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The commission has released a report with strong warnings around the issue of northern country foods. It says Ottawa must continue to research contaminants and public health.

Commission chair Whit Fraser said in an interview Monday that the report is 鈥渧ery strong鈥� because 鈥渨e chose not to get into the mushy middle.

鈥淲e think, frankly, that that is usually where the federal departments are...(the issue of) contaminants are stuck in the mushy middle ... telling people that there are all these concerns with contaminants, but the nutritional value of country food far outweighs any risk.鈥�

Governments are afraid to alarm people, said the former CBC TV journalist.

鈥淲ell, so am I, but I am also equally afraid of being too complacent.

鈥淥ur clear message is no one should throw their country food off their plate tonight and throw up their hands in despair.

鈥淲hat they should do is enjoy the meal and also ask their politicians and others to make damn sure that their interests are protected, so that in five or 10 years鈥� time, they will be able to consume in confidence.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 know that we will be able to consume food in confidence, and you can鈥檛 wait until the levels (of contaminants) are such that you can鈥檛 eat the food to begin reducing them. You have to see that they never reach that level.鈥�

Fraser said a 鈥渘ational鈥� northern program in food contaminants must continue.

鈥淲e say 鈥榥ational鈥� because the previous program didn鈥檛 touch Labrador or Arctic Quebec, and yet they share in the same northern climate and same food stocks.鈥�

The commission has been collecting research. It shows that the North is a sponge for pollutants and contaminants which come into its ecosystem from all over the world.

The commission鈥檚 contaminants program runs out of funding this year. However, the commission itself has future funding, said Fraser.

A new program on contaminants should be 鈥渧ery focused on the northern food supply and the human health of northern people,鈥� he said.

He described a future program as 鈥渄oing research and watching the animals that people are eating, and having a system of checking it for the various contaminants in northern laboratories.

鈥淭hen reporting directly to the communities as to what the findings are to maintain confidence or to sound alarm bells where appropriate, because alarm bells may have to be sounded.鈥�

In southern Canada, food is checked on a regular basis, he noted, and there鈥檚 no reason the North cannot do the same.

鈥淎griculture Canada or whoever does it doesn鈥檛 check every chicken or every pound of beef, but somebody looks at it under a microscope from time to time.鈥�

Future work in monitoring contaminants should be done by more than one government agency, said Fraser. Northern governments should also be involved.

鈥淲e do not think that the best interests of northern peoples are met when one government department takes on responsibility for the health and the food and all the rest of it.鈥�

There must be independent agencies involved 鈥渢o be eyes and ears in this.鈥� So far, $25 million has been spent directly in the northern contaminants program over the last five years, said Fraser.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a pretty huge amount of money. To close the door now, when you know you鈥檝e raised more questions than you have answered, and that you might have some very serious health issues 10 or 20 years down the road ... imagine the cost of inaction and walking away from it now, with the kind of investment that鈥檚 already been made.鈥� The levels of PCBs in the milk of mothers in the Baffin region has been found to be significantly higher than those in the rest of Canada.

PCBs are linked to weak immune systems, infertility and birth defects.

Dr. Fred Roots, a researcher with Environment Canada, says it cannot be proved at this time that people are sick with contaminants. However, it is the children and grandchildren who are at risk, he believes.

By ANNE PRITCHARD Star Reporter