Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by literally thousands of Canadians who call upon Parliament to recognize 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.
Canada spends millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use. Therefore, the petitions call upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all of its forms and to end all government subsidies of the asbestos industry, 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.