OTTAWA - Canada has long been criticized by numerous world leaders because of the nation's shameful, large-scale production and exportation of asbestos-a well known cancer-causing substance. In a statement issued in early April, Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff said he unequivocally favored a ban on Canada's export of extremely toxic asbestos to developing countries that are known to have a lax attitude about protecting the health of its citizens.
"I'm probably walking right off the cliff into some unexpected public policy bog of which I'm unaware, " Ignatieff stated, "but if asbestos is bad for parliamentarians in the parliament of Canada, it just has to be bad for everyone else. Our export of this dangerous product overseas has got to stop."
All well and good, and Ignatieff had been widely praised by numerous environmentalist groups for his comments, but, during a discussion with reporters last week, the liberal politician seemed to backtrack on his calling for a nationwide ban on the exportation of asbestos by saying, "We have 60 years of experience with this product. What I said in answer to a question is that we have an obligation to international agreements to the countries that we export to, to make them aware of the risks. That's all I said."
Others would disagree. Kathleen Ruff, who is a senior advisor on the subject of international human rights for the Ottawa-based think-tank Rideau Institute, has a different interpretation of Ignatieff's latest statements on the subject of asbestos. "I knew he would be under pressure to retract what he said, but that's an out-and-out lie," said Ruff. It should be noted that the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Cancer Society have both advocated tirelessly on behalf of a complete ban on Canada's export of asbestos.
Asbestos was once an extremely popular material that had been embraced by countless industries worldwide. The material can be mined in abundance from below ground deposits or extracted from exposed rock formations that can be located in nations around the globe. Asbestos is relatively inexpensive, nearly fireproof, has a high tensile strength, resists damage from harsh chemical corrosives, and has superior insulating qualities. For all these reasons and more, asbestos found its way into a wide variety of products from building materials to hair curlers to home appliances to talcum powder.
In the early 1970s, health researchers confirmed the fact that asbestos posed a dire threat to the health of those individuals who inhaled microscopic, airborne asbestos fibers. These oftentimes needle-like fibers become permanently lodged in soft lung tissues where they can, up to 50 years later, cause serious respiratory disease such as asbestosis and the far more dreaded cancer killer known as malignant pleural mesothelioma. Because asbestos poses such a significant threat to human health, Canada's continued export of the toxic substance is deemed by many to be "inexcusable."
Canadian occupational health agency studies have concluded that exposures to asbestos accounted for approximately 60 percent of all work related deaths in the country in 2005. In spite of these dramatic numbers, Canada remains one of the world's largest producers of asbestos, all of it coming from a single asbestos mine in Quebec. Approximately 90 percent of the asbestos that comes from the Quebec mine is exported to developing nations where it's typically used in a variety of cement-based products.
To further defend Ignatieff's retraction of his earlier endorsement of a ban on asbestos exports, a spokesman for the politician said, "We've long known about the risks of asbestos, and we have a duty to warn countries that we export to about these risks and work to end any practices that put health at risk, at home or abroad." Ignatieff's critics dismissed the spokesperson's comments and vow to continue to fight Canada's asbestos export policies.
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