Hawkins family of Woodstock died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2008
By Mark
Schadenberg
Did
you know: More than 50 people die each year
from carbon monoxide poisoning in Canada, including 11 on average in
Ontario.
"It's
very, very important because it's the only way you can tell the
silent killer is present. Carbon Monoxide is colourless, odourless
and tasteless so the only way you will ever know is if you have a CO
alarm in your home and to me, it's cheap protection for your family,"
says John Gignac.
Gignac,
who was a firefighter in the Brantford area for 34 years, knows all
about carbon monoxide as his niece Laurie Hawkins, plus her husband
and two children died from CO poisoning in their Woodstock home back
in December of 2008. See the website www.endthesilence.ca
for background information, but it's the odourless nature of CO which
makes it an extremely silent and dangerous killer.
Due
to provincial elections, it took Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman about
three years to gain Queen's Park approval on his 'private member'
bill to make CO detectors mandatory in all homes in Ontario. Bill 77
or the Hawkins-Gignac Act became law or took full effect this week.
A
previous London Free Press story delved into Hardeman's frustration's
and timeline in essentially making changes to the provincial building code:
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The
private member’s bill passed second reading in the spring of 2009
and was sent to a committee for study, but died on the order paper
when Premier Dalton McGuinty prorogued the legislature in March 2010.
Hardeman
reintroduced the measure as Bill 69 two months later. It passed
second reading and was referred to committee, but was spiked by
another McGuinty prorogation in June 2011.
Hardeman
tried a third time late that year. Bill 20 as it was labelled this
time, was reintroduced in December and passed second reading in March
2012. It went for hearings before the legislature’s social policy
committee, which then reported back to the house. But the bill died
on the order paper when the McGuinty prorogued the legislature in
October of that year.
Hardeman
tried a fourth time. The Hawkins Gignac Act was reintroduced in
February as Bill 18. In hope of quick passage, the Oxford MPP revised
the bill as requested by the Liberal government and reintroduced it
as Bill 77 in May.
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Your
CO detector should be placed near sleeping areas and can be either
hard-wired, battery operated or plugged in, but must be checked on a
regular basis to make sure it's working.
In
the case of the Hawkins family, it wasn't a CO leak from a faulty
heat exchanger in their gas furnace, but rather a poorly vented gas
fireplace in a basement recroom. Besides heating appliances (gas
stoves included), a CO detector is also mandatory when your house has
an attached garage with an inside entry door access.
The
Hawkins-Gignac Foundation (www.endthesilence.ca)
continues as a fundraising and awareness association to assist in
delivering and making available CO detectors to families who may not
be able to afford one, and also for fire departments to distribute
through their educational visits and promotions.
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"My
family’s tragedy could have been prevented. They did not have
a
carbon monoxide alarm. And, that’s why our mission at the
foundation
continues every bit as passionately towards our goal of
ensuring every
Canadian is protected with a Carbon Monoxide alarm,
says John Gignac
on the foundation's information website.
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This is a memorable week in the political career of Ernie Hardeman (Pictured with John Gignac). The resume of the former Salford farmer (1966-95) will always be highlighted by his passion and determination to get this residential CO law passed. Hardeman was first elected in 1995 to represent Oxford County, and was Mayor of SouthWest Oxford township for 10 years previous to that.
A story in the
Woodstock Sentinel-Review late 2013 summed up his thoughts:
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"It
is a very sweet feeling after five years to actually be able to get
the bill passed. (The Gignac and Hawkins families) too have been
fighting this battle for five years and it, as I said in my
presentation, was more of a celebration for their perseverance than
mine."
"It
is very important to recognize that the bill has been passed and it
will be the law of the land," Hardeman said. "We
should encourage everybody to get out and make sure they have
operating carbon monoxide detectors in their homes."
LINKS:
LINKS TO OLD
STORY:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/11/27/co-detectors-to-be-mandatory-in-all-ontario-homes
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/11/27/co-detectors-to-be-mandatory-in-all-ontario-homes
http://www.lfpress.com/2013/10/17/cornies-ernie-hardeman-wont-rest-until-a-law-mandates-co-detectors-in-all-ontario-dwellings
Mark
Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior
Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal
LePage Triland Realty
757
Dundas St, Woodstock
(519)
537-1553, cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
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