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Asbestos victims object to Quebec mine plans
CBC News Posted: Nov 4, 2011 12:29 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 4, 2011 5:33 PM ET Read 75 comments75
Families of asbestos victims spoke out against an investor's imminent plan to re-open a Quebec asbestos mine.
The families invited the lead investor, Baljit Chadha, to visit Sarnia, Ont. to meet with asbestos disease victims and their relatives.
The Quebec government is expected to make a decision within a few weeks whether to extend loan guarantees to the asbestos investors to allow them to re-open the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Que.
The mine investors are proposing to export asbestos from Jeffrey to the developing world, particularly India, a major buyer of Canadian asbestos.
Shelly Kehoe's father lived only three weeks after being diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos cancer.
"Within that short period of time, I watched my father go from a robust, healthy strong vibrant man in his community to a shrivelled corpse," Kehoe said.
The families held a news conference in Toronto on Friday to express their opposition to asbestos mining.
Sarnia's mayor, Mike Bradley, joined the families in inviting Chadha to come to Sarnia to meet victims and to visit the city’s waterfront memorial to those who died from workplace exposure to asbestos.
"This community knows the legacy that has been left here from exposure to asbestos and a brave, strong group of citizens, who has suffered directly and indirectly, are determine that no one else around the world will suffer from exposure to asbestos," Bradley wrote in an open letter to Chadha.
"The question I put to you, Sir, is we know the legacy that asbestos has left here. What legacy on your reputation and your family’s reputation do you want to leave?"
Bradley first invited Chadha in a letter last month.
The group also called for an assistance plan for those in the asbestos mining industry to make the transition to other employment, Bradley said.
Chadha is president of Balcorp Inc. In January, Balcorp spokesman Guy Versailles said it's in the Quebec government's interest to promote safe asbestos use.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...e-protest.html
Canada's Ugly Secret
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | 10:52 AM ET
About this Report
Mellissa Fung investigates how Canada's overseas asbestos sales may be breathing new life into a dying domestic industry, but may also be making exposed workers sick.
Quebec Asbestos Mine
On Tuesday, June 29, 2010, Mellissa Fung reports on the proposed opening of a new asbestos mine in Quebec, a move that the Canadian Cancer Society says would contribute to a global epidemic of asbestos-related cancers that claims 90,000 lives every year worldwide.
Canada's Ugly Secret
For decades, Canadians have known how dangerous asbestos can be. It can cause severe respiratory problems, even lung cancer, which is why there isn't much of a market for Canadian asbestos here at home. But there is in India, where it's used with practically no safety regulations, and without warnings that it can be deadly. So why is Canada the last developed nation to still sell such a dangerous substance? Mellissa Fung files this report on Canada's ugly secret.
This documentary originally aired on June 10, 2009.
go to the link to watch video http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indept...-asbestos.html
CBC News Posted: Nov 4, 2011 12:29 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 4, 2011 5:33 PM ET Read 75 comments75
Families of asbestos victims spoke out against an investor's imminent plan to re-open a Quebec asbestos mine.
The families invited the lead investor, Baljit Chadha, to visit Sarnia, Ont. to meet with asbestos disease victims and their relatives.
The Quebec government is expected to make a decision within a few weeks whether to extend loan guarantees to the asbestos investors to allow them to re-open the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Que.
The mine investors are proposing to export asbestos from Jeffrey to the developing world, particularly India, a major buyer of Canadian asbestos.
Shelly Kehoe's father lived only three weeks after being diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos cancer.
"Within that short period of time, I watched my father go from a robust, healthy strong vibrant man in his community to a shrivelled corpse," Kehoe said.
The families held a news conference in Toronto on Friday to express their opposition to asbestos mining.
Sarnia's mayor, Mike Bradley, joined the families in inviting Chadha to come to Sarnia to meet victims and to visit the city’s waterfront memorial to those who died from workplace exposure to asbestos.
"This community knows the legacy that has been left here from exposure to asbestos and a brave, strong group of citizens, who has suffered directly and indirectly, are determine that no one else around the world will suffer from exposure to asbestos," Bradley wrote in an open letter to Chadha.
"The question I put to you, Sir, is we know the legacy that asbestos has left here. What legacy on your reputation and your family’s reputation do you want to leave?"
Bradley first invited Chadha in a letter last month.
The group also called for an assistance plan for those in the asbestos mining industry to make the transition to other employment, Bradley said.
Chadha is president of Balcorp Inc. In January, Balcorp spokesman Guy Versailles said it's in the Quebec government's interest to promote safe asbestos use.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...e-protest.html
Canada's Ugly Secret
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | 10:52 AM ET
About this Report
Mellissa Fung investigates how Canada's overseas asbestos sales may be breathing new life into a dying domestic industry, but may also be making exposed workers sick.
Quebec Asbestos Mine
On Tuesday, June 29, 2010, Mellissa Fung reports on the proposed opening of a new asbestos mine in Quebec, a move that the Canadian Cancer Society says would contribute to a global epidemic of asbestos-related cancers that claims 90,000 lives every year worldwide.
Canada's Ugly Secret
For decades, Canadians have known how dangerous asbestos can be. It can cause severe respiratory problems, even lung cancer, which is why there isn't much of a market for Canadian asbestos here at home. But there is in India, where it's used with practically no safety regulations, and without warnings that it can be deadly. So why is Canada the last developed nation to still sell such a dangerous substance? Mellissa Fung files this report on Canada's ugly secret.
This documentary originally aired on June 10, 2009.
go to the link to watch video http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/indept...-asbestos.html
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