Mr. Speaker, I stand today to introduce a petition signed by literally thousands of Canadians from all across Canada who call upon Parliament to recognize and take note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known.
In fact, they point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other industrial occupational causes combined and yet, they point out, Canada continues to spend millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use.
Therefore, these petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to ban asbestos in all of its forms and institute a just transition program for asbestos workers and the communities in which they live. They also call upon the government to end all government subsidies of asbestos, both in Canada and abroad.
They call upon government to stop using its international foreign missions and embassies to host trade junkets promoting and pushing asbestos internationally, and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam convention.