Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by thousands of Canadians.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to take note of the fact that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer the world has ever known. In fact, more people now die from asbestos than all other industrial diseases combined. Over 80% of all the industrial diseases and deaths in the province of Quebec are due to asbestos. 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.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to ban asbestos in all of its forms, to end all government subsidies to 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.