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Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, M ar ch 5 , 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Bill worth a look Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 classified@theifp.ca Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Arguments must be factual Letters must include the author's name, ad- dress and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/ or length. Publi- cation is not guaranteed. Email: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy Michael Chong's bid to reform the manner in which Canadian democracy operates has seen a great many twists and turns. His effort has seen him repeatedly write on the subject. It has seen him publicly demonstrate the lack of decorum of his parliamentary colleagues over antics in the House of Commons. It has also seen him use parliamentary tools through two terms of federal government to amend and improve such ele- ments of our democracy as question period, and if leaders of political parties should have the final word on whether an individual can be a local candidate for a party. Finally, he's seen his efforts result in something more tangible than further discussion of the subject. The Wellington-Halton Hills Conservative MP witnessed his private member's bill-- Reform Act 2014-- make it through third reading in the House of Commons recently. To achieve this, Chong accepted considerable watering-down of his bill. But the final result remains something with the potential to bring significant change to aspects of our democracy. It offers a rare example of this parliament reaching a compromise in crafting legislation. Chong asserts it also moved forward in large measure because Canadians demanded that parliamentarians make progress on issues the bill spoke to and that this citi- zen influence was responsibly heeded. For all those reasons, Chong's achievement merits applause. After having observed so many obstacles in getting this done, Chong has been understandably cautious in considering this journey concluded. In seemingly all public comments on this bill passing through the House, he's quick to point out it requires Senate approval and royal ascent before the end of this government's term or it dies as legislation. If our beleaguered Senate wants its future to become a larger election issue than it might already be this year, it should foot-drag on this high-profile reform bill. Chong is right not to assume this bill will be law. Ultimately, even if Reform Act 2014 is proclaimed, its journey will continue. Due to various opt-in aspects, if it becomes law, future parliamentarians could use this potential legislation to empower themselves and their caucuses to have new powers, such as those related to the turfing of caucus mem- bers. Given that the majority government has sup- ported it, we hope Chong's bill sails as it should through the Senate. Re: Oksana M. Sawiak's letter to the edi- tor that was printed in the Feb. 26 IFP. Debate is crucial to finding out what is really true. But if one wants one's theory (in this case, that vaccines cause autism) to be taken seriously then one needs to present solid evidence. It is simply not good enough to stir up debate without presenting real evidence for your position. If real evidence of your position does exist then you should pres- ent it. It did not take me long to learn that the Geiers, whose assertions about au- tism you are relying upon, have had their research roundly discredited by quali- fied physicians and scientists. I under- stand that Mark Geier had his medical license revoked nearly four years ago by the Maryland State Board of Physicians on an emergency basis. According to the board's decision (which is available to the public) Geier was found to have misrepresented his credentials, to have misdiagnosed autistic children with pre- cocious puberty and other genetic ab- OPINION normalities, to have treated the children with potent hormonal therapies that have a substantial risk of both short-term and long-term side effects, and to have in doing all of this "exposed the children to needless risk of harm". It is also explained in the board's de- cision that Mark Geier's testimony on behalf of plaintiffs as a supposed expert on Court of Federal Claims and other tribunals has been held to be "intellectu- ally dishonest" and "nothing more than an egregious example of blatant, result- oriented testimony". It is simply not good enough to rest your case on what this guy says. As for Thimerosol, which I am to un- derstand does contain "ethyl" (as distinct from "methyl") mercury, according to Health Canada's website, most vaccines licensed in Canada do not use Thimero- sol as a preservative. Only influenza and most hepatitis B vaccines contain it. It is extremely important in my view to note there is a key difference between "ethyl" mercury - which is known to be eliminated rapidly from the body and does not accumulate - and "methyl" mercury which we know can be in some fish and which does accumulate. Also, according to Health Canada, "Theoretical concerns regarding pos- sible mercury toxicity and link to autism have been dismissed with multiple stud- ies that have found no evidence of a link." I haven't read the studies, but if they are there to read and assess then you should do so if you want to test your theories. We are all dealing with a lot of infor- mation on a daily basis. It is an incred- ible world, and we need and should wel- come dissenters to speak up and present their evidence. But they need to do it in a responsible, evidence-based way. Matthew Powell Gilbert's LLP