Today, the House of Commons will debate a New Democrat motion to ban the use and export of asbestos.
No doubt the Harper Conservatives will get up again to extol the “safe uses” of asbestos, regardless of how many times health experts have debunked that defence. But if Conservatives continue to ignore warnings from the opposition and independent experts, maybe they’ll listen to some of their colleagues, past and present:
When will Stephen Harper and his cabinet agree?
No doubt the Harper Conservatives will get up again to extol the “safe uses” of asbestos, regardless of how many times health experts have debunked that defence. But if Conservatives continue to ignore warnings from the opposition and independent experts, maybe they’ll listen to some of their colleagues, past and present:
“The doctors tell me that the cancer I was diagnosed with six years ago and collapsed my lung was certainly caused by exposure to asbestos. Miraculously and thankfully, my cancer hasn't grown and I'm symptom-free. Most guys that get diagnosed are dead in six to 12 months... By listing chrysotile in the Rotterdam Convention as a product that deserves to be handled carefully and with proper warnings, safe use is more likely to occur. Workers from all countries will be grateful for that notification - if not today, then a generation from now.”
– Former Conservative Cabinet Minister Chuck Strahl, Editorial, Globe and Mail, June 19, 2011
“I'm definitely not supporting the mining or exporting of asbestos. I don't think anyone in Sarnia- Lambton does. Hopefully there can be a lot more people that will not support it... (Raitt) had a great deal of sympathy for the issue as it applies to our riding... She is certainly bringing the issue forward to the cabinet level for more discussion. I'm just waiting to hear back where this issue is going.”
– Pat Davidson, MP, Sarnia Observer, August 22, 2009
"I'm really concerned about it... I mean, here we are, we're ripping it out of our walls in Ottawa and yet we're still manufacturing it. Now we're sending something that is unsafe to Third World countries that don't have the ability or the resources to put the safety practices in."Even Conservatives know it’s wrong to export cancer causing substances to the developing world.
– former Conservative MP Dona Cadman, Canwest News Service, August 27, 2009
When will Stephen Harper and his cabinet agree?
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