Grandmother Donna Dillman to End Hunger Strike against Uranium Mining in eastern Ontario

by Lynn Daniluk

	Donna Dillman photo was taken while she was on Hunger Strike.

The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) announced on 13 December 2007 that they would hold public hearings throughout Eastern Ontario in the New Year on the environmental and health impacts of uranium mining.

“We have been asking the government to hold an inquiry into uranium mining and they have failed to respond” said Wolfe Erlichman of CCAMU. “In the absence of action, on behalf of the McGuinty government, we are going to hold a citizen’s inquiry and invite the Premier to attend. We will even go to his home town to accommodate him.”

A number of NGO’s including Greenpeace, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Voice of Women and Sierra Club of Canada have endorsed the hearings or will participate as expert witnesses.

CCAMU will be calling for public and expert submissions to take place at hearings to be held in Kingston, Ottawa and Peterborough in February/March. In response to the hearings Donna Dillman, who has not eaten since October 8th 2007, said she will end her hunger strike.

“I began this hunger strike to shine a light on the problem of uranium mining in eastern Ontario with the hope that Premier McGuinty would call a moratorium on further mining and exploration” said Dillman. “We have not yet got a moratorium but these hearings are a great opportunity to inform and educate Ontarians about some of the detrimental effects of uranium mining and to keep the pressure on the McGuinty government.”

“Donna has made an incredible personal sacrifice in pushing for this moratorium. It is time for the environmental community to take some of the heavy lifting from Donna before she suffers any serious health impacts” said Gideon Foreman Executive Director of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

“These hearing s will be an opportunity to further expose the unfolding economic, health and environmental disaster associated with the global nuclear agenda” said Bruce Cox Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada. “Mr. McGuinty is wrong when he says we need to mine uranium here to keep the lights on. This uranium is bound for export.”

Donna Dillman has not eaten since October 8th, 2007-a full 66 days ago. Ms. Dillman has been calling on Premier McGuinty to announce a moratorium on further mining and exploration in Eastern Ontario until a full public inquiry on the health and environmental impacts of uranium mining can take place.

On Tuesday of this week Ms. Dillman stopped drinking juices and had been surviving solely on water. She ate her first bite of food in front of the supporters who had gathered in MPP Peter Tabuns’ office, just after the press conference held in the Queen’s Park press gallery. Four other women, Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu, Rita Bijons, Sharon Howarth and Karen Buck, had joined Dillman on her hunger strike this past Tuesday, to show their solidarity. They broke their fast today, just after Dillman ate a small amount of mashed squash. It has been recommended by her health practitioners that she slowly resume a diet of solid food, given the length of time her stomach has been without it.

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