Smart meters have been called a lot of things by people opposed to them. In British Columbia, they may become a human rights issue, due to a decision by the province’s Human Rights Tribunal to accept a complaint from a group charging BC Hydro with discrimination.
According to a report in The Globe and Mail, the Tribunal has accepted a complaint from Citizens for Safe Technology whose members contend BC Hydro discriminates against people with certain medical conditions and disabilities by refusing to accommodate their request for wired meters instead of wireless smart meters. The group says it has members who suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity or other disabilities and doctors have advised them to avoid wireless technology.
BC Hydro has reportedly argued the complaint does not qualify as a human rights violation.
The Globe and Mail says that though the Tribunal has approved the complaint, it is requiring the types of medical conditions and disabilities reportedly affected by smart meters to be narrowed before the case will continue.
“The meters have been confirmed safe by B.C.’s provincial health officer, by Health Canada and by the World Health Organization,” Cindy Verschoor, spokeswoman for BC Hydro’s smart meter program, told the Vancouver Sun.
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