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The Building and Wood Workers International oppose asbestos in India. And so should you.

A number of newspaper articles were written over the issue of asbestos exports from Quebec on February 17th, and we have highlighed them below. It was a particularly important time for our movement, as the provincial government decided to ignore opposition requests to investigate the dangers of exporting the substance to developing countries.

Reports point to the hero of the motion- Amir Khadir- who argued that the issue be further investigated, and was supported by the Parti Quebecois for bringing up the issue. Khadir had concerns over Canada’s image because it is unwilling to use asbestos domestically (due to strict standards over the cancerous material), but is willing to send it abroad for other countries to use.

The issue is one of controversy in Quebec- this asbestos mine is Canada’s last. Of course, the other controversy is that the mining and export of the dangerous substance creates jobs.

To read more, follow the links below:

1. Quebec Liberals rebuff effort to probe asbestos exports
   (Globe and Mail, February 17, 2010)
2. Liberals shoot down opposition request to explore risks of exporting asbestos
   (Winnipeg Free Press, February 17, 2010)
3. Exportation d’amiante – Les libéraux refusent de débattre
   (radio-canada.ca, le 17 février 2010)
4. Les libéraux refusent de débattre sur l’amiante
   (La Presse Canadienne, le 17 février 2010)
5. Khadir veut un débat sur l’amiante
   (Le Soleil, le 17 février 2010)
6. Gestion de l’amiante: Québec solidaire veut remettre la question à l’ordre du jour parlementaire, Comuniqué, Québec Solidaire
   (Portail Quebec, le 17 février 2010)
7. Amiante chrysotile: des propos accablants pour le Canada
   (La Presse, le 17 février 2010)

Photo: bwint.org

Another great piece in the Montreal Gazette from last week, written by Michelle Lalonde. The article refers to the letter sent by a group of 14 Canadian physicians that accused Premier Jean Charest of misinformation about the dangers of asbestos.

A group of 14 Canadian physicians, including McGill University’s Abby Lippman and Dick Menzies of the Montreal Chest Institute, sent a letter to Charest yesterday expressing their “shock” at his statements and accusing him of misrepresenting the position of the World Health Organization.

“Premier Charest, you have the right to oppose the WHO position. However, and especially because of the public trust in your position, you do not have the right to misrepresent the WHO position as being what you perhaps wish it were, instead of what it is,” the letter says.

Read the full piece by clicking on this link, or by clicking the “more” link. (more…)

For immediate release: February 10, 2010
RightOnCanada: www.rightoncanada.ca

Read here / Lire ici: Letter to Premier Charest, Feb 10 2010

Quebec Premier Charest challenged by scientists for supporting the science on climate change, but not on asbestos

While Premier Charest is in Vancouver attending the Olympics, a number of scientists and health advocates have issued him a challenge for supporting the science on climate change but not the science on asbestos.

“We are shocked by your statement that your government closed its mind on the asbestos question a long time ago and will not change its position,” Dr Kapil Khatter, President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, told Charest.

“Premier Charest, a closed mind is a very dangerous thing, particularly in a political leader,” say the scientists in their letter, sent to Charest today.

The signers agree with Charest’s statement that, politically, asbestos is part of Quebec’s history. They say this does not, however, justify use of asbestos and note that “It is dangerous to substitute politics for science.”

The letter is signed by Prof. Abby Lippman of McGill University, on behalf of scientists from five other universities and health advocates.

“Our question is: why does Premier Charest refuse to listen to his own Quebec experts at his government’s  National Public Health Institute, who oppose his position on asbestos,” said Dr Fernand Turcotte, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Medicine at Laval University and one of the signers. “On what basis does Premier Charest reject the position of the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Cancer Society, who say asbestos use must end?”

“Instead of supporting independent science, Premier Charest is supporting the position of the asbestos lobby group (the Chrysotile Institute),” said Kathleen Ruff of the Rideau Institute. “On Jan. 28, this Institute, which is funded by the Quebec and Canadian governments, put out a press release calling the position of the Canadian Medical Association to ban asbestos “wacko.” It boggles the mind that Premier Charest and Prime Minister Harper are giving tax-payer funds to this industry lobby group and allowing it to set their asbestos policy.”

The group asked to meet with Charest and asked that, if he had been misquoted, he issue a corrected statement of his position on asbestos.

- 30 -

Dr Fernand Turcotte
Kathleen Ruff
Dr Kapil Khatter

Read here / Lire ici: Letter to Premier Charest, Feb 10 2010

Media coverage of the protests that have happened in India surrounding Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s visit – click on the title to listen or read.

1. CBC Radio – As It Happens
(CBC Radio, Tuesday Feburary 9, 2010)

The CBC radio program, As It Happens, interviewed Anup Srivastava of the Building and Woodworkers International, who helped organize the demonstration against Quebec’s asbestos export when Charest was in Delhi.

The introduction for the piece provided a bit of background information on the issue and on Anup Srivastava:

“What is too dangerous for us, is just fine for them.

Asbestos is both a dirty word and a dirty secret here in Canada. The once-ubiquitous construction material has more or less disappeared as a consumer commodity and for good reason: it’s made up of countless microscopic fibres. Those fibres make their way into the lungs of the people who work with the stuff. And that, as we all know, can lead to serious diseases like lung cancer. Hence the severe regulations in most developed nations, including Canada.

However, that concern doesn’t seem to extent to developing countries. Canada — mainly Quebec — exports over four-hundred million dollars worth of asbestos to India each year, where it is largely unregulated.

This was the focus of a protest earlier this week held in Delhi, by several groups representing Indian construction workers. They were hoping to get the attention of Quebec Premier Jean Charest who was in town, attending a conference on sustainable development.”

2.  L’embarras de Jean Charest en Inde
(Cyberpresse, le 09 février 2010)

This analysis of Charest’s trade mission in India by Denis Lessard, one of the Quebec journalists who accompanied Charest, tells how the appeal from the workers in India resonated in Quebec. Here’s one comment in the piece -

“We are used to troops of Quebec humanitarian workers who disembark in hot parts of the world to come to the help of populations in difficulty. And the look given by these Indian workers is very disturbing, especially when they accuse of hypocrisy a Quebec which, while selling asbestos in poor countries, takes care not to use it itself, very aware of the danger.”

On est habitué aux bataillons de travailleurs humanitaires québécois qui débarquent dans les points chauds pour venir en aide aux populations en difficulté. Aussi, le regard de ces ouvriers indiens est-il bien dérangeant, surtout quand ils accusent «d’hypocrisie» un Québec qui, tout en vendant de l’amiante aux pays pauvres, se garde bien d’en utiliser chez lui, très conscient du danger

3. Canada still exports asbestos, but mostly for Third World construction
(Daily Gleaner, Fredericton, February 9th, 2010)

4. Controversy over asbestos exports continues to dog Quebec premier in India
(Canadian Press, February 6, 2010)

5. La maison de verre
(Journal l’Action, André Nadeau, February 6, 2010)

6. Asbestos worries dog Charest: Indian groups call on Quebec to halt exports
(Toronto Star, February 8, 2010)

There is a great one minute CP video CP on the web about Charest, the protest by the workers in India handling Quebec asbestos and the WHO

Watch the video here

Premier Charest has indicated to Quebec media that WHO documents support his position that chrysotile asbestos can be safely used. They do not.

The WHO, infact, recommends ending the use of chrysotile asbestos (which represents 100% of the global asbestos trade) and other forms of asbestso (no longer traded) as the most effective way to end asbestos-related deaths in the world.

In other words, the WHO recommends that use of chrysotile asbestos end. The industry keeps trying to scam the media on this and succeeded in getting the environmental reporter for La Presse to issue a retraction stating that the WHO position represents the view of just a couple of individuals and is not the WHO official position. This is not true. It is the official WHO position.

We have asked Premier Charest to retract the misinformation and to issue a corrected statement. People are dying because of the industry’s misinformation that asbestos can be safely used, as the scientific study on Mexican workers dying from Quebec asbestos shows.