It could not have been very important because hardly anyone on this side of the Atlantic is even aware that it took place. A total of four column inches in the British newspapers was devoted to the event. The handful of people who bothered to read them would have learnt that a company no one has heard of, which makes a product whose name no one can pronounce, received some money from the Canadian government and an assurance that it could continue making the product. It is the butterfly's wing over North America that will cause a hurricane in Europe. MMT is a fuel additive which is mixed with petrol to prevent engine knocking.
Many scientists believe it is also a dangerous neurotoxin.
Manganese entering the body through the lungs causes nerve damage which can lead to psychosis, memory loss and early death. Until last year, Canada was the only country on earth in which MMT was sold. It is legal to sell it in most of the US - but surveys suggest that suppliers will not stock it, not least because it appears to damage car engines, causing the release of other pollutants. Canadian MPs questioned why their citizens should be exposed to this peculiarly unpleasant species of pollution. After a long and intelligent debate, the parliament voted to ban it in April 1997.