Prevent Cancer Now » Letter to the Prime Minister on Asbestos

To:	Prime Minister Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca), Minister Aglukkaq ( Aglukkaq.L@parl.gc.ca)
CC:	Michael Ignatieff (IgnatM@parl.gc.ca), Gilles Duceppe (DucepG@parl.gc.ca), Jack Layton (LaytoJ@parl.gc.ca); Elizabeth May (leader@greenparty.ca)
Subject:	Your continued support for the asbestos industry

Message:

Dear Prime Minister Harper and Minister Aglukkaq:

As Canada's leaders, you have a special duty to protect public health, a duty which overrides all other considerations.

Exposure to asbestos is the single biggest cause of worker death across Canada. From workers' compensation statistics, it is estimated that over 60% of Canadian workers who die from an occupational disease, die from having been exposed to asbestos.[1] In Quebec this year, 84% of deaths from occupational disease were caused by asbestos.[2] There are almost four new cases of asbestos-caused disease every day of the year, and the rates are growing each year.

It is inconceivable that in the face of this terrible, continuing and preventable public health tragedy in our country, that you, as Prime Minister and Minister of Health, would reject the call by the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Labour Congress, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the 43 organizations and health professionals that signed a letter to Minister Aglukkaq on December 1, 2009, to end the use and export of all forms of asbestos.

This group of respected health and environmental organizations is calling upon the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health to respect the indisputable scientific evidence and end the use of all forms of asbestos. Our government also has a responsibility to ensure that fair compensation is provided to all people across Canada with asbestos-related disease. To protect future generations, it must support the safe removal of asbestos from buildings, including schools and hospitals. Finally, the government must correct the erroneous information on its websites and initiate a public information campaign on the continuing risks posed by all forms of asbestos, as other countries are doing.

Innocent, hard-working employees deserve that much from you.

[1] Five Deaths a Day: Workplace Fatalities in Canada, 1993-2005, Sharpe A & Hardt J, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, December 2009
[2] Confederation des syndicats nationaux, October 18, 2009, http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2009/18/c7806.html

Sincerely,

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