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Now is the time for decisive action towards an asbestos free Canada

By: Alec Farquhar – Coordinator, Asbestos Free Canada

In the post-war period, hundreds of thousands of workers were ASEA is an agency of the Australian National Government. It is
exposed to asbestos, reaching an all-time high in the 1970s. now entering its second year of a five-year plan, which supports
Today, an estimated 2,000 - 5,000 Canadians die annually of Australia’s 30-year strategy to eliminate asbestos. ASEA has
asbestos-related disease, including over 600 deaths from also developed its strategy in a federal government system very
mesothelioma, the dreaded cancer linked almost exclusively with similar to that of Canada, which makes the Australian experience
asbestos exposure. Many building trades workers have lost particularly valuable to us.
numerous workmates, some have lost family members to
What needs to be in the Canadian strategy?
asbestos-related disease. The issue of asbestos is vital to
Canada's Building Trades Unions. 1. Documentation
• Document all locations where asbestos is present, and its
The CBTU, its affiliates and members have campaigned for
condition, as well as exposed people and their health
decades for a ban on asbestos. In May of 2010, your whole
conditions
convention marched through Ottawa, carrying black coffins which
we deposited on Parliament Hill. I will always remember the 2. Safe and effective elimination of asbestos
powerful impact that you made when you laid those coffins down
• Develop a long-term strategy to remove asbestos from our
in a solemn statement about the human cost of asbestos in
built environment and broader environment (for example, the
Canada and around the world. Then it was at your convention in
tailings from mining operations, management and disposal of
May 2016, that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an historic
materials containing asbestos), starting with buildings or
commitment to ban asbestos. On December 30, 2018, after 130
environments where asbestos is in poor condition and most
years as a leading asbestos mining country, Canada finally
likely to cause harm.
banned its use, import and export.
• Ensure the protection of workers and the public during the
Now the door is open for Canada to develop a comprehensive
removal of asbestos. This includes adoption by the federal
strategy to address the legacy of asbestos in our buildings,
government of the “ALARA” principle (already accepted in BC).
infrastructure and environment and to deal with the many health
This means that asbestos exposure should be “as low as is
issues that will be with us for years to come. We can take
reasonably achievable”. This would recognize that there is no
inspiration from other countries' experiences in eliminating the
safe level of asbestos exposure. The federal government
impact of asbestos on people and the environment. The most
should also require that any federally funded asbestos related
successful efforts have taken place in countries with
projects be carried out subject to its own asbestos exposure
comprehensive strategies, coordinated by a transparent and
limit of 0,1 fibre/cc.
accountable institutional framework. The European Union has a
lot to teach us, but the most impressive example is the • Give a mandate to the agency to work in collaboration with the
Australian Agency for Asbestos Safety and Eradication (ASEA). provinces and territories with the aim of adoption of the ALARA
https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/ principle in their legislation. In the short term (1-2 years) the
objective would be to implement the widely accepted exposure
limit of 0.1 fibre/cc. Following this, in the medium term (a
maximum of 7 years), to reduce the exposure limit further to
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