To: [Your City Council / Provincial Government / Water Utility Provider]

From: Concerned Resident]

We, the undersigned, demand an immediate halt to the forced installation of smart water meters due to the following serious concerns:

1. Fire and Electrical Hazards

There have been multiple reports of smart meters overheating, sparking, and causing fires (hydro saskatchewan). Unlike analog meters, these digital devices pose an increased risk of property damage and potential liability for homeowners because some of the transmitters contain a lithium battery.  Lithium battery-related fires are on the rise and burn differently.  They cause more harm.  Inhalation of pollutant like hydrogen fluoride and small particles may penetrate the lungs.

2025, September 15 - Another school bus catches on fire (3rd one in the last 10 months) -"The model that is being recalled is the LION-C bus, which costs an average of $300,000" - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-electric-school-bus-recall-1.7634456

2025, June 30 - Ferry authority cites safety risk associated with transporting potentially damaged electric vehicle batteries...It comes amid growing concerns of the fire risk associated with vehicles' lithium-ion batteries - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tow-trucks-damaged-electric-vehicles-bc-ferries-1.7574664 

2025, May 15 - Utah family narrowly escape fire triggered by scooter battery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Lk5zmk3oY 

2025, April 9 - Lithium battery recycling plant burns for the second time in 12 months - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7aU7F6_MZ4

2025, February 13 - Ottawa e-bikes catching on fire inside homes 
https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/e-bike-fire-on-bronson-avenue-displaces-2-people/ 

2025, January 13 - Huntsville electric school bus catches on fire caused by electrical failure. Children onboard are safely evacuated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAdclfp1yto https://www.huntsville.ca/en/news/media-release-electric-school-bus-fire-on-earls-road.aspx

2024, December 3 - TTC ban e-bike due to risk of lithium battery fires https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ttc-vote-ban-electric-bikes-1.7400218

2024, November 27 - Electric school bus in Quebec bursts into flames https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIRSf1kVK9U

2024, September 28 - 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries caught fire inside a shipping container. CBC reports that: “Lithium battery fires emit hazardous pollutants like hydrogen fluoride and small particles that can penetrate the lungs…Acute exposure can even lead to a risk of heart attack or stroke..”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-lithium-battery-fire-concerns-1.7336652 

2024, June 4 - South Korea, 23 killed and 8 injured in Aricell lithium thyonyl chloride factory after several batteries exploded leading to a fire - These types of lithium batteries are the ones used in smart water meters   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwaseong_battery_factory_fire   

2024, June 3 - UK article reports a 46% increase in lithium-ion battery fires which burn differently and cause more harm - https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2024/fires-caused-by-lithium-ion-batteries-up-46-last-year 

2023 CBC report on Sheppard-Yonge subway fire - https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.7073074 

Transport Canada Report on Lithium Battery Safety:https://tc.canada.ca/en/dangerous-goods/publications/lithium-battery-transport-research

National Fire Prevention Association
https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/home-fire-safety/lithium-ion-batteries?utm_source=chatgpt.com

A safe water system should not introduce new fire risks into homes without proper investigation.

2. Health Risks from EMF Radiation

Smart water meters emit electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation, which has been linked to various health concerns, including:

 • Headaches, dizziness, and fatigue

 • Sleep disturbances and increased stress levels

 • Potential long-term neurological and cellular damage

Many residents are unable to tolerate prolonged EMF exposure, and forcing these devices into homes violates their right to protect their health.

3. Breach of Privacy

Smart meters continuously collect and transmit detailed water usage data, which:

 • Can reveal personal habits and routines

 • Poses a risk of unauthorized access and misuse

 • Violates fundamental privacy rights

No resident should be required to sacrifice their personal privacy for a water service they already pay for.

a) Refer to article on insider cybersecurity threats, which rose to 76% between 2019 and 2024 - https://www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/why-insider-threats-remain-the-wild-card-in-cybersecurity-8086.html 

b) Neptune's owns words: "As  AMI and AMR systems have become more complex and feature packed,  they have become a more enticing target for hackers looking to do  harm to your utility"   

c) Neptune and City of Hamilton data breaches:

-2025, August 11 - Hamilton second data breach  
-2025, July 31 - Hamilton taxpayers on the hook for full $18.3M cyberattack repair bill...
-2024, March 11 - Expert opinion on Hamilton's cyberattack : "The breach in Hamilton is the latest example of the seriousness of such cyberattacks, which have increasingly targeted municipalities in recent years, said Charles Finlay, executive director of Toronto Metropolitan University's Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst.. While Hamilton's critical services have not been affected, cyberattacks on municipal networks can lead to dangerous situations if they tamper with emergency, water and wastewater systems, Finlay said in an interview. Municipalities of all sizes are being targeted because they often hold large amounts of data that can be leveraged to extort significant ransoms, he said...It's no longer a question of if a municipality is going to be attacked -- it's only really a question of when they're going to be attacked," Finlay said. "I would urge us all to recognize that these attacks on municipalities are a wake-up call and we really need to do more now, before we have even more dangerous situations emerge."
-2024, February 26 - Hamilton responding to cybersecurity incident and City of Hamilton website down.. shows how vulnerable all these digitalized systems are and the severe impact it can have on our infrastructure's reliability. "The ransomware attack began on Feb. 25, affecting multiple municipal systems. It was revealed days later that several city services were plagued by the attack, including, but not limited to, tax services, telephone lines, transit and Ontario Works and Special Supports."
-2022, August - City advising of possible data breach related to water meter services: Neptune third party subject to ransomware attack (2,387 accounts compromised) "Residents can take precautionary measures to safeguard their information such as remaining vigilant by reviewing account statements and monitor credit reports for suspicious activity."
-2019, December 12 - Hamilton warns of possible privacy breach involving water services : “I understand why Hamiltonians are frustrated - this was a serious and costly breach,” said Mayor Andrea Horwath in a news release on Wednesday. “We expect our public systems to be strong, secure, and dependable. This incident highlights that the city fell short of that standard - and we’re not okay with that.”

d) 2025, March 19, Nova Scotia Power Utility Breach by Ransomware hackers.  Detected only over a month later! 280,000 customers' information compromised including SIN # and banking info - 

Insufficient remedy for customers who now have to worry about monitoring their financial accounts.  Here is Privacy Commissioner's answer: “Nova Scotia Power has advised my Office that affected individuals are being notified, and that the company is offering a two-year subscription for comprehensive credit monitoring services.  I encourage individuals who have been affected by the breach to consider signing up for the credit monitoring service to reduce the potential for fraud. They should also take other steps to protect their data such as changing their account passwords, monitoring other accounts, and notifying their financial institution”.

e) Even CRA was unable to protect Canadians' sensitive information.  Read about the CRA privacy breach Class Action - 

These breaches more often than not stem from insiders who have authorized access! Cyber Security Intelligence reports: "In today's cybersecurity landscape, insider threats have emerged as one of the most unpredictable and damaging risks organisations face. Coming from within the entity, these risks may stem from current or former employees, contractors, or business partners who have, or have had, authorised access to the organisation's systems, networks and sensitive data. The data paints a sobering picture: the past two years alone have seen a 44% surge in insider threat incidents, with the average cost of each incident reaching an eye-watering $15.38 million. More alarmingly, between 2019 and 2024, the number of organizations reporting insider incidents has grown from 66% to 76% – that's nearly three-quarters of all organisations grappling with this issue."

4.  Unexplained Spikes in billing

Canadians from various provinces are reporting unexplained increased water bills post smart meter installation.  

2025, August 26th - Alan Bodnarchuk, resident of Regina, Saskatchewan had his water turned off for over a month when contesting over-inflated bills - https://www.sasktoday.ca/regina-today/regina-news/regina-resident-living-without-water-after-dispute-over-city-billing-11129141 

2024, October 980 CJME article about a Regina man on disability complaining about the doubling of his water bill. https://www.cjme.com/2024/10/24/theyre-ripping-people-off-regina-man-on-disability-refuses-to-pay-high-water-bills/

2024 September 980 CJME article about a Regina woman noticing a steep increase as well. https://www.cjme.com/2024/09/12/regina-citizens-water-bills-climb-after-smart-water-meter-upgrade/

5. Waste of taxpayers' money

Transmitters are failing "ahead of schedule" reports CBC. 470,000 transmitters malfunctioned in Toronto, which will cost taxpayers $5.4 million.  "The culprit is small lithium batteries in the transmission units. Once projected to have a 20-year lifespan, they are now failing at the 11 or 12 year mark, the city says." and "This technology failure is a huge boondoggle and it's going to be a difficult mess for city staff to sort out,". Other cities are experiencing the same issue.  This is a waste of our taxpayers 'money and needs to stop.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-water-metre-failing-units-1.7356671 

6. Forced Compliance & Violation of Property Rights

Residents who refuse smart meter installations are harassed, threatened, and even have their water shut off—a clear violation of consumer and property rights.

Case Example: Isabelle’s Forced Water Shut-Off & Injury

One Ottawa resident, Isabelle, attempted to refuse the water meter transmitter due to concerns over health, privacy, and safety. As a result:

 • The City shut off her water, depriving her of an essential service.

 • She suffered stress, hardship and a back injury after lifting a 5 gallon water container used for daily needs;

 • She filed for a judicial review, challenging the City’s unlawful actions.

 • On December 20, 2024, her water was restored after her hearing in front of J. Labrosse who also ordered the court to schedule a second case conference, but the court never did.

• In January and March 2025, she sent a complaint letter to the court regarding the various delays and hindrances from the court.

• In August 2025, she filed her Factum, Application Record and Certificate of Readiness, and asked the City to confirm their availability for the next Judicial Review date, either February 25th or 26th, 2026 but did not hear back.

This case highlights the aggressive tactics used against residents who exercise their right to refuse.

7. Environmental and Water Impact of Lithium-Based Smart Meters

The lithium used in these devices comes from highly water-intensive mining operations that deplete and contaminate freshwater sources in regions such as the Atacama Desert in Chile and Argentina’s salt flats.

Reports from the World Resources Institute, UNCTAD, and Mongabay confirm that lithium extraction requires up to 500,000 gallons of water per ton, draining ecosystems and harming local communities already living under extreme water scarcity.

As conscientious citizens (“objecteurs de conscience”), we refuse to be complicit in this environmental destruction. We cannot, in good conscience, allow our household water systems, the very symbol of life, to depend on technologies whose supply chain devastates water elsewhere.

-2024, August 22 - Lithium mining is slowly sinking Chile's Atacama salt flat, study shows

2024, March 15 - Argentine court in key lithium region halts new permit over environmental concerns

2024, February 8 - Concern over efforts to use Colorado River water to Extract lithium

DEMANDS:

We, the undersigned, demand the following actions:

✅ A moratorium on smart water meter transmitter installations;

✅ The right to refuse a smart meter transmitter without penalties or service shut-offs;

✅ A full investigation into the health, privacy, and fire risks associated with these devices;

✅ A return to safe, non-digital analog meters for those who opt out, with option to provide photographic reading;

We urge our elected officials including our MPPs to take immediate action to protect public health and consumer rights.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE :

1) Notice of Liability to the Minister of Justice responsible to protect our civil liberties: 

2) Notice of Liability, including case laws and questionnaire addressed to Councillors:  

3) Keep up to date with our actions by visiting our Canadian Blue Rising Facebook page