All forms of asbestos cause cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society has long called for all levels of Canadian government to adopt a comprehensive strategy addressing all aspects of asbestos.
We worked to make asbestos an election issue during the Quebec provincial election in summer 2012, and 3 out of 4 major parties promised to oppose the asbestos industry, if elected.
In September 2012, the newly elected provincial government in Quebec cancelled a loan guarantee to the asbestos industry. As a result of this action, the federal government announced it would no longer oppose including chrysotile asbestos in the Rotterdam Convention’s list of hazardous substances.
Moving forward
The Society is urging the federal government to adopt a comprehensive strategy to address all aspects of the asbestos issue, including:
- immediately setting a clear timetable for phasing out the use and export of asbestos
- implementing a national surveillance system to track health outcomes of people who have been exposed to asbestos
- creating a public registry of buildings that contain asbestos
- providing transition support for affected communities
- including chrysotile on the Rotterdam Convention’s Prior Informed Consent list