Mr. Speaker, I have signatures from hundreds of Canadians from all over Newfoundland and Labrador who remind the House of Commons that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known and yet Canada continues to be one of the world's largest producers and exporters of asbestos.
They point out that Canada allows asbestos in construction materials, textiles and even in children's toys, and that Canada spends millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all its forms, to introduce a just transition program for asbestos workers and the communities in which they live in, and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.