Archived ACTION – Seek Federal Candidates’ support for Primary Cancer Prevention

Prevent Cancer Now has written to more than 1000 candidates, and we thank followers for asking their candidates to fill in the response form HERE. The results HERE were updated every morning and evening, until the election on April 28th, 2025.

Dear Candidate;

We thank you for your contributions to democracy.

This letter is to introduce you to Primary Cancer Prevention, and to invite your support for actions in Parliament to “stop cancer before it starts.”

BACKGROUND

In Canada, cancer is a leading cause of death, and it affects about half of older adults. Moreover, we are seeing rapidly increasing aggressive cancers in younger adults.

Scientific research indicates that proliferation of exposures to harmful chemicals and some forms of radiation—many pollutants in the air, water, soil, foods and common products—contribute significantly to the increasing cancers afflicting younger and younger Canadians. The increasing incidence, and the aggressive nature of these cancers, make Primary Cancer Prevention (“stopping cancer before it starts”) more important than ever.

Reflect for a moment… Primary Cancer Prevention is not about successful treatment or early detection. Primary Cancer Prevention requires controlling releases of carcinogens, and actively normalizing the healthiest practices, until Canadians, everywhere, live in a healthy environment, with safe goods and services that do not cause cancer.

The scientific evidence is clear and convincing.

Immigrants to Canada have fewer cancers, but their risks increase over time. Thus, cancers arise from common, unrecognized and difficult-to-avoid exposures, and in cancer “hotspot” locations that are more polluted.

It has never been more urgent to acknowledge and broadly prevent human and environmental health challenges, for healthy air, water, food, goods and industries throughout Canada.

Importantly, as trade turmoil demands attention, the United States leads the world with cancers in younger adults, according to recent global trends in incidence, death, burden and risk factors of early-onset cancer from 1990 to 2019 (see the figure below).

Canada would do better adopting regulatory approaches already in place in the European Union and other regions where there is lower cancer incidence.

Age-standardised incident rate for early onset cancers (younger than 50 years of age) per 100,000 population, from 1990 to 2019 Zhao et al. Global trends in incidence, death, burden and risk factors of early-onset cancer from 1990 to 2019. BMJ Oncology 2023: https://bmjoncology.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000049

WHAT PARLIAMENTARIANS CAN DO

If elected, how would you support opportunities for Primary Cancer Prevention?

Now is the time to improve Canada’s agricultural practices, and regulation of environmental agents.

Will you support farmers and industries, to align with and surpass practices in the European Union that are more health-protective?

1. Support shifting to Organic and Regenerative Agriculture with research and extension support as recommended by the National Farmers Union, the Canadian Organic Trade Association and Organic Growers;
2. Limit products on the market and energy sources based on identification of least-hazardous, most efficient and “climate-friendly” solutions to real needs (i.e., based on “essentiality”);
3. Ensure that regulatory choices minimize waste and greenhouse gases (e.g., employ alternatives assessment) for technologies, as well as for production, use and disposal of goods, in order to address existential threats such as heat, droughts, famine, flooding and destructive storms of climate chaos;
4. Regulate to eliminate classes of hazardous substances/agents that are persistent, bio-accumulative and/or toxic,. This would include known carcinogens such as asbestos, and substances that interfere with biological signalling/interact with receptors (e.g., hormonal);
5. Ambitiously replace aging, crumbling asbestos cement water pipes with resilient new infrastructure, and eliminate asbestos in drinking water;
6. Minimize wireless emissions and energy use in telecommunications and other technologies, to promote human and environmental health, as well as security and resilience.

Parliamentary Initiatives

Important initiatives were suspended when Parliament was prorogued. If elected, will you re-start?

1. Study on cancer prevention and treatment by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health (HESA);
2. Study of toxic contamination on military sites by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on National Defence (NDDN); and the
3. Parliamentary Petition e-6460 (Health) on Primary Cancer Prevention
   
   Will you support studies to update science and regulation of wireless technologies?
   
4. Rapidly mounting evidence of serious adverse biological effects on humans and other species exposed to legalized radiofrequency radiation includes significant effects on biodiversity, wildlife, human child development, and health. Harms to all life forms are repeatedly and increasingly reported in scientific research. Studies are overdue for both HESA and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI).

CANDIDATES, PLEASE complete the brief form here, to indicate your support for one or more initiatives.

Candidates’ responses are reported here.

Thank you for your commitment to democracy, in Canada’s highly consequential federal election.

Reach us at: outreach@preventcancernow.ca

Prevent Cancer Now is Canada’s unique expert organization, aiming to stop cancer before it starts, with effective public education, science-based actions, and policies and laws.