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Unions protest Canadian Government's refusal to ban asbestos

The World Today - Tuesday, 5 October - Australian unions are expanding their global anti-asbestos campaign, this time targeting Canada, which continues to export asbestos products.

Karen Percy reports.

(Sound of protesters chanting "What do we want? End asbestos. When do we want it? Now.")

KAREN PERCY: Members of the CFMEU gathered outside the Canadian High Commission in Canberra this morning, to draw attention to Canada's continued mining and manufacturing of asbestos products.

The Union's John Sutton.

JOHN SUTTON: The Canadian Government has a deplorable attitude on the question of the production and export of asbestos products, and we find it unbelievable in this day and age that an advanced country like Canada could have such a bad attitude.

KAREN PERCY: Canada is the world's second largest exporter of asbestos, behind Russia. While export levels have fallen in recent years, Canada still sends about 240,000 tonnes of white asbestos every year to mostly poor countries

The CFMEU wants to stop that in light of Canada's refusal to sign on to the Rotterdam convention, which is designed to stop countries from dumping toxic materials in developing nations.

John Sutton again.

JOHN SUTTON: It's the poor, impoverished people of third world countries that are being asked to build homes out of this deadly product, and building workers in Africa and Asia are being asked to use these deadly products, and thereby jeopardise their own health.

KAREN PERCY: The Canadian Government defends its industry.

Andre le May is a spokesman on international trade. He's speaking from Ottawa.

ANDRE LE MAY: Used under controlled conditions, this particular kind of fibre poses no risk to human health. We have made sure that any country importing this type of asbestos is fully aware of the impact of its compositions.

KAREN PERCY: But Andre le May admits that once the product leaves Canada, it's hard to ensure that it's dealt with properly.

ANDRE LE MAY: As you say, there is no guarantee that we can do this in every single case, but again, one would have to wonder if a company – whether it's an Asian or Latin American country – would import this particular product, why would it not respect the safety conditions that have been explicitly explained to them while they are using and applying this particular product?

KAREN PERCY: For the CFMEU, that's an unacceptable risk.

John Sutton.

JOHN SUTTON: I completely reject that. All the scientific evidence is that asbestos is an absolutely deadly product, the most minute amount of asbestos can cause cancer. For the Canadians to hang on to some notion that it doesn't affect them or they're immune from it is quite wrong, and it's all driven by profits and the economic greed of certain Canadian corporations.

KAREN PERCY: The Canadian Government says asbestos mining and manufacturing is an important industry, worth about $100 million annually.

Andre le May again.

ANDRE LE MAY: Well, it's an industry such as any other kind of industry, it's not as important as overall agriculture, as fisheries, as softwood lumber for instance. But nonetheless, it remains an industry, and it's an industry that employs many, many people.

KAREN PERCY: More importantly, it's about jobs in the province of Quebec, where industries, especially in small towns, can be hard to come by. The CFMEU is set to lobby its Canadian counterparts to put pressure on the Canadian Government and asbestos producing companies.

JOHN SUTTON: I think there'll be lots of people in Canada and abroad who, over the years, have to hold these Canadian corporations and the Canadian Government accountable, because the scientific and medical evidence on these issues has been around for 30 years now, it's just… there is no, there's just no justifiable reason to continue to produce these products in this day and age.

ELEANOR HALL: John Sutton from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

After enlisting the help of Dutch unions and politicians to help pressure the James Hardie to meet its asbestos obligations here in Australia, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is putting pressure on the government of Canada to ban asbestos.

A protest was held outside the Canadian High Commission in Canberra this morning, as the first step in a campaign that will also target Canadian mining firms which are exporting asbestos and asbestos products to developing nations.