill Bill 69 when it comes up for debate.

I'm not a very political person. But I know that this Bill, which should be a no-brainer, has been delayed several times. For reasons that make no sense. That is very frustrating for me and my family.

So I am reaching out personally, by telling all MPPs what happened to Laurie and her family, so they will do the right thing tomorrow and vote Bill 69 to committee so in the new year, next steps can be taken to make it a law.

It's a cliché, but we cannot change the past. We cannot bring back Laurie and her family. But tomorrow our MPPs have the chance to change the future - to make it safer for everyone to live in this province. Isn't that the right thing to do?

People call carbon monoxide the silent killer. That's because it is colourless, odourless and tasteless. But I can tell you, it is not faceless. I will not let my four family members be forgotten. And I will not be silent about what caused their deaths.

Laurie and her family enjoyed life to the fullest in Woodstock. She was an OPP officer involved in public safety in the community. Richard coached sports teams. Cassie and Jordan had tons of friends.

They seemed to have it all. But they did not have a CO alarm in their home. And there is only one way for humans to detect carbon monoxide. With a carbon monoxide alarm.

Two years ago this week they were all killed when a clogged gas fireplace vent pushed deadly carbon monoxide gas back inside their home. They would not have known anything was wrong until it was too late.

Perhaps Laurie had an inkling. One week before the accident, both kids complained of not feeling well and Laurie took them to the doctor. That's one of the things about carbon monoxide. Early symptoms seem like the flu. They left the doctor expecting to feel better in a few days. One week later our world fell apart.

I was a firefighter for 34 years. I went on more CO calls than I can remember. But I never expected this.

When we were in the hospital watching over Laurie as she fought til the end in a hyperbaric chamber, I asked my brother Ben, Laurie's dad, and her mom Donna what I could do to help ease their pain. All they said was "don't let this be in vain."

That day I came out of a retirement I had just started with a new mission in my life. To warn as many people as I can about the dangers of carbon monoxide. And to see to it that as many people as possible protect themselves by installing a CO alarm in their home.

I started the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education so I could raise money to support my awareness efforts and to buy CO alarms to give fire departments to hand out to needy families. It has been a tough grind. I am not used to being in the spotlight. But here I sit ... for them.

Let me wrap up with some numbers that show just how important this vote is tomorrow:

• Toronto Fire Services estimate they go on 4,000 CO-related calls each year
• At least 850 people went to a hospital over the last year and were diagnosed with CO poisoning
• olls show that 60% of homes across Canada do not have a CO alarm
• 414 Canadians died from CO from 2000-2007, almost 90 of them here in Ontario
• In the US, more than 20,000 people are hospitalized and nearly 500 killed each year from carbon monoxide poisoning
• 29 US states, including New York and California, have recently introduced mandatory CO laws

We like to say that Ontario is the leading province in Canada. So if 29 US states can decide to protect their citizens with a CO law, surely we can too.

Sharing Laurie's story never gets easier for me. And I know that when I do, people are sad and sympathetic. But then they usually go right back to their normal routines.

They take down smoke alarms when they burn their toast and forget to put them back up. They think their smoke alarms last forever instead of replacing them every 10 years, and they let the batteries run out. And they ignore the need for carbon monoxide detectors ... even though they only cost about two cents a day to operate.

That's why tomorrow, I pray that our MPPs will break their normal routine and decide to vote unanimously in favour of Bill 69. And then pass it into law in 2011.

It is the right thing to do. And like Mr. Hardeman, I am certain it will save Ontario lives in the future.

In fact, just last week a family in Sault Ste. Marie was alerted to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in their home because they had a CO alarm. Firefighters found dangerous levels of the gas had seeped into their home from a blocked fireplace vent. It was déjà vu for me all over again, but this time with a happy ending.

In the Sault, they passed their own bylaw making CO alarms mandatory. What more proof do we need that this type of law will save lives?

I am often asked how I sit in front of people I don't know and tell them this terrible story. I tell them that I can feel Laurie tapping me on the shoulder, encouraging me to go on. She would want me to do this. And she would want this law passed in her family's memory.

Thank you

John Gignac
Uncle of Laurie Hawkins
Retired Firefighter
Co-founder of the Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education
www.endthesilence.ca