Mr. Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to attend the International Conference on Chrysotile organized by the Chrysotile Institute.
I wish to congratulate the chairman of the institute, Mr. Clément Godbout, for organizing this event which set the record straight on the use of chrysotile fibre by reviewing the most recent research on this subject.
The Conservative government confirmed that it supports the safe use of chrysotile in Canada and around the world. However, action to this effect is not forthcoming.
It should turn to the recommendations contained in a unanimous report of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment, tabled in the House of Commons by the Bloc Québécois, which states that the Government of Canada must adopt a national policy on chrysotile that will provide information about and promote this product as well its safe use, undertake a comparative study of the hazards of replacement fibres for chrysotile, carry out a national and international public awareness campaign promoting the safe use of chrysotile, and promote the use of chrysotile in its own infrastructure.
That is what has to be done to help in a tangible way an industry that employs several hundred people in the mines of the Asbestos and Thetford Mines region.