The fight to end the asbestos industry in Canada rages on. Canada no longer uses asbestos, as we now know how deadly this mineral is (it is the number one occupational killer in Canada), but we are number one in the western world for exporting it to developing nations. And even though national and international health agencies (such as the World Health Organization, Canadian Cancer Society, Health Canada expert panel, and Canadian Medical Association) have concluded that Canadian asbestos is a potent carcinogen, which can’t be used safely, the Quebec and Canadian governments still bow to the pressure of the asbestos lobby and continue to support the industry.
Ban Asbestos - The Fight to End Canada’s Asbestos Industry
Last up dated July 4, 2011
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Disclaimer
RightOnCanada is an internet and public advocacy campaign of the Rideau Institute to put human rights back on Canada’s political agenda. The Rideau Institute is an independent research, advocacy and consulting group based in Ottawa. It helps non-profit organizations to meet their policy goals, and it provides research, analysis and commentary on public policy issues to decision makers, opinion leaders and the public. RightOnCanada provides valuable information and advocacy tools that support citizen action, including information on the asbestos issue.
LINK: Asbestos Issues Posted on RightOnCanada.ca
Please go to the link below to send Prime Minister Stephen Harper your message regarding the government’s plan to give $250,000 of taxpayers' money to the Chrysotile Institute (a registered lobby group for the asbestos industry).
LINK: Take Action: End Public Funding for the Asbestos Lobby
RightOnCanada — Public Advocacy Campaign
The Rideau Institute is an independent research, advocacy and consulting group based in Ottawa. It helps non-profit organizations to meet their policy goals, and it provides research, analysis and commentary on public policy issues to decision makers, opinion leaders and the public.
“Exporting Harm” by Kathleen Ruff is part of the Rideau Institute’s library. Exporting Harm provides information regarding how Canada markets asbestos to the developing world.
A large number of organizations, including Australian unions, attended the Asia Regional Conference on Asbestos held in Jakarta. On August 4, 2010 the participants released a statement urging Canada to stop exporting Chrysotile to Asia.
CANADA –STOP EXPORTING CHRYSOTILE TO ASIA - “Canada portrays itself as a defender of Human Rights, while continuing to export deadly chrysotile asbestos to Asia”
In 2008 the Canadian government refused to sign the UN Rotterdam Convention declaring chrysotile asbestos a hazardous material. Canada is the only G8 country still mining and selling asbestos, and is number one in the western world for exporting chrysotile asbestos to developing nations. The Canadian government spent millions to remove asbestos from our Parliament buildings, but for developing nations our government both promotes and earns tax income on exporting Canadian asbestos to unprotected, uneducated and, moreover, unsuspecting victims.
This website collects examples of leading national and international, scientific and popular opinions calling on the Canadian government to stop mining and exporting chrysotile asbestos to developing nations.
Asbestos Industry in the News
According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 107 000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis resulting from occupational exposure. WHO, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and with other intergovernmental organizations and civil society, works with countries towards elimination of asbestos-related diseases.
The Collegium Ramazzini is comprised of 180 scientific experts in occupational and environmental health from 34 countries. The letter to Premier Charest requests that the government not finance the Jeffrey mine - “I urgently implore you to . . . prevent the unnecessary increase of asbestos related diseases in future generations in Asia.”
Ban Asbestos Canada (BAC) is a non-profit, volunteer-run, civil society organization seeking to provide just compensation to those affected by asbestos, establish a national registry of asbestos diseases, and provide a just transition to those still working in the asbestos industry. BAC is dedicated to banning all types of asbestos world-wide.
The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), established in 2000, provides a conduit for the exchange of information between groups and individuals working to achieve a global asbestos ban and seeking to alleviate the damage caused by widespread asbestos use.
We endeavour to provide links to beneficial information related to the fight to end the asbestos industry in Canada. However, the links to information listed on this page are provided as resource information only. We have not vetted this information, nor do we endorse the opinions expressed. Please properly vet all information that you obtain online and read all website disclaimers.
ADAO was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure. ADAO is an independent global organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases through education, advocacy and community.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists collaborated with the BBC's International News Services to document the asbestos industry’s activities in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Russia, and the United States. Dangers in the Dust: Inside the Global Asbestos Trade, reveals close relationships among the industry, governments and scientists, and cites predictions from health experts that new epidemics of asbestos-related disease will emerge in the coming decades. Some experts believe that by 2030, asbestos will have taken as many as 10 million lives around the world.
On Tuesday April 26, Prime Minister Harper held an election rally in the town of Asbestos, Quebec (population of approximately 7,000 in a country of 33 million) for the second time in an effort to win the riding by presenting himself as the most dedicated promoter of the asbestos trade. Attached is an open letter to Harper, prepared by the Rideau Institute and sent on behalf unions and environmental organizations in Quebec and the rest of Canada, denouncing Harper’s policy of promoting asbestos, denying science and putting politics above human lives.
The Asbestos Street Fighters street art competition aims to bring together various street artists and anti-asbestos activists across the Philippines to propagate information regarding the dangers of Asbestos to human health. This initiative is part of the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development commemoration of Workers Memorial Day 2011.
Checkout our Media Links page for some recent asbestos-related media stories, including lots of links to articles about the 2011 Rotterdam Convention and Canada’s unforgivable move to lock the listing of chrysotile asbestos.
Check out our Graphics, Videos and Audio Files page for links to documentaries, media clips and audio files.
