Click on links below to a number of articles to mark the one year anniversary of the December 2010 visit by the Asia Solidarity delegation to Quebec and Ottawa to make a direct appeal from asbestos victims, trade unionists and health defenders from Japan, Korea, India and Indonesia to stop Canada’s export of asbestos and, in particular, to stop the Jeffrey mine.
- Historic Asbestos Mission: http://ibasecretariat.org/lka-historic-mission-to-canada.php
- Asian Solidarity Delegation Mission to Canada: One year On: http://ibasecretariat.org/kr-asian-solidarity-mission-canada-one-year-on.php
- Memories of Canada: http://ibasecretariat.org/as-memories-of-quebec.php
- The Asbestos Frontline: http://ibasecretariat.org/md-the-asbestos-frontline.php
Media Links 2011
Last up dated December 22, 2011
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Disclaimer
We endeavour to provide links to beneficial information related to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. However, the links to stories in the media listed below are provided as resource information only; this is only a handful of asbestos-related media stories. We have not vetted information in these stories, nor do we endorse the opinions expressed. Please properly vet all information that you obtain online and read all website disclaimers. For any medical advice, consult your family physician or medical specialists.
After years of criticism from Canadian and international health organizations, the federal government has quietly cut off taxpayer funding for an asbestos industry lobby group.
The decision to stop funding the asbestos lobby comes less than a month after two-dozen health organizations (including the AREA Fund), signed a letter prepared by the Canadian Cancer Society, and sent to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pleading for an end to government support for the industry.
Anniversary of 2010 visit by Asia Solidarity delegation International Ban Asbestos Secretariat Dec 2011
WorkSafeBC has shut down 30 job sites in the Lower Mainland so far this year for violations related to the improper removal of asbestos from older homes undergoing renovation or demolition, and have a newly dedicated team of about 10 inspectors who are tackling the problem in the region, working with municipalities issuing demolition permits.
A Lower Mainland asbestos removal and demolition contractor is facing a possible jail term after being charged by WorkSafeBC with allegedly putting employees’ lives at risk by letting them work unwittingly on homes that contained asbestos. Earlier this month, the Workers’ Compensation Board asked the B.C. Supreme Court to jail Arthur Moore of AM Environmental for 120 days for contempt of court.
"The Quebec government has approved the expansion of the Jeffrey asbestos mine in Asbestos, along with a $7.5-million economic diversification fund for the region.”
Campaigners are protesting against plans to re-open the world’s largest asbestos mine, the Jeffrey Mine in Quebec with the help of $58 million from the provincial government. The mine would export upwards of 6 million tonnes of chrysotile asbestos to less industrialised countries over the next 25 years.
"Only the Conservative party will defend this industry here and everywhere in Canada," said Harper during a campaign stop in Victoriaville. "Only the Conservative party understands that you have a right to live here, to raise your families here."
"The Canadian Cancer Society is calling on the Quebec government to withdraw its support for an expansion at an asbestos mine in the province, citing the health concerns associated with exposure to the material. The national group said it was "deeply disappointed" that Quebec Economic Development Minister Clement Gignac conditionally approved the expansion of the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, about 150 kilometres east of Montreal."
"The government of Quebec has decided to ignore the pleas of human rights advocates, hundreds of public health experts worldwide and one of the province's largest unions and says it will fund the expansion of Canada's last asbestos mine.”
"The BWI condemns the announcement by the Quebec Government of its decision to support the Jeffrey asbestos mine. Clement Gignac, the Province’s Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, yesterday issued a statement confirming their government’s support to the international consortium backing the Jeffrey mines. Although some financial details remain to be resolved, the Government has stated that it will provide the $58 million loan guarantee requested for the project.”
"Quebec's loan guarantee for an asbestos mine does not contradict the Charest government's championing of sustainable development, a cabinet minister said Friday. Economic development minister Clément Gignac also suggested that chrysotile asbestos from the Jeffrey Mine Inc. operation in the town of Asbestos could help save lives in India.”
"A new report is suggesting the air at many Quebec construction sites contains levels of asbestos at or above provincial norms, raising fresh questions about whether the substance can be handled safely in Canada. The study, released by Quebec’s Public Health Department, examined 3,000 air samples taken from worksites that were considered at elevated risk for asbestos exposure.
"Members of S.H.A.M.E. (Sarnia's Hometown Activist Movement Emerging) held a demonstration Saturday at the former Holmes Foundry site in Sarnia. ‘Asbestos has had a huge impact on workers and families here,’ said organizer Zak Nicholls, joined by several participants who held signs slamming both the Liberal and Conservative governments.”
Conservative leader Stephen Harper has declared that Canada will not ban the export of asbestos, despite calls from health groups, environmental organizations and human rights advocates. Harper brought his campaign to the community of Asbestos, Quebec amid renewed pressure to ban the export of asbestos.
PM’s Callous Pitch for Votes thestar.com
Harper Rejects Export Ban on Asbestos Industry Ottawa Citizen
Canada Labelled “Immoral Asbestos Pusher” as Harper Visits Quebec The Globe and Mail
Harper Defends Support for Asbestos Industry as He Battles Bloc for Seat Canadian Press
Harper Defends Asbestos Exports Despite Cancer Risks thestar.com
Canada's Prime Minister Defends Asbestos Exports Reuters News
Harper Defends his Support of Asbestos Industry, Rejects Calls for Ban April 26, 2011
“In the 2010 special ICEM newsletter on April 28, the ICEM stressed that the key to getting a global ban on asbestos lies in Canada. If Canadian support for the asbestos industry fails, then a global asbestos ban will succeed. Everyone who cares to examine the evidence by now knows that the link between all forms of asbestos (asbestosis, mesothelioma, other cancers) is irrefutable.“
“Several health organizations and unions are calling on Canada's prime minister to end his support for the export of asbestos. They are calling Canada an immoral asbestos pusher, but Stephen Harper is steadfast. The Link's Lynn Desjardins tells us about the passionate arguments being made for and against Canada's export of asbestos and what the World Health Organization says about safety.“
“In late 2007, Health Canada hired a group of researchers affiliated with the University of Ottawa to assess a health hazard it had never attempted to quantify before: how at risk were Canadians from everyday and occupational exposures to cancer-causing asbestos? The researchers scoured the country for exposure data, assembled 126 pages of it, and presented the information to Health Canada in April, 2009. Then nothing happened. Health Canada sat on the report until April, when it released a copy after a request by The Globe and Mail.”
The town of Asbestos, Quebec was the object of ridicule on one of the world's most popular comedy programs The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. They produced a segment that began with lighthearted mockery and ended with moral indignation over the town's attachment to the asbestos industry. It interviewed local officials who said chrysotile asbestos is perfectly safe if handled properly – then spoke with a Canadian Medical Association doctor who called the industry a national embarrassment.
Since the show aired, it seemed like nearly every media outlet ran a story about it; here are links to just a few:
Daily Show mocks Asbestos, Que. CBC News
Jon Stewart's popular U.S. TV show mocks Quebec town of Asbestos News 1130
Quebec town of Asbestos mocked on U.S. comedy show Ottawa Citizen
Then, in response to all of the media attention created by the episode, on May 17, 2011 there was a news release from Mr. Coulombe, president of the Jeffrey asbestos mine, stating that the segment's sole purpose earlier this month was to discredit him, and make the townsfolk appear as "ignorant imbeciles." This of course generated more media attention:
Asbestos mine owner on Daily Show: Not funny The Globe and Mail
Asbestos, Que., reacts to report on 'The Daily Show' Global
Asbestos episode a lesson in PR don'ts, expert says CTV Montreal
“Over two decades ago, when the federal government decided that it would support the continued mining and export of asbestos it signed the death certificates of literally tens of thousands of innocent people. It is hard to imagine the scale of the cold-blooded corruption involved in this exercise in deception and complicity in murder. For that is what it amounts to. Every federal and Quebec government since the time we knew with certainty that asbestos killed has been complicit in exporting disease and death to third world countries. Asbestos, including chrysotile, the kind that Canada exports (and the only kind traded today), kills over 100,000 people a year world-wide.”
Murray’s article is also available on The Vancouver Sun’s Community of Interest Site.
“Canada’s role in exporting asbestos, a known carcinogenic product no longer used in this country, and in supporting an international lobbying effort for its use, has been appalling. Even more disgraceful, Canadian authorities have tried to hide their own work at piecing together an overview of where and how Canadians were exposed to chrysotile asbestos. For more than three years, the Canadian government delayed responding to my access-to-information request on its risk-assessment work on asbestos exposure, and for nearly two years hid its own secret, internal reworking of the original commissioned research.”
“In spite of the political support of both the Quebec government and the Canadian government the asbestos industry has still not succeeded in its plan to open up the Jeffrey underground mine in the town of Asbestos and revive Quebec’s dying asbestos trade. The government has set July 1 as the deadline by which the investors have to submit their financial plan with the $20 million funds. The president of Jeffrey Mine Inc. says that he is going to India this month to meet interested investors.”
Just weeks after Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada won’t ban asbestos exports, Langley MP Mark Warawa wants to re-open the debate. Warawa, a member of Harper’s Conservative Party, said he wants to bring up the issue again. “I think we need to take a serious look at the export of asbestos,” he said. “It’s directly linked to cancer.”
A national day of action was organized by this grassroots online campaign. Citizens showed up at 24 Sussex Drive and Conservative MPs offices, dressed like construction workers, with "asbestos” (actually cotton) wrapped around a pledge for their MP to sign. The campaign's website enables Canadians to directly contact their MP and voice their concerns. This campaign was launched in early June by a group of comedians and has been promoted with a series of satirical videos. As a result, Canada's largest union, CUPE, endorsed the campaign and the NDP came out in support of all the petition's demands.
Citizens to Deliver “Asbestos” to PM’s Home & Conservative MP Offices NewsWire
Vancouver comedian finds no humour in Canada's asbestos mining practices Vancouver Sun
A coalition of Quebec environmental groups launched a campaign Tuesday aimed at stopping asbestos mining in the province. The creation of the new coalition comes the day after former federal Conservative cabinet minister Chuck Strahl called on the government to stop exporting asbestos. Strahl, who used to work as a logger, was diagnosed with lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure from equipment he worked with.
Canada has spent decades removing asbestos from schools, offices, even the Parliament buildings, yet our country continues to mine and export this deadly mineral, which the government says is safe to use, if handled properly. This argument and the continued mining and exporting of asbestos to developing countries has drawn international and domestic condemnation from health and labour groups who say the material is causing tens of thousands of deaths annually.
Here are a handful of June and July 2011 articles:
A deadly disdain for science The Vancouver Sun
Quebec asbestos shunned at home, shipped abroad The Vancouver Sun
Canada's export of asbestos slammed by NDP, health experts The Montreal Gazette
Critics decry Canadian production but industry, government says it's safe CBC News
Can asbestos be used “safely”? MacLean’s
Health Canada's asbestos advice rejected by government CBC News
UN-sanctioned group criticizes Canada on asbestos science The Globe and Mail
Canada called on carpet by ILO over asbestos Canadian Labour Congress Press Release
Canadian Government Ignores Scientific Evidence on Asbestos June 2011
The Rotterdam Convention, which Canada ratified in 2002, is aimed at promoting "shared responsibility and co-operative efforts among parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals." Its main goal is to ensure "prior informed consent" by countries that are importing hazardous chemicals, so that they can make proper policy decisions about how to handle the material safely — if they choose to handle it at all. However, the Canadian government has continued to fight to keep asbestos off of the list. They did it again; in mid-June 2011, on the verge of a consensus to list chrysotile asbestos in Annex 3, our government suddenly announced that “Canada is not in the position of supporting the listing of chrysotile asbestos in Annex 3; it is unable to do so”, thus killing the emerging consensus.
Throughout June there was considerable interest regarding this issue; here are links to some of the media coverage:
Canada protects asbestos industry despite health concerns Radio Canada International
Conservatives' asbestos stand shames Canadians The Vancouver Sun
Canada's Breathtaking Hypocrisy on Asbestos Slate
The Gazette’s View: Human cost of asbestos is not worth the jobs Montreal Gazette
Canadian government sees asbestos in shades of green? Digital Journal
Canada, A Pariah State International Ban Asbestos Secretariat
Asbestos: Canada's deadly export Global Post
Canada Slammed for Stance on Asbestos International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
Harper the last, lonely champion of asbestos Times Colonist
Canada resists adding deadly asbestos to toxics blacklist Tucson Sentinel
Harper parties with supporters in asbestos country Vancouver Sun
Canada’s toxic asbestos trade The Star
Canada admits asbestos opponents are right, Officials still oppose export limits Ottawa Citizen
With asbestos, we are the Ugly Canadians The Globe and Mail
Harper parties in asbestos central as Canada blocks dangerous-goods listing Winnipeg Free Press
Canada OK with killer asbestos cnews - Across Canada
Tory talking points on asbestos unravel across the pond Canada.com
Harper's Asbestos Support 'Crassest Form of Politics': CLC Head The Tyee
Asbestos stance is pure lunacy Langley Advance
Canada concedes science against asbestos is sound, but still opposes export limits The Gazette
Government media lines on asbestos laughable Canada.com
Canada wins battle to keep asbestos off hazardous list CBC News Politics
Canada uses “Shameful Tactics” to oppose listing of asbestos wins Cancer Culprit Award
Canada blocks asbestos from hazardous chemicals list at UN summit The Star
Canada blocks move to deem asbestos hazardous CBC News
Canada moves to block listing of asbestos as 'hazardous' Post Media News
Canada leaving dirty work to others at asbestos conference iPolitics.ca
Canada noticeably quiet at international meeting on asbestos exports Post Media News
Harper is using taxpayer cash for asbestos exports The Province
Asbestos back in the spotlight The Star
Asbestos in Developing Countries CBC Radio, The Current
Warn public on hazardous materials, says top MD Post Media News
Chuck Strahl - Asbestos should be listed in Rotterdam Convention Globe and Mail
The big deal: Should Canada defend the asbestos industry? The Star
Shut down Canada's asbestos industry: NDP CBC News
Tories refuse to say Canada's position on warning world about asbestos dangers Canadian Press
Harper government opposes listing asbestos as hazardous substance CBC The National
Canada silent on intent ahead of meeting to limit asbestos exports Post Media News
Rotterdam Convention - Canada Blocks Listing of Chrysotile Again June 2011
Listen to the Current’s documentary about a family that has been devastated by the effects of asbestos. Only Dad worked around asbestos, but what he didn't know was that every day, he came home with little bits of asbestos clinging to his clothes. The Current also talks to a doctor who treats people with cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
This audio file is of interviews with Canadians whose lives have been devastated by exposure to chrysotile asbestos, including former MP Chuck Strahl.
“Some mornings set themselves apart from any other. Anyone who's lived one will never forget the feeling of waking up with what feels like a sick, weight in the pit of their stomachs on the day their doctor will reveal whether they have tested positive for a devastating illness. Today we share the story of one of those mornings for someone we met this week, Heidi Von Palleske. And we talk to former Conservative MP Chuck Strahl about his battle with an asbestos-related cancer and his decision to part with the Conservative Government.”
“Mr. Coulombe said asbestos is like a ‘family with some bad kids’ and that chrysotile is getting an unfair rap from its more dangerous siblings. Although he conceded in some countries there may be ‘mom and pop shops that don’t do a good job’ handling his products, he denounced his critics as ‘a gang of Taliban’.”
“Gilles Morin, a popular community physician who worked for the company for 20 years before going into family medicine, agreed. ‘The rate of exposure to chrysotile fibres today is infinitesimally small,’ he said. ‘I’m fed up with being treated like an imbecile or a contract killer because I support asbestos’.”
“One of Stephen Harper’s greatest achievements during the federal election campaign was to create a sense among voters that the world admires and respects Canada, both for its political and economic stability and its principled stands on foreign policy.”
The article goes on to list all of Canada’s international failures, including the continued mining and exporting of asbestos, even though “international health organizations have begged for a ban on exports”.
“The owners of the Eternit group, the asbestos-cement enterprise with plants in Europe, Africa and South America, are charged with wilful failure to protect their employees and factory neighbors, resulting in thousands of deaths from asbestos. Specifically, the charges are wilful and deliberate environmental disaster (for pollution and the scattering of the asbestos killer fibres) and deliberate and wilful failure to implement precautions in the work place.
The Public Prosecutor’s request to increase the jail sentences to be imposed on the accused took into consideration ‘the incredible seriousness of the damaged caused’, and the serious degree of willful and direct intent; it is alleged that even though the accused were aware of the foreseeable risk of asbestos exposure, they chose not to take the preventative actions needed to safeguard the health of employees and local people.”
“NDP MP Pat Martin, who has been fighting to ban asbestos mining in Canada ever since he was elected to the House in 1997, and who has been waging a vocal battle in the House against the federal government’s controversial support for it, has his own personal asbestos story. He worked in a now closed Cassiar asbestos mine in Clinton Creek, Yukon, for two years some 35 years ago.”
“Asbestos industry says asbestos can be used safely, but critics say it's time the governing Conservatives let it die a natural death.”
“The federal government's defence and support for asbestos is "beyond reason, logic and economics," and stems from a "misguided perception of Quebec politics," says NDP MP Pat Martin, who's been fighting to ban asbestos mining ever since he was elected in 1997.”
“Very little is known about the health risks in the diamond mining industry. The objective of this study was to explore the possibility of asbestos exposure during the process of diamond mining.”
“Conclusions: These findings indicate that diamond mine workers are at risk of asbestos exposure and, thus, of developing asbestos-related diseases.”
“It was Prime Minister Stephen Harper who inspired Leah Nielsen and Stacy Cattran to take action. The sisters became angry after seeing Harper tout his government's support for the asbestos industry while campaigning this spring in Asbestos, Que., home of the Jeffrey asbestos mine.”
“The sisters hope several hundred Sarnia-Lambton residents join them on Oct. 1 for a Walk to Remember Victims of Asbestos, beginning 10 a.m. in Centennial Park. Linda Reinstein, the California-based president of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, is scheduled to attend and speak at the event.”
“Along with honouring asbestos victims like their father, the sisters say they hope the event will pressure Ottawa to stop providing millions of dollars to Quebec's asbestos industry, and stop ignoring the growing calls to end asbestos exports.”
“Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s control, Canada has gone from being a leader in global environmental and health negotiations to being an international pariah. Harper’s policies on cancer-causing asbestos and heavily climate-polluting oilsands are undermining progress on international health and climate agreements, such as the Rotterdam Convention and Kyoto Protocol. Canada’s embarrassing positions could affect the health and survival of millions of people worldwide.”
“A confidential federal memo suggests Canada's last fully functional asbestos mine is about to die, raising the prospect the controversial industry might just disappear on its own.
The Natural Resources Canada memorandum, released under the Access to Information Act, estimates that the life of Quebec's Lac d'amiante du Canada will end in early 2012.”
“I strongly support the column by Peter McKnight in which he points out that Canada and its Conservative government rightly deserve the world's opprobrium for their continuing sale of asbestos, a deadly carcinogen.
McKnight points out that, shocking though that is, it is part of a larger pattern in a government that believes ideology trumps both logic and science.”
“When I first heard that my mother had mesothelioma . . . I should have been concerned about only one thing: her welfare. Instead . . . I feared for myself. I started worrying about how my husband would dress my daughter for school. Who would help her with her math homework? How would they fare without me? I tried to make everyone more self-sufficient. My husband, my daughter, my goddaughter who lives with us. Even the cats. I found myself getting impatient if my family needed me for anything. “I might not be here forever!” I snapped.”
“Canada played a pivotal role on the world stage last month. Unfortunately, it was a destructive role that earned Canada worldwide condemnation. At the conference of the UN Rotterdam Convention in Geneva in June, Canada single-handedly prevented chrysotile asbestos from being put on the Convention’s list of hazardous substances . . . Canada refused to give any reason and refused any discussion of its position.
In spite of the political support of Premier Charest and Prime Minister Harper, it is possible that the (Canada’s) dying, bankrupt and deadly asbestos industry will, after a century of operation, finally shut down in Quebec. The global asbestos industry would then lose its most effective propagandist and the chances of winning the public health fight to stop asbestos use everywhere in the world will be increased. ”
“Our government's facetious excuse, that other countries should be responsible for regulations to protect their citizens from our poison, is the height of hypocrisy. It even contradicts the views of their own Libertarian wing, who prefer that such things not be regulated, allowing users to make their own informed decisions. Yet, is our government telling other nations to make regulations, yet refusing to give them the information they would need to make an informed choice. ”
“A Montreal company trying to revive one of the country's last remaining asbestos mines has requested another extension on a deadline set by the Quebec government. . . . The request comes as the industry faces heavy criticism from health experts and international critics, who argue that exporting asbestos to the developing world is unsafe and immoral.”
“The federal Conservative party has sent a threatening email to the widow of an asbestos victim in the latest chapter of Canada's debate over the hazardous mineral. A top Tory official is warning the woman (Michaela Keyserlingk) to stop using the party logo in an online ad campaign against the controversial industry -- a campaign she started after her husband died of an asbestos-related cancer.”
“The Quebec government will extend a financing deadline for one of Canada's last asbestos mines until the fall, giving more time for operators to restart production of the controversial mineral.”
“The consortium of international investors currently negotiating to invest in the Jeffrey Mine is very pleased that the Quebec Government has extended the deadline to finalize the purchase agreement to October 1.”
“The consortium of international investors currently negotiating to invest in the Jeffrey Mine is very pleased that the Quebec Government has extended the deadline to finalize the purchase agreement to October 1.”
“Dear Dr Leitch - As medical doctors and public health professionals, we call on you to support the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Public Health Association and the World Health Organization, who have called for a stop to the use of any asbestos in order to eliminate asbestos-related disease and death. As a medical doctor, you have a professional and ethical duty to put the protection of health ahead of any other consideration.”
“The use of asbestos building materials in developing countries results in millions of preventable cancer cases, a University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health epidemiologist reports in the coming issue of Annals of Epidemiology.”
“Michaela Kaiserlingk is a 72-year-old widow whose life changed forever when her husband got sick with mesothelioma, a terminal cancer caused by asbestos exposure. His death turned her into a fervent activist, and she now spends her retirement trying to convince Ottawa to ban the export of asbestos overseas. She argues that if the mineral is too dangerous to use in Canada, we shouldn't be exporting it to developing countries such as India.”
“An Australian news service is reporting a spike in the number of women contracting mesothelioma and they are blaming the growing popularity of do-it-yourself home renovation. Australia’s recent infatuation with home renovation is putting a growing number of homeowners – including female homeowners – at risk for mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. The group has been so concerned about the trend that it has asked the Australian government to compel home renovation television shows to display asbestos warnings.”
“Delegates to the Canadian Medical Association's general assembly voted nearly unanimously — 99 per cent — in support of a motion Wednesday opposing the federal government for contesting the international designation of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance.”
“This is an important health care issue and a product that causes significant illness — even death," Dr. Jeff Turnbull, outgoing president of the CMA, told reporters. "Canada should not be in the business of exporting such a dangerous product.”
“Robert Keyserlingk died in December 2009 of mesothelioma, a cancer usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Forty years earlier, he was a cadet in the Canadian Navy, in an era when the plumbing and wiring in naval vessels were routinely coated with asbestos.
This summer, to Mrs. Keyserlingk’s surprise and in a rather peculiar way, her continuing campaign was thrust into the limelight. The Conservative Party, which is currently governing Canada and has steadfastly supported asbestos mining, sent her a sharp notice demanding that she cease using the party’s logo on the modest Web site for her campaign. It threatened “further action” if she did not comply.”
“Most stories of death from asbestos exposure are the same, says Sandra Kinart, ‘(People) go to work, they're strong, they're healthy. And then one day they can't breath.’ The Victims of Chemical Valley (VOCV) chairperson lost her husband Blayne seven years ago to mesothelioma.
The VOCV are holding a series of events to help raise awareness about asbestos, and grow public support to condemn the Canadian government for asbestos exports to Third World Countries. The group is sending postcards to the Prime Minister, petitioning him to stop the exports.”
“Friedrich Nietzsche once said "there are no facts, only interpretations." With that in mind, let's try to discern what Prime Minister Harper is thinking with his latest embrace of Quebec's asbestos industry and its ridiculous assertion that the "safe use" of asbestos - outside of Canada, of course - is not some deadly joke on the world's poor. Some "facts." It is impossible to find a reputable, independent, peer-reviewed international medical research or workplace health and safety institution arguing that chrysotile asbestos can be used safely by humans without significant risk of cancer.”
“When the Canadian Medical Association came out raging recently against the Federal government’s export of chrysotile asbestos to countries like India and China, I felt my heart squeeze. We know. We know asbestos kills. We know we can’t have it in our buildings and we know best practices for removing it. But the Canadian Medical Association is right in condemning Canada’s export of this to developing nations. To slap a warning label on it isn’t enough. I don’t want builders in India and China – with far less stringent building codes than Canada – suffering the way my father did.”
“Objective: To determine trends in incidence of malignant mesothelioma (MM) caused by exposure to asbestos during home maintenance and renovation.”
Conclusions: MM after exposure to asbestos during home renovation is an increasing problem in WA, and these cases seem to have a shorter latency period than other types of exposure. MM cases related to renovation will probably continue to increase because of the many homes that have contained asbestos.”
“Knock on any door in Lambton County and you'll find someone who knows someone who has been affected by asbestos. That's according to Dr. Warren Teel of the Sarnia-Lambton branch of Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers.
‘It's mind-boggling," he says. "We can't – in a fully developed nation – handle it safely. And we're shipping it off without so much as a warning label.’"
“Did federal authorities, eager to project an image of a resilient, business-as-usual New York City soon after the 9/11 attacks, intentionally downplay the potential environmental health hazards in and around ground zero?
The investigative news organization ProPublica reports that documents have emerged showing that federal officials in Washington and New York went further than previously known to understate the health risks to workers in the area. Authorities, it reports, misrepresented or concealed information that might have protected thousands of people from contaminated air.”
“Just as the technique of politicians is often to fake sincerity, so the skill of the pundit is to fake intelligence. . . But what happens when pundits can’t even pretend to have a clue about what’s going on? It’s been a hallmark of Stephen Harper’s reign that we keep meeting this kind of embarrassing problem, threatening the very existence of the commentariat as a class. . . Then there’s the never-ending scandal of exporting Canadian asbestos to poor countries where it will certainly kill poor labourers. It’s an issue in which the Harper government stands virtually alone in the western world, and no one can fathom why.”
“Asbestos, in all of its forms, is no longer being used in Canada. Canada has spent the last 20 years removing the deadly substance from homes, offices, schools, hospitals and even the Parliament buildings. We do this because we know how dangerous it is. If we do not use this here, why do we think it is OK to send to others? The Canadian government is trying to say that we export a safer form of asbestos, chrysotile asbestos, and that it can be safely handled. This is untrue.”
“Several families with loved ones who are mentally ill are speaking out about what they call a decrepit, overcrowded, ineffective psychiatric facility at Vancouver General Hospital.
Asbestos worries staff - ‘The [biggest] concern is of course asbestos,’ said McGrath. She said a nurse who worked in at the old UBC hospital in the 1980s recently died from mesothelioma, a lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Although precautions have been taken to make sure staff are not exposed in the old VGH building, she said the death of a colleague makes them nervous.”
Open Letter to Dr. Leitch from Asbestos Victims
“. . . If you choose to continue to support medical misinformation and to support asbestos, we ask that you hand in your medical licence and cease being a physician, since you are in violation of the most fundamental standard required of all medical doctors: do no harm.”
Moving video of how a Nova Scotia woman and her young son, whose father/grandpa died from mesothelioma earlier this year, are fighting to stop Canada’s export of asbestos and to stop the cycle of unnecessary deaths and suffering which asbestos causes wherever it is used.
“ . . . Keith Gordon-Smith, 54, of Rochester, N.Y., [sentenced] to six years in prison late yesterday for knowingly violating the Clean Air Act and making false statements to a federal inspector. Gordon-Smith was also sentenced to serve a three year term of supervised release to follow his prison term and was ordered to pay a $1,100 special assessment. Gordon Smith’s now defunct company was sentenced to pay a special assessment of $4,400. No level of exposure to asbestos is safe, so removal by untrained workers, performed without the necessary safeguards, threatens the health of those workers and the public.
“A prominent asbestos merchant is headed to Parliament Hill as part of a broader counter-offensive to salvage the reputation of his beleaguered industry. The public-relations battle comes at a critical time. The Quebec government is considering whether to help Mr. Chadha save one of Canada's last two asbestos mines, in the town of Asbestos, with an Oct. 1 deadline looming on a decision. Mr. Chadha is now determined to dispel what he describes as myths about the contentious mineral, which he argues has been unfairly vilified by a highly organized “anti-asbestos lobby.”
The medical journal Thorax, one of the world's leading respiratory medicine journals, has just published a large, damning 37-year study of mortality among chrysotile asbestos workers in China. The authors found double or triple the mortality rate for "all causes, and all cancers in the asbestos workers, in comparison with the controls... particularly from lung cancer and non-malignant respiratory diseases, associated with exposure to chrysotile asbestos. This latest study provides yet more compelling evidence that asbestos - be it chrysotile or any other form, and regardless of how carefully or poorly it's handled - is unsafe to use anywhere in the world.
“Some of the industry’s most vocal opponents agreed to a meeting with Montreal businessman Baljit Chadha, who was in Ottawa as part of his effort to revive the reputation of the asbestos trade.
Chadha’s public-relations initiative comes as he seeks a $58-million government loan guarantee from Quebec that would help him reopen one of this country’s last two asbestos mines. The province has set Saturday as the deadline to finalize the deal that would extend the life of the Jeffrey Mine for another 20 years.
But Chadha’s meetings Monday appeared to have left industry critics unswayed”
“A year ago, over a lunch of oysters and fine wine at a posh downtown restaurant, Baljit Chadha held himself out as the potential saviour of Quebec’s faltering asbestos industry. This week, he plans to deliver.
Days before a provincial government deadline this Saturday to find private funding for the Mine Jeffrey in Asbestos, Que., the wealthy and well-connected Montreal businessman says he has “letters of intent” from unnamed investors in three different countries – enough to breathe new life into an export trade critics decry for causing death.”
“Sarnia has high levels of asbestos related disease. They don't want their legacy repeated in developing countries who receive Canadian asbestos. Chantale De Paepe is getting married this Saturday. Her day is packed with hair, makeup, and a memorial asbestos walk. Her dad, Vince, died of mesothelioma this summer. . . A candlelit vigil and walk already planned for Saturday has taken on new meaning with Chadha’s looming investment. . . Chadha will be waiting to hear from the Quebec government about his investment. He says a decision might not happen for a while.”
“Anti-asbestos activists in Malaysia and Canada say a global asbestos lobby group has hired the Washington based APCO Worldwide public relations company to persuade the Malaysian government not to ban chrysotile asbestos.
She said APCO brought Dr. David Bernstein, a Switzerland-based toxicologist who has produced studies on smoking funded by the tobacco industry as well as studies on chrysotile asbestos funded by the asbestos industry, to Malaysia to persuade the government the product can be used safely.”
“After years of keeping a low profile, the president of Balcorp Ltd. and lead proponent of the Jeffrey mine expansion, Baljit Chadha, has recently been giving media interviews and requesting meetings with some of his most vocal critics, including NDP MP Patrick Martin, the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Cancer Society.”
“Mr. Chadha said he has letters of intent from unnamed investors in three countries to put up the equity. He is scheduled to make his case before department officials this week. A final decision is expected as early as next week.
Despite the significant opposition to asbestos mining from the medical community and prominent political leaders who charge the cancer-causing mineral can’t be used without causing harm, Quebec has historically supported the industry and its two asbestos mines.”
“Highly paid insurance executives fighting a legal battle to limit compensation to the families of thousands of asbestos-related cancer victims are being rewarded with lucrative bonuses.
The insurers were criticised yesterday for taking home bumper pay packets and bonuses while refusing to pay out to families whose relatives have died from the disease.
“NOTE THE CONCLUSION: As a practical recommendation, Asian countries should look to ban asbestos as soon as possible, minimize exposure and ratify the ILO convention. No matter what is done, however, a surge of asbestos-related diseases in Asia should be anticipated in the coming decades. Asian countries, therefore, should not only cease asbestos use but also prepare for an impending epidemic.”
“World trade unions are calling on the leaders of the Commonwealth nations to put pressure on Canada to put an end to its deadly trade in asbestos. . . The leaders of the Commonwealth nations cannot sit back and let one of its members play God with the lives of so many.”
“Dear Minister Aglukkaq [Minister of Health] . . . The latest figures from Statistics Canada show that, since we made our appeal to you on December 1, 2009, the number of new cases of mesothelioma – a deadly disease known only to be caused by asbestos – has increased by 10%. We are witnessing a relentless rise in the number of cases of mesothelioma. Over the past fifteen years the number of new cases has almost doubled from 276 cases in 1992 to 512 cases in 2007. These are shocking statistics. Each of those cases represents heartbreak and suffering for the person with mesothelioma and their family.”
“The key player in Canada’s role as global defender of the asbestos industry is the Chrysotile Institute, formerly the Asbestos Institute. Created in 1986 by the Canadian and Quebec governments and the asbestos industry with the specific aim of marketing asbestos to developing countries, it has received around $50 million, mostly from the two governments, and also from the asbestos industry.
“An arrest warrant has been issued for a Metro Vancouver man accused of knowingly exposing his workers to asbestos without protection. . . Evidence presented in the Supreme Court case included an instruction Moore gave his young workers to “run” if WorkSafeBC inspectors visited a job site. . . The court also heard that most of Moore’s workers were under 18, some as young as 14.”
“Last month, a paper in the Medical Journal of Australia revealed that home renovators are growing casualties among the more than 700 Australians diagnosed with deadly mesothelioma each year. "For both men and women, home renovators now constitute the largest proportion of all non-occupational cases," the researchers (from the University of Western Australia and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital) noted.”
“Baljit Chadha, the entrepreneur behind Quebec’s controversial asbestos exports, has earned a rare public rebuke from an official with the World Health Organization for distorting its position on the safety of the carcinogenic product.”
“Montreal businessman, Baljit S. Chadha, has exported asbestos from Québec to Asia for the past 16 years. He is seeking to open a new asbestos mine in Québec to export vast more quantities of asbestos. . . Mr. Chadha’s conduct is unworthy of someone who has been honoured by the APFC as a Distinguished Fellow. It brings the Foundation into disrepute.
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL to APFC President, Yuen Pau Woo, president@asiapacific.ca, and Chairman, John H. McArthur, jmc@hbs.edu, and ask them to repudiate Mr. Chadha’s conduct as not meeting the standards expected from a person appointed as a Distinguished Fellow and revoke the honour. “
“It went almost unnoticed this week. But I'm not letting it slip by. It's reprehensible, unconscionable, immoral and indefensible. It's a national disgrace. If you think the riots in Vancouver made Canada look bad, well, this is immeasurably worse.
The federal NDP tabled an Opposition Day motion this week calling on the government to ban the export of asbestos and support adding it to an international list of hazardous materials. The Conservatives, of course, voted it down, again. The Conservatives love asbestos, a deadly carcinogen.”
“So, when it came time Tuesday night to stand in favour or against an NDP motion to ban the export of asbestos, five Tory MPs decided to remain in their seats. Their abstentions came after voting with their government to scrap the long-gun registry. The asbestos abstainers are: Pat Davidson (Sarnia-Lambton), Royal Galipeau (Ottawa-Orleans), Jim Hillyer (Lethbridge), Ed Holder (London West) and James Rajotte (Edmonton-Leduc).”
“But who is exposed to Asbestos any way? It is neither the rich, nor the middle class nor the political class of India. It is the average poor man or in other words the dalit whose "welfare"is the subject & livelihood of many internationalist organizations. Not only does the poverty stricken laborer works with raw asbestos but since asbestos stays dormant in the lungs for 50 years, the laborer has a guarantee of disease as he ages. Talk about retirement plans of the poor.”
“MPs became embroiled in a heated debate about Canada's support for the asbestos industry after the NDP tabled an opposition day motion calling on the Conservative government to ban the use and export of the highly carcinogenic substance abroad, support international efforts to add chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention's list of hazardous chemicals and develop a transition plan for workers and affected communities in the asbestos mining industry.”
“Here's the text of the motion by MP Claude Gravelle.
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) ban the use and export of asbestos; (b) support international efforts to add chrysotile asbestos to the list of hazardous chemical products under the Rotterdam Convention; (c) assist affected workers by developing a Just Transition Plan with measures to accommodate their re-entry into the workforce; (d) introduce measures dedicated to affected older workers, through the employment insurance program, to assure them of a decent standard of living until retirement; and, (e) support communities and municipalities in asbestos producing regions through an investment fund for regional economic diversification.“
“A few families have banded together with other asbestos critics in a campaign they hope will sway the government of Quebec not to approve a $58-million loan guarantee for the Jeffrey Mine, located in the town of Asbestos. Beyond their immediate goal of ending support for the mine, the families said Friday they're calling for the government to ban asbestos outright.”
“When Dr. Turcotte was asked how much money the health care system spent on patients affected by asbestos exposure, he replied: ‘The real costs are those who are suffered by the victims, those that lead to the premature death of a loved one.’ Asbestos has already buried too many miners; how many more must suffer the consequences of bad economics and stupid politics? It’s time for Concordia to take a stand and decide if it wants to be seen in the same light as someone who’s been blamed for ‘exporting death to India.’”
“France is intensifying its fight against asbestos with new legislation that will reduce dramatically the allowable levels of exposure in the workplace.”
Note that the permitted occupational exposure level to asbestos in France is presently 0.1 f/cc. This is ten times more rigorous than the standard promoted by the Quebec & Canadian governments, namely 1 f/cc. Next year, France will make its standard 10 time more rigorous again – 0.01 f/cc, which will be one hundred times more rigorous than the standard in effect under Quebec and federal government regulations.
“The rise in the number of natural disaster means we cannot consider bonded asbestos ss safe anymore, cancer experts in Perth said in the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting. The increase in the incidence of floods, earthquakes, cyclones and bushfires have put Australians at a significantly higher risk of asbestos-related diseases, according to submissions to the Asbestos Management Review.”
“London, UK: Leading asbestos campaigner John Flanagan launched a stinging attack on ex-ministers, businesses and insurance firms which he accused of playing a part in the deaths of thousands of workers.
He said that big business had lobbied government to block new health and safety rules after World War II.”
“A growing number of Conservative MPs are questioning their government's position on the export of asbestos, with a group of them independently summoning industry experts to a meeting on Parliament Hill last week. . . British Columbia MP Mark Warawa, who has expressed his concerns about asbestos in the past, organized the meeting. He said in an interview that he is simply looking for more facts.”
“Canada's once-mighty asbestos sector has ground to a halt for the first time in 130 years, as production of the controversial fibre has stalled in both of the country's mines. A shutdown this month marked a historic milestone for the Canadian asbestos industry, which at one time dominated world production and led to the construction of entire towns in Canada.
“Canadian exports of asbestos to India won't be examined as part of an environmental assessment recently launched in connection with the Canada-India free trade talks, say experts—and that has some calling on the government to widen its scope.”
“It is estimated that 3,000 people have died from asbestos related disease and as a consequence of Eternit’s activities,” Castleman said in an interview with Corporate Crime Reporter last week. “This includes Italians who worked in the Eternit plant in Switzerland.”
“Heidi von Palleske and her daughter, Cavanagh Matmor, 11, of Cobourg, Ont., travelled to Parliament Hill November 24, 2011 to plead with the Conservative government to end its support of the asbestos industry. von Palleskeí’s parents both died of mesothelioma. Her father was exposed at a Toronto factory, where he handled asbestos from the Jeffrey mine in Quebec. He carried “fairy dust” home on his clothing, exposing his family.”
Two and a half minute video clip - CBC's John Lancaster discusses a renewed push to permanently shut down the asbestos industry in Canada.
“Perhaps the latest renovations of Parliament Hill will get the government to reconsider its support for Quebec's asbestos industry – about 1,000 metric tonnes of the harmful mineral have been removed from the West Block and Wellington Building since August.”
“A group of scientists and anti-asbestos campaigners are demanding the prestigious Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada disavow pro-asbestos statements made by a former foundation fellow, Baljit Chadha.
In recent letters penned to the foundation, human rights lawyer Kathleen Ruff and a group of prominent scientists slammed Chadha's support of Canada's export trade in chrysotile asbestos.”
“On 28 November, a Belgian court sentenced Eternit to pay 250,000 euros in compensation to the family of an environmental victim of asbestos. The court ruled that Eternit was at fault by continuing to use asbestos and minimising the dangers it posed, even though it was known that it could cause serious illnesses. This is a landmark case in Belgium, where the few victims to have brought cases so far had always lost.
“The AMWU has demanded Canada end the export of asbestos to developing countries, during a rare meeting with the country’s Consular-General Mario Ste-Marie, in Sydney last Friday.
“Canada sees itself as a progressive country but its commitment to humanitarian principles stops at its borders when it comes to making a buck of out asbestos”.
“We already dump hundreds of thousands of tons of asbestos each year into developing nations – and now we want to make it easier for asbestos magnates to do so?” said MP Pat Martin, who’s from Manitoba. “This is deplorable and Canadians need to let their government know they will not put up with this any longer.”
“Dear Mr. Versailles,
As a public relations agent, hired by Baljit S. Chadha, you are paid to promote the financial interests of Mr. Chadha in exporting asbestos. This clearly represents a conflict of interest. In addition, while you may have many skills as a public relations agent, you have no scientific credibility. As you know, there is not a single reputable scientific organisation that supports your claim that chrysotile asbestos is being safely used in Quebec and in countries, such as India, Vietnam and Bangladesh, where Mr Chadha has exported it for the past sixteen or so years.”
An asbestos-removal contractor who ignored orders from both WorkSafeBC and the B.C. Supreme Court to stop exposing "vulnerable" workers to asbestos will be sentenced Jan. 23 for contempt of court.
Workers' Compensation Board lawyer Scott Nielsen told Justice Richard Goepel that Moore "contrary to the court's order exposed workers as young as 14 to a life threatening substance."
“If you are determined to keep exporting asbestos, along with the deadly misinformation that it will not cause harm, then I ask that you resign from the boards of the Canadian Red Cross, St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and the McGill University Health Centre, since your role as an asbestos trader is causing harm to health overseas and directly conflicts with the goals and values of these organisations.”
The Official Opposition has learned that the Harper government is trying to eliminate trade tariffs on exports of lethal Canadian asbestos to India. “It is a disgrace that the Harper government has opposed the global effort to ban this substance,” said Official Opposition International Trade critic Brian Masse (Windsor West). “Now we find out Conservatives are actually attempting to expand Canadian asbestos sales to the developing world. This represents another sad chapter for the Harper government.”
“Roshi Chadha is a member of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Red Cross. She is also an asbestos exporter. Since 1981, she has been an executive of Seja Trade Ltd., a Montreal company that has for years been exporting asbestos from the open-pit Jeffrey asbestos mine in Quebec to India.
“When Leah Nielsen's father was dying of mesothelioma – an asbestos-related cancer – she got a great deal of support and supplies from Sarnia's branch of the Canadian Red Cross. So when Nielsen . . . was researching Canadian asbestos exporters Roshi Chadha and her husband Baljit, imagine her surprise when she discovered that Chadha sits on the organisation's board of directors.
To add your voice to those requesting that Chandra be removed from the Red Cross Board email Samuel Schwisberg at samuel.schwisberg@redcross.ca .
“Baljit Chadha isn't planning a trip to Sarnia anytime soon.
The president of Mineral Fibre Inc, who is looking for government loans to reopen an asbestos mine in Jeffery, Quebec, was invited to Sarnia by Mayor Mike Bradley. The mayor hoped to show him the damage asbestos has caused to many Chemical Valley workers who were exposed to it.”
“These last two asbestos mines [Jeffrey and Thetford] were facing financial and environmental disasters. Both were forced to seek bankruptcy protection several years ago, slashing wages and pensions. From being the world’s biggest exporter of asbestos, the asbestos industry represented only 0.1 per cent of Quebec exports in 2010. By 2011, after 130 years, Quebec asbestos mining finally stopped altogether. Other asbestos mines in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Ontario closed years ago.”
Tribute to Courageous Asbestos Victim Who Challenged Quebec Gvt to Stop Exporting Asbestos
“Rachel Lee, a Korean asbestos victim, came to Quebec in December 2010 as a member of the Asia-Quebec Solidarity delegation to ask that Quebec stop exporting asbestos. Her one desire was to save others from dying from asbestos. Rachel herself died from mesothelioma yesterday.”
Appeal to Quebec Minister Clement Gignac: Honour Appeal Made to You by Korean Asbestos Victim
“Dear Minister Gignac: On December 9, 2010, you met Ms. Rachel Lee in the National Assembly. Ms. Lee was suffering from cancer caused by asbestos (mesothelioma). She was part of the Asia-Quebec Solidarity Delegation. She came to Quebec to request that your government not fund the re-opening of the Jeffrey mine and stop exporting asbestos. We wish to inform you that Ms. Lee died of mesothelioma yesterday.”
Tribute to Courageous Asbestos Victim & Appeal to Quebec Minister RightOnCanada Dec 22 ’11
