North Saanich council passed a motion Aug. 22 calling for a moratorium on the mandatory installation of BC Hydro’s smart meters, echoing motions passed by the municipalities of Colwood, Victoria and Highlands.
Council adopted the words of the City of Colwood’s motion, that said there had been serious health and safety concerns raised about the meters and a third-party review was needed before installation.
“When we talk about a moratorium … we mean we have some real concerns. We’re going to stop it for the time being until we have a better idea of what we are looking at,” said councillor Peter Chandler.
The motion followed a 90-minute discussion about the meters, which included presentations by BC Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynyk and smart meter opponents.
The World Health Organization currently labels radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Those who spoke against the meters said they believe waves transmitted by the meters, which BC Hydro claims are only active for one minute a day, can cause health problems. Many also took issue with the lack of options to install the new meters or keep their current wired ones.
Currently BC Hydro plans to install the meters on all homes in BC Residents worried about the proximity of the meter to their home can have it installed in another spot on their property, at their expense.
A discussion about the meters will come up at this September’s meeting of the Union of BC Municipalities.