Canada's Shame

A responsible, progressive, civilized country like Canada - exporting death to socially under-developed, less concerned countries of the world. For whom the use of asbestos in building represents a convenient, low-cost and useful product. Canada is concerned about the welfare of its own citizens to the extent that the use of asbestos in this country is not permitted, and costly work to carefully remove asbestos from public buildings is seen as a responsible antidote to having people affected by it.

The Government of Canada authorized an expert panel to look into the matter and to produce a report on the use of asbestos and its safety. It was concerned with the mining of Canada's special kind of natural resource, chrysotile asbestos which those who support the ongoing mining and export of insist it is unlike other asbestos and perfectly safe when used properly.

Proper use and workplace handling of chrysotile asbestos is not a concern, however, to the importing countries which have no record of investing in worker safety.

In 2009 at their annual meeting the Canadian Medical Association along with the Canadian Public Health Association and the National Specialty Society of Community Medicine recommended that the Canadian government ban the mining and export of asbestos

"It's inconceivable that we would restrict the use of asbestos in our own country, but continue to export this hazardous product around the world." CMA President Anne Doig

It's not that asbestos mining represents big business. But it is in the Quebec towns of Thetford Mines and Asbestos that the mining still takes place, despite that 52 countries around the world have outlawed it. China and India are two countries where it is still used, and where the health of workers has never been much of a concern to the governments of those vast populations.

Only four hundred workers in Quebec are involved in asbestos mining. The critical health risks of working with asbestos are asbestosis, lung cancer, representing a premature and painful sentence of death. Asbestos mining and construction use are responsible for dreadfully impacting the health and longevity of workers; those who mine it and those who install it.

Finally, the Confederation of National Trade Unions in Canada voted its disapproval for a loan from the Government of Quebec to assist a consortium determined to revive asbestos production by opening a new mine in Thetford Mines. But the governments of Quebec and Canada remain mute on the dread effects of asbestos and its export.

That report that the federal government commissioned was not released to the public. The government sat on it. The report pointed out the "strong relationship" between lung cancer and chrysotile asbestos. The MP representing Thetford Mines is none other than Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis.

Who spoke to the media declaring that the government has "adopted a clear position and there have been no new facts since then. Our position remains the same, that of promoting the safe use of asbestos. We have done our homework in this area. We assembled a panel of international experts and we came to this conclusion."

Which has occasioned one of those experts, Leslie Stayner of the University of Illinois's school of public health, to complain in a letter to Paradis that his statement on the report was a misleading one, for the expert panel was not tasked to reach a conclusion about whether chrysotile asbestos could be safely used.

"Had we been asked this question, I would certainly not have supported the argument that the continued production and use of asbestos in any form, including chrysotile, is safe."