Canada to ban use of asbestos by 2018
Posted December 15, 2016 11:50 am.
Last Updated December 15, 2016 11:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, ON. (NEWS 1130) – The federal government is moving to ban all products containing asbestos by 2018. The comprehensive ban is designed to include construction materials and brake pads that currently use the cancer-causing agent.
Even tiny amounts of asbestos fibres can cause lung cancer or deadly mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer. “Multiple stakeholders have called for a ban, including health advocacy groups and unions,” says Federal Science Minister Kirsty Duncan.
The announcement personally affects Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff. “Working as a mechanic in my 20s and 30s, I was exposed to asbestos. I don’t know yet if I’m one of the unlucky ones. What I do know is there are far too many workers who have been exposed and don’t even know it.”
Thousands of Canadians continue to suffer from the long-term impacts of decades of heavy asbestos use. Canada closed its last asbestos mines a decade ago, but has continued to obstruct international efforts to list it as a hazardous substance.
Duncan says that stance will change in the next Rotterdam Convention.
