{"id":7986,"date":"2016-07-25T00:06:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T07:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=7986"},"modified":"2016-07-25T00:08:36","modified_gmt":"2016-07-25T07:08:36","slug":"tom-fletcher-goldstream-gazette-re-smart-meter-class-action-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=7986","title":{"rendered":"Tom Fletcher, Goldstream Gazette RE: Smart Meter Class action lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>From:<\/b>\u00a0Dennis and Sharon Noble<br \/>\n<b>Sent:<\/b>\u00a0July 23, 2016 11:11 PM<br \/>\n<b>To:<\/b>\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:editor@goldstreamgazette.com\">editor@goldstreamgazette.com<\/a><br \/>\n<b>Cc:<\/b>\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:webeditor@blackpress.com\">webeditor@blackpress.com<\/a><br \/>\n<b>Subject:<\/b>\u00a0Re. Class action lawsuit fails on B.C. smart meter issue<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Editor, Goldstream Gazette<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Re. Class action lawsuit fails on B.C. smart meter issue<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After all the years of reading Tom Fletcher\u2019s attacks, diatribes and clearly biased articles about smart meters and our resistance to this mandatory program, it was odd to read one that had even a modicum of truth in it.\u00a0 What \u00a0wasn\u2019t unexpected was he missed the entire point of the class action and the most important part of Judge Adair\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Significantly the judge found that the foundational argument of the case survived the vociferous attack by BC Hydro, and found merit and plausibility of the cause of action which embodied the Charter of Rights, Section 7 Liberty of Interest. In short, the court recognized that the right to be free from government interference regarding choices of a fundamental and personal nature within one\u2019s home was a valid argument. That is a major success that all British Columbians should celebrate. It is a major step in our fight for our right as it pertains to forced smart meter application and unacceptable microwave radiation emissions .<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It is always confusing to see anyone gleeful when our rights are trampled by the government. We should all be distressed that we must fight for them in court. When the government decides unilaterally to disregard personal choice as this government did by mandating the installation of smart meters on every home, when our personal refuges, our homes are invaded by something about which many intelligent, well-informed individuals have concerns, we should all be very worried.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The tens of thousands of people who have refused having the smart meter, who have fought for their Charter Right to protect their homes and their families, should be thanked. They have fought not just for themselves but for every British Columbian, and they will continue to fight. Allowing the corporations and government to deny our basic fundamental right sets a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sincerely,<\/p>\n<p>Sharon Noble<\/p>\n<p>Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>Smart meter class action suit fails<\/h1>\n<div id=\"storyFeaturedPhoto\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Sharon Noble, proposed as a representative plaintiff in a class action suit against BC Hydro, protests outside the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver in 2012.\" alt=\"Sharon Noble, proposed as a representative plaintiff in a class action suit against BC Hydro, protests outside the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver in 2012. - Black Press files\" src=\"http:\/\/media.bclocalnews.com\/images\/155BCLN2007Smartmetersharonnoble2012-7web.jpg\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"storyFeaturedPhotoDesc\">Sharon Noble, proposed as a representative plaintiff in a class action suit against BC Hydro, protests outside the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver in 2012.<\/p>\n<div><em>\u2014\u00a0Image Credit: Black Press Files<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>by\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vicnews.com\/staff_profiles\/12131326.html\">Tom Fletcher &#8211; BC Local News<\/a><\/li>\n<li>posted\u00a0Jul 13, 2016\u00a0at\u00a04:00 PM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"storyBody\">\n<p>The B.C. Supreme Court has dismissed an application by anti-smart meter activists to certify a class action suit against BC Hydro&#8217;s use of the wireless meters.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the latest defeat for opponents of wireless meters, whose claims of health hazards have also been rejected by the B.C. Utilities Commission and the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.<\/p>\n<p>In her\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.courts.gov.bc.ca\/jdb-txt\/sc\/16\/12\/2016BCSC1287.htm\" target=\"_blank\">June 12 decision<\/a>, Justice Elaine Adair agreed with BC Hydro expert Dr. Benjamin Cotts that it would be impossible to assess a &#8220;common issue&#8221; of thousands of customers&#8217; exposure to radio frequency exposure, because of endless variations in distance and wall materials separating people from meters.<\/p>\n<p>Cotts also noted that in addition to radio frequency emissions from radio stations, cell phones, baby monitors, TV and weather radar, natural sources including lightning, other humans and the Earth itself make the assessment of meter emissions impractical.<\/p>\n<p>BC Hydro said in a statement it is pleased by the decision on a wireless electricity system that has &#8220;realized $100 million in benefits in the first three years of the program, including reductions in electricity theft.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The proposed representative plaintiffs in the class action application included Nomi Davis, who operates a yoga and healing centre business in her home, and Sharon Noble, a long-time protester against wireless meters.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vicnews.com\/news\/386708081.html\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/www.vicnews.com\/news\/386708081.html<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After all the years of reading Tom Fletcher\u2019s attacks, diatribes and clearly biased articles about smart meters and our resistance to this mandatory program, it was odd to read one that had even a modicum of truth in it.  What  wasn\u2019t unexpected was he missed the entire point of the class action and the most important part of Judge Adair\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,162,3,9,161,350,353,18,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bc","category-class-action","category-health_and_safety","category-law","category-legal-action","category-media","category-newspaper","category-smart-meter","category-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7986"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7988,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7986\/revisions\/7988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}