Channel: The Gary Fong Channel

Category: Travel & Events

Tags: city of kelownakelownakelowna tourism

Description: On June 1, 2020, Kelowna's Mayor Colin Basran announced that it would become a 5G Pilot Program City: New 5G technology designed to anonymously track the movement of people, and vehicles, will be installed in Kelowna next week. It's part of a "smart city" pilot project partnership between Rogers Communications, the City of Kelowna and UBC. Two light sensors, powered by the Rogers 5G network, will be installed at two downtown intersections next week, one at Bernard and Water Street, the other at Bernard and Pandosy Street. Three others will be installed later in the year. The sensors, according to a city news release, will be connected to the internet, to help improve "management of resources and assets such as garbage collection, parking spaces and traffic systems." “This is an exciting opportunity for Kelowna to build on the work we’re doing to bring smart city technologies to our city,” said Mayor Colin Basran. Here is the letter I wrote to the Mayor at cbasran@kelowna.ca. You have my permission to copy and paste this letter and send it to him, all such letters sent to him become a matter of public record, and are therefore better than a petition: (feel free to copy and paste and email to cbasran@kelowna.ca) Mayor Basran, I am informed and therefore believe that you are relying on Infrastructure Canada's "Safety Code 6 - Health Canada's RF Exposure Guidelines" in allowing your launch of a 5G pilot program in the important downtown core next week. I urge you to consider delaying this until you consider the information contained in this letter. 1) According to its own document, Safety Code 6 "reflects the scientific literature published up to August 2014 and replaces the previous version published in 2009." This was well before 5G technology was available anywhere. 2) According to its own document, "At frequencies above 10Mhz, the first scientifically-established effect to occur is heating." Then, it specifically states that "exposure limits in Safety Code 6 for frequencies above 10Mhz are therefore set below the level at which heating (thermal effects) could occur. Note that 5G is 5000 Mhz- fifty times the level at which heating of biological tissues occurs. Microwave radiation at this level literally cooks living tissue. According to the Environment Minister of Belgium, "it is now IMPOSSIBLE to estimate the radiation from antennas required for the service. Environment Minister, Celine Fremault, explaining his decision to shut down implementation of 5G was quoted, “The people of Brussels are not guinea pigs whose health I can sell at a profit. We cannot leave anything to doubt,” she added. "A pilot project is not feasible with the current radiation standards", and that she does not intend to make an exception of 5G. As an elected official, you have a fiduciary and moral duty to protect the residents who trust you to make the best decisions for 1) public safety 2) our all-important tourism industry and 3) the reputation of Kelowna worldwide. Of course you are aware that 5G is a controversial and polarizing topic, but one cannot deny that the number of cities around the world that are banning 5G implementation are growing. You have directed the city to buck the trend. Additionally, any area where increased exposure to any risk of cancer should be noted with signage to protect residents and tourists who may not consent. They cannot be allowed to walk into a hot zone without being informed. A single press release is not enough warning (notably, Castanet and KelownaNow relegated the news article's visibility to backpage status, following hundreds of angry comments). I note that all letters addressed to you become a matter of public record. Let it be known to the public that you were at least informed of the possible health risks of 5G. What you do with this information is now up to you. You are the one who expressed "excitement" at a project which will evaluate "management of resources and assets such as garbage collection, parking spaces and traffic systems." All things considered; risk vs benefits... is studying Bernard Avenue for the purposes of garbage collection seriously in the best interest of the residents of Kelowna?