On May 31, thanks to the efforts of the Bloc Québécois, the Subcommittee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investments heard witnesses from the Thetford and Asbestos Mouvement ProChrysotile.
A number of developments have been supportive of the use of chrysotile: International Labour Organization Convention 162, the Quebec policy on the use of chrysotile, the Rotterdam convention, and recent studies on biopersistence.
The second report of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investments, which was tabled in this House on June 17, and unanimously accepted, recommended that the Government of Canada: develop a national chrysotile policy based on the research, promotion and safe use of this product; conduct a comparative study on the “hazardous nature” of replacement fibres and chrysotile; and organize a public education campaign on chrysotile and, in so doing, promote the safe use of this product domestically and internationally and encourage its own use of chrysotile asbestos.