Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by literally thousands of Canadians from right across the country.
The petitioners bring to the attention of Parliament that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer the world has ever known, yet Canada remains one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world. They point out that last year more people died from asbestos than from all other industrial causes combined, and that Canada allows the exporting of 200,000 tonnes of asbestos per year into third world and underdeveloped nations. They also point out that Canada spends millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and even blocks international efforts to curb its use by other countries.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all its forms, to institute a just transition program for asbestos workers, to end all government subsidies with respect to asbestos, and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions which protect workers in other countries, such as the Rotterdam convention.