Doug Ford let Hamilton breathe toxic air. Time to fix it.

Woman holds her hand up. It's covered in soot from pollution

Doug Ford lets Hamilton breathe toxic air. Time to fix it.

For decades, black soot has coated Hamilton’s homes, cars, and kids. The province called it “road dust.” It wasn’t.

In July, Hamiltonians filed 475 complaints in a single month. Fifty families spent a year collecting soot off their own homes for a university study. The results: toxic chemicals consistent with industrial coal combustion, worst near the industrial core.

The Ministry of the Environment has now named a source. It found that emissions from Birla Carbon were a primary cause, and referred the company for investigation.

An investigation isn’t a fix. Hamilton still has no real monitoring of what falls on it. Birla Carbon is not the whole story either, because the lower city breathes the cumulative effect of everything around it and nobody is measuring the total. There’s still no plan to stop this from happening again.

Tell Doug Ford:

Monitor Hamilton’s air for real, and publish the results
Release every soot sample the province has collected since 2024
Finish the investigation, and make penalties actually cost more than polluting
Finalize the carbon black standard Hamilton has been waiting on since 2023
Fund the health research Hamiltonians need
Uphold clean air standards and stop the pollution: put people over profits, and keep our air clean

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Send a message to Minister McCarthy

For decades, black soot has fallen on Hamilton’s lower city. Families have wiped it off their windows, their cars, and their kids. For years, nobody would say what it was. In July, residents filed 475 complaints in a single month. Fifty households spent a year collecting soot off their own homes for a university study. Researchers found toxic chemicals consistent with industrial coal combustion. Your ministry has now determined that emissions from Birla Carbon were a primary source, and referred the company for investigation. We welcome that. But an investigation is not a fix, it took thirty years to get here, and one named source does not account for everything Hamiltonians are breathing. We’re calling on you to: Monitor Hamilton’s air permanently, and publish the results Release every sample your ministry has collected since 2024 Finish this investigation, and hold violators accountable Finalize the carbon black standard, and account for the cumulative effect of all emissions in Hamilton’s air Fund the health research Hamiltonians need Uphold clean air standards and stop the pollution Hamiltonians shouldn’t need three decades and a volunteer study to find out what’s landing on their kids. Give us the clean air we deserve.

You can submit this letter as-is or change it to reflect your own priorities. Your comment will be forwarded with the subject line “Hamilton needs monitoring, not just an investigation”, including your name, email and postal code to Minister McCarthy. You will also be added to the GPO mailing list but you can unsubscribe at any time.