Quebec and Canadian governments end their historic support of the asbestos industry

Abstract

Quebec’s asbestos mines have operated for 130 years and made Quebec a world leader in export of asbestos over the past century. Even though the scientific evidence was overwhelming that use of asbestos was causing epidemics of asbestos-related diseases and death, the Quebec and Canadian governments continued to give the asbestos industry unquestioning financial and political backing. This legitimization of the asbestos trade by the Quebec and Canadian governments had disastrous repercussions around the world. Canada was more than a major asbestos exporter; it played a key strategic role as leading propagandist in denying the scientific evidence and in arguing for continuation of the global asbestos trade. As industrialized countries recognized the deadly health effects of asbestos and ceased to be customers, Canada successfully targeted developing countries as a source of new markets for asbestos sales. As a consequence, world asbestos sales have stayed steady at around 2 million tons of asbestos a year for the past two decades. 1–3 Canada created and aggressively promoted the marketing message that chrysotile asbestos, unlike other forms of asbestos, poses virtually no threat to health. Lobbyists, funded by the Quebec and Canadian governments and the asbestos industry, circled the world, bearing the Canadian flag, claiming that chrysotile asbestos could be, and was being, used under ‘safe, controlled conditions’, and was an excellent product for developing countries. Due to its credibility and expertise on the world stage, Canada succeeded in playing a pivotal albeit malignant role at United Nations (UN) gatherings, helping to defeat efforts of health experts to end or restrict use of asbestos. Canada has, for example, blocked the listing of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance under the UN Rotterdam Convention for over a decade, thus allowing its continuing global trade without even minimal safety restrictions.