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As lawyer Alex Templeton stood at the podium inside a muggy Torbay Commons on June 4 to provide updates on the growing class-action lawsuit against Transport Canada, all he could think about as he saw the concerned expressions on the faces of the hundreds of attendees was the number of times he turns on the tap in the run of a day.

For most people, turning on the tap to brush your teeth or grab a drink of water isn’t something to think twice about.

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But for Templeton, a partner with McInnes Cooper and lead counsel for the proposed class action, he couldn’t help but think about the stress and anxiety that the residents of Torbay, Logy Bay, Middle Cove and Outer Cove must be facing as they grapple with the uncertainty of how the dangerous PFAS chemicals that entered their water supply from years of firefighting training exercises near St. John’s International Airport might be impacting their health, their families and their properties.

“Quite honestly, I always try to think of putting myself in their shoes in terms of the reaction that they’re having and the frustration that they are expressing and the fear around the uncertainty that exists,” Templeton told The Telegram.

“I can absolutely try to relate to that and try to put myself in their shoes and understand the nature of that frustration and try to bring perspective to it. I think that the reality is that nobody wishes to be in this situation, and I’m reminded that class actions like this, they are complex, they are not easy, they bring in a lot of people into them, but they serve a very critical function in our judicial system.”

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‘On your mind night and day’

The 90-minute presentation went into great detail about the many elements of PFAS contamination and the class-action lawsuit, including re-filing the lawsuit in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court, the flow of PFAS through groundwater catchments, recent responses from Transport Canada and the determination of new boundaries that now extend to Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove.

During the question-and-answer session that followed, which extended the two-hour window that was scheduled for the meeting, residents in the jam-packed room posed a variety of questions that emphasized the gravity and scale of concern from the community.

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“Should I not go ahead with construction on my vacant lot?” asked one concerned property owner.

“Is Transport Canada aware of how this is impacting real estate sales?” asked another.

“I lived in the area for years, but don’t live there now, is there any way I can check if the property I lived at was impacted?”

Between fielding these questions and many others on the subject of proposed filtration systems, boundary determination, questions of terminology and the safety of water for cooking and cleaning, it became clear to Templeton that he and his associates have their work cut out for them in trying to find meaningful solutions for these important questions.

“I think in one sense, it influences us just to redouble our efforts,” Templeton said.

“It’s real people, dealing with real problems on a daily basis… If I was one of these homeowners, and if every time I turn on the tap this is coming to mind, it would be on your mind night and day… This is something that’s affecting real people. They are owed a solution here, and we just have to do whatever we can to push where we can to be as timely in getting a solution.”

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‘I feel it every day’

As the plaintiff in the proposed class-action lawsuit, along with his wife Susan, meteorologist Eddie Sheerr was perched in the front row listening intently to Templeton’s presentation and the subsequent questions.

Even though it was clear that the room’s collective fight was against a common enemy in Transport Canada, Sheerr admits he couldn’t help but feel a little bit responsible for burdening his community with this stressful situation.

“Hopefully, they’re not too upset with myself and Susan,” Sheerr said, half joking.

“That is a legitimate concern of mine. Alex said it in the meeting, ‘Is the dog wagging the tail, or is the tail wagging the dog?’ Regardless of the optics of the class action, the pollutant was already having an impact on property sales and will continue to do so, regardless if there’s a class action or not.”

Ultimately, Sheerr knows that the community supports the quest for justice and clean drinking water and shares the same concerns and the same anger that was reflected by the community during the meeting.

“I do understand the frustration and the stress about it in the room because I feel it every day,” Sheerr said.

“With respect to property values and not being able to use your property and potential health implications, it all is extremely frustrating, extremely stressful, and it’s an unnecessary burden that is now going to be expanded if it hasn’t been already.”

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