Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity to introduce a petition signed by literally tens of thousands of Canadians, who call upon Parliament and the House of Commons here assembled to take note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known.
The petitioners further point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other industrial and occupational causes combined. They point out that Canada has not banned asbestos and still allows it to be used in construction materials, textile products, and, shockingly, even in children's toys.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all of its forms, end all government subsidies to 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.