MOOSE JAW — The People’s Party of Canada candidate for the Moose Jaw area is raising concerns about toxic contamination at 15 Wing Airbase and wants federal officials to address the decades-long problem.
Chey Craik, running in the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency, described the situation as “a federal scandal hiding in plain sight” since the contamination exposure has allegedly sickened more than 200 base personnel and caused the deaths of at least 40.
“And yet Ottawa is silent. No cleanup, no compensation, no accountability. It’s disgraceful,” he said in a news release.
Federal records and whistleblower testimony confirm that there is “widespread contamination” of asbestos, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other hazardous chemicals, Craik said. Moreover, the federal government has allocated zero remediation funding to clean up the worst sites.
The PPC candidate alleged that civilian workers, reservists and military families have never been informed of the risks and are still being denied proper medical screening or veterans’ support. He wants Ottawa to reclassify the site as a top-priority health risk and act immediately.
Addressing this situation would provide justice for the workers and families who have been “exposed, ignored and discarded,” and while the four main political parties have been silent on this issue, the People’s Party “is demanding full transparency, whistleblower protections and urgent cleanup,” Craik said.
The PPC also wants full public disclosure on all federal contamination sites and “an end to bureaucratic immunity.”
“For too long, Ottawa has buried the truth. I’m standing up for the people they (have) abandoned,” he added.
In an interview, Craik told MooseJawToday.com that he decided to support this issue after speaking with Erin Zimmerman, a former 15 Wing employee and whistleblower highlighting this problem in Ottawa who also provided him with many documents.
Craik said he believes there is a coverup and alleged that the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency’s Conservative member of Parliament is fully aware but has done nothing to address this situation.
The PPC candidate pointed out that Zimmerman appeared before the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on National
Defence — on which Moose Jaw’s MP sits — to discuss the problem, but the MPs “just kind of brushed it off” since they didn’t want to discuss it until after the federal election.
The People’s Party wants to protect whistleblowers and ensure people don’t lose their jobs for speaking out, Craik said.
“This is all publicly available stuff (and) there’s nothing that’s hidden, it’s just, why haven’t we been told about it … ?” he continued. “… we don’t have a strong voice in this riding.”
Craik pointed out that the riding’s Conservative MP regularly talks about being a veteran and standing up for veterans’ rights but has allegedly not discussed the “huge issue” of contamination at 15 Wing, which also affects area residents. It was only Zimmerman’s efforts that brought this situation to light publicly.
The PPC candidate didn’t understand why the incumbent MP hadn’t brought forward this issue, even though testimony at the House of Commons committee — which Craik reviewed — confirmed the contamination. He believed that all committee MPs should be questioned about their silence.
Craik believes the toxic contamination may have affected his neurological health and his family’s since they live near the airbase. He noted that no one had ever warned them or performed soil samples to see how far the dirt had been blown.
“We see the sites dug up at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, and when we get the wind where the weather changes from the southeast, that dirt blows right into our yard,” he said.
Ottawa must impose an independent review of the base and ensure Health Canada has access considering the Department of National Defence (DND) “does their own thing” and prevents access to non-military organizations, Craik added. DND also allegedly sweeps issues under the rug when they don’t meet federal criteria.
Since a federal election was happening when Craik spoke, neither 15 Wing Airbase nor DND were able to respond to these concerns.
