Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from literally thousands of Canadians from right across the country who call upon the House of Commons to recognize that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer the world has ever known and yet Canada remains one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world. They also point out that Canada spends millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and also blocking international efforts to curb its use.
Therefore, these thousands of petitioners from all across the country call upon the Government of Canada to ban asbestos in all its forms and institute a just transition program for asbestos workers; to end all government subsidies of asbestos, both in Canada and abroad; and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.