Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of thousands of Canadians who point out to Parliament 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, and that Canada spends millions subsidizing the asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all its forms and institute a just transition program for asbestos workers and the communities in which they live, 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.