Feds want the facts on our mystery hum

Author: Wright, Rebecca

ProQuest document link
Abstract: Because of the people that have been suffering and inconvenienced and had their lives turned upside
down because of the hum, having the federal government involved is a very positive step in the right direction.
Full text: Windsor's mysterious hum has reached the ears of the federal government.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird sent his parliamentary secretary, Bob Dechert, to Windsor Friday on a factfinding mission looking into reported rumblings that have disturbed thousands of residents in the area for over a
year.
"We're concerned, obviously, if there's something impacting the health and quality of life of Canadian residents,
so we want to understand what it is and see if there's any way that we can help to resolve the issue," Dechert
said.
Dechert met with Mayor Eddie Francis, Great Lakes stakeholders, the council of Great Lakes Industries and a
number of business executives and industry representatives on the U.S. side.
He also met with officials from the Regional Office of the International Joint Commission and the Southeast
Michigan Council of Governments, U.S. and Michigan political officials before finishing off the day with a tour of
Zug Island from where a Canadian federal study suggests the hum may be originating.
Dechert said the first step is to determine the source in order to figure out who is responsible for eliminating it.
He added the federal study suggests there could be multiple sources for the noise.
"It could be a combination of factors that people are hearing or feeling and some of them could be on the
Canadian side. But it's specifically if there is a source in Ontario ... it would be the total jurisdiction of the
Province of Ontario and we would expect them to do whatever is necessary to fix the problem," said Dechert.
"Whatever we do, it will be done in concert with and with the joint participation of the Ontario government and
the Ontario Ministry of Environment. They are principally responsible for the environment in Ontario so we
would encourage them to step up and do what's necessary and we'll be a willing and equal participant with
them."
But Dechert said if the hum is deemed to be coming from the U.S., all levels of government will play an equal
and appropriate role in sharing the "burden of resolving the issue."
Dechert wouldn't get into specifics about exactly what he will report back to Baird, but said the minister will be in
contact with the mayor on the progress. Francis said Friday he discussed the matter with Dechert for about an
hour and is grateful for the federal government taking the time to make this a priority.
"It was a good discussion about the process that we would need to follow identifying the source, identifying
where the source may be localized to, then how to take steps to try to deal with removing, eliminating or
mitigating," said Francis.
"Because of the people that have been suffering and inconvenienced and had their lives turned upside down
because of the hum, having the federal government involved is a very positive step in the right direction."
The federal fact-finding mission has several area MPs taking credit for their involvement.
Windsor West MP Brian Masse said he hopes to catch up with Dechert in Ottawa as early as Monday for a
follow-up on his trip and to discuss what steps need to be taken next.
"Hopefully what will happen is because of this visit and the attention that it's getting, you might get a good
corporate citizen come forward if they are responsible for it as opposed to us having to find the needle in the
haystack or us having to narrow the field again with the study," said Masse.
"That would be helpful but if not there needs to be identification that the government is going to be moving in
that direction. So, hopefully, that's what we're going to see through his meetings (Friday)."

Masse said Dechert's trip was in response to two letters he sent to Baird regarding the hum in February and
March.
But Essex MP Jeff Watson - who spent Friday alongside Dechert - said he has been bringing up this issue to
Baird since the middle of last year.
Watson said the reason the federal government is stepping in is because the noise may be originating from
across the border, which makes it an international relations concern.
Watson said although the hum is something that has plagued residents for some time now, it is important to
resist the urge to be aggressive when it comes to finding a resolution with counterparts across the border in
order to act responsibly.
"I think the expectations have been raised to a level that somehow this is very simple and that another study will
solve it, but we don't know that for a fact.
"I think what we need to do is work in a very methodical fashion with our U.S. stakeholders, create a pathway
on how we're going to tackle this issue, see if a source or multiple sources can be identified and from that,
whether it can be mitigated or not," said Watson.
"So there are more questions than answers at this particular point."
rwright@windsorstar.com
Credit: Rebecca Wright; The Windsor Star; With Files From Ilana Belfer
Illustration
/ Bob Dechert; Windsor Star Files / Zug Island has been identified as a possible source of the mysterious
rumblings and vibrations.;; Caption:
Location: United States--US
Publication title: The Windsor Star
First page: A.1
Publication year: 2012
Publication date: Apr 21, 2012
Year: 2012
Section: News
Publisher: Infomart, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Place of publication: Windsor, Ont.
Country of publication: Canada
Publication subject: Business And Economics--Banking And Finance
Source type: Newspapers
Language of publication: English
Document type: News
ProQuest document ID: 1008952713
Document URL:
http://biblioottawalibrary.ca/ezproxylogin?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1008952713?accountid=4652
6
Copyright: Copyright CanWest Digital Media Apr 21, 2012

Last updated: 2012-04-24

Database: Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies

_______________________________________________________________
Contact ProQuest

Copyright 2016 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions