A Shameful Legacy

During the dark years of the Harper administrations, Canadians became almost inured to the lengths it would go while promoting its neo-liberal agenda. The extolment of free trade, the promotion of tar sands development, the sneering dismissal of all environmental and climate-change concerns were what we came to expect from a government that was committed to servicing the corporate agenda at the expense of the people.

Then came the victory of the Trudeau-led Liberals, and all of us reveled in and breathed deeply of the liberated air that was all about us. But, as time passes, we are seeing that that air is not quite as pure as we had initially hoped.

Promises made are now being temporized. One of the most shameful instances of this is this government's continued importation of asbestos, the deadly mineral whose use the previous government staunchly defended until the last asbestos mines in Quebec closed in 2011.

It would seem amazing that in 2016, our country as yet has refused to ban the product, even though 55 countries, including Australia and Britain, have done so.

Canadian asbestos imports are on the rise. Despite international consensus that the carcinogen should be added to the United Nations’ list of hazardous materials, Canada is among the few countries to oppose the move.

The promise of change in the swearing in of the Trudeau government last fall is giving way to a far less attractive reality. Consider, for example, the hopeful rhetoric from earlier this year, when

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada was at last “moving to ban asbestos” because “its impact on workers far outweighs any benefits that it might provide.” This welcome promise prompted fanfare from health advocates and vulnerable workers who know all too well how devastating that impact can be.

The reality is looking less rosy:

Asked for an update by the Globe and Mail earlier this month, the Prime Minister’s Office hedged. Ottawa is “reviewing its strategy on asbestos, including a potential ban,” the spokesperson wrote.

One need not have a nuanced understanding of the English language to see the difference.

More troubling still, at recent UN meetings the federal government has again expressed doubt that so-called chrysotile asbestos should be covered under the Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty on hazardous materials. Its rationale? “It has not been proven that chrysotile asbestos causes cancer.”

Or consider what Gerry Caplan recently wrote about the experience of Katherine Ruff, Canada’s most prominent and knowledgeable advocate for a ban on all asbestos, who says,

“My experience with the current government is worse than what I experienced with the former Harper government.”

Repeated attempts by Ruff to get a meeting with Health Minister Jane Philpott or Environment Minister Catherine McKenna have met with no success. According to her, these

add up to a "lack of transparency, lack of democracy and lack of respect...in trying to communicate with the government over the past eight months, which is the opposite to what Prime Minister Trudeau promised."

Ruff's fuller consideration of the failure of the 'new' government to act on asbestos can be read in an op-ed she wrote in The Ottawa Citizen.

All of these disquieting signs echo the intransigent Harper cabal that so many of us so earnestly worked to dispose of.

I am growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for real change. May the passing of time prove my fears ill-founded.

Stephen Harper: Merry Christmas And Bah, Humbug!

My fellow Canadians,

If the above doesn't not warm the cockles of your Christmas hearts, please check out these, a small portion of this year's 'gifts':

Something for your digestive consideration.

Something for the greenie on your seasonal list.

And, for those workers both domestic and foreign, one of my perennial favourites.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. ;)

If you still need an infusion of seasonal spirit, click here for a special treat that will leave you demanding more.

On Sporadic Blogging And Willful Ignorance

We are hosting our dear friends from Cuba for about the next week, so depending on our sight-seeing schedule, my blogging may not be quite as regular as usual. But then again, I am an early riser, so perhaps nothing will change. Here is something I prepared the other day to save for this fine Sunday:

If there is information that you could know and you should know but somehow manage not to know, the law deems that you are willfully blind, that you have chosen not to know. - Margaret Heffernan

This video applies to all of us, whether government, company, or individual. It is well-worth the less than 15 minutes it takes to view.

A Suggestion For Kellie Leitch - UPDATE

She may be a lost cause, but I have a suggestion for Harper enthusiast/Simcoe Grey Conservative M.P. Kellie Leitch, about whom I have written previously on this blog. The former medical doctor turned defender of the indefensible, who is one of a series of rotating trained seals spokespeople for her dear leader, would be well-advised to read this letter about speaking truth to power from Lee Gold of Toronto:


Re: MP Brent Rathgeber leaves Conservative fold over lack of accountability, June 7

I thought we would never see the day when a member of the so-called Conservative party spoke truth to power. Finally, someone within Harper's own party could no longer stand the status quo.

Finally, someone within this big, diverse country objected to the dictatorship of the man at the top. A prime minister's job is to represent Canadians, all of them, and not just himself and narrow business interests.

To do that you have to listen and let people speak. But Stephen Harper does not. Diverse voices are not heard even within his own caucus. The only voices he hears are holdovers from the ruinous Mike Harris years in Ontario. Everyone else is silenced.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Brent Rathgeber for finally naming what the rest of us have seen so clearly. But, of course, it gets coverage and has more credibility when it comes from within.

Let's hope the other “trained seals” step out of their comfort zones, stick up for their country and desert the current dictatorship.



UPDATE: I see Ms. Leitch continued to show her party fealty today, as she 'addressed' concerns levelled by Mark Eyking, the Liberal MP for Sydney-Victoria, that the federal government is denying the E.I. appeals of fishermen in Bay St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia.

The Harper Government's Legacy of Death

Checking my blog archive, I found that I have written a total of 22 posts on asbestos. Here is number 23.

Two years ago, Canada was the sole nation to oppose adding chrysotile asbestos to the list of hazardous products under the Rotterdam Convention. Such a listing would not have banned the export of the deadly substance, but would have required proper labelling and explicit instructions as to its safe handling. Such labelling would have enabled

developing countries — where asbestos and most hazardous substances are shipped nowadays — to be informed of the dangers. They thus have the right to refuse the product or, at least, have a better chance of protecting their population from harm.

At the time, the Harperites hypocritically insisted that it was a safe substance (even though, of course, it is listed in Canada as a hazardous substance) if handled properly, but then prevented the possibility of safe handling by preventing its inclusion under Annex 111 of the Rotterdam Convention.

The government's rationale for its immoral act was both chilling and mercenary:

"This government will not put Canadian industry in a position where it is discriminated against in a market where sale is permitted," Harper said.

As reported in today's Star, this week the Rotterdam Convention will meet in Geneva, and this time, when the vote is called to place chysotile asbestos on the convention’s list of hazardous substances, Canada will not oppose it.

Has the Harper government experienced an epiphany? Hardly. Since the Parti Quebecois cancelled a $58 million loan to Canada’s last asbestos mine, the Jeffrey Mine, it will not reopen, effectively ending Canada's export of death and disease. It is noteworthy, however, that the Harper regime will be graceless and petty to the end. Instead of voting to add chrysotile to the list of hazardous materials, it will remain silent.

Not that it really will make any difference one way or the other. Unlike two years ago, when Canada was single-handedly responsible for the substance's exclusion from Annex 111, this year Russia, the world’s biggest asbestos exporter, and Zimbabwe, attending for the first time and eager to reopen its asbestos mines and resume asbestos exports, will play the spoiler roles in preventing its proper labelling.

So Canada must bear the exclusive responsibility for the ongoing suffering, disease and death that is chrysotile's legacy. While I'm sure Harper and his many disciples will not lose any sleep over this ugly and immoral truth, those of us with any semblance of humanity just might.

Harper's Conservatives: As Classless As Ever

Yesterday I wrote a brief post about the federal government's decision to stop defending the export of asbestos from Quebec, not on the basis of morality, but political expediency, as the newly-elected Parti Quebecois stands opposed to it.

A story in this morning's Star reveals that, as ever, the Harper regime is both as graceless and incapable of admitting error as ever. In reference to newly-elected Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, Federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis had this to say:

“Mrs. Marois’ decision to prohibit chrysotile mining in Quebec will have a negative impact on the future prosperity of the area."

Paradis said he did not want to spend any time debating the issue when his constituents are out of a job, but he made sure to remind everyone that it was Marois who had moved to finally end the dying industry.

“Our region will have to live with the consequences of Mrs. Marois’ decision, but we will continue to work together on the economic development of the community,” Paradis said.

So there we have it. No acknowledgement that maybe there is a greater good to be served than parochial politics in the decision to stop exporting death.

Just a continuation of the politics of division and derision, something the Harperites have repeatedly proven their adeptness at.

So we are left to ponder a crucial question: Is this really the kind of government that best serves the aspirations and ideals and interests of Canadians?

Canada's Export of Death to Cease

The Harper government is throwing in the towel on Quebec’s internationally-maligned asbestos industry now that the Parti Québécois is poised to take power and prohibit extraction of the cancer-causing mineral.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis said Canada will stop defending asbestos mining in international circles and no longer oppose adding chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention, a global list of hazardous substances.

This report, carried in the Globe, is yet another searing commentary on the banality of evil infusing our federal 'masters.' Despite numerous past appeals to stop this indefensible export of death, the Harper government was unmoved by moral considerations and now is simply yielding to political expediency.

Definitely not something to be proud of.

An Easy Way To Gauge The Moral Fiber Of Canadian Politicians

Ask them for their stand on the indefensible export of asbestos.

Asbestos Redux

Canada continues to be an outlier amongst Western nations as the sole exporter of death, aka asbestos, a topic that I have written about many times on this blog. The federal government continues to perpetuate the lie that the highly carcinogenic substance is safe if handled properly, despite the fact that the Harper regime vetoed an international proposal last year that would have made labeling and safety instructions mandatory.

Now, aided and abetted by that criminally negligence federal stance, Quebec's Premier Jean Charest has given a $58 million lifeline to continue mining this lethal export.

The Star has a good editorial today excoriating this measure. I hope you will read it and keep the issue alive this summer should you encounter your Tory M.P. lurking about the constituency.

An Update On Canada's Export Of Death (Asbestos)

While I have written many posts on Canada's indefensible export of asbestos to third-world nations, I am pleased to report that the latest news seems to suggest that this hideous and immoral practice could soon be coming to an end.

Despite the ardent and ongoing efforts of the Harper regime and Quebec premier Jean Charest, which include a $58 million loan guarantee to the mines, Gerald Caplan reports that the other $25 million required in private investment money is not materializing, probably due to widespread, indeed, worldwide, public exposure of this odious export.

You can read the full story here.

The Globe and Mail Reports on Asbestos

I have written many times on one of Canada's biggest shames, the export of asbestos, something of grave concern to all right-thinking Canadians. It is therefore gratifying to see that, despite what I regard as the failed leadership of editor-in-chief John Stackhouse, The Globe and Mail recently devoted some resources to the issue. Entitled Canada's chronic asbestos problem, the article, by John Gary and Stephanie Nolen, is well-worth perusal for those concerned about our country's immoral practice.

Canada Continues to Export Death

The NDP motion read as follows:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) ban the use and export of asbestos; (b) support international efforts to add chrysotile asbestos to the list of hazardous chemical products under the Rotterdam Convention; (c) assist affected workers by developing a Just Transition Plan with measures to accommodate their re-entry into the workforce; (d) introduce measures dedicated to affected older workers, through the employment insurance program, to assure them of a decent standard of living until retirement; and (e) support communities and municipalities in asbestos producing regions through an investment fund for regional economic diversification.

Predictably, the Harper-led Conservative majority defeated the motion, with a final vote of 152-123. No report on how Conservative M.P Dr. Kellie Leitch voted, but my guess is with her government.

The immorality continues; Canada continues to kill in our name.

An Avaaz Asbestos Petition To Premier Charest

Canada's ongoing and unconscionable export of asbestos to developing countries continues to be a source of moral outrage to millions, not just in Canada but throughout much of the world. I have written many posts on the subject, always recognizing that my efforts are puny and will not result in any change in practice by a government that seems guided only by business imperatives that exist in a moral vacuum.

I am therefore heartened to see Avaaz now circulating a petition to try to persuade Quebec Premier Jean Charest to do the right thing on this issue. Please take a moment to read the full text below and consider signing the petition::

Dear friends Across Canada,

In two days, Quebec could give a $58 million loan guarantee to an asbestos mine -- allowing it to continue pumping out poison for export around the world. But our call now to keep public money out of poisonous mines could force Quebec's Premier to back off the deal.

Asbestos kills over 100,000 people every year and is practically banned in Canada, but Quebec Premier Charest continues to finance its extraction and export to countries like India -- poisoning the world's most vulnerable citizens. The cancer corporations who own these mines have run out of funds and banks wont lend to them without the backing of Quebec's government. Charest is on the verge of agreeing to help out, but our public money shouldn't be on the hook for a poisonous mine. By shining a light on this dirty deal, we can force Charest to back off the loan guarantee and close the asbestos mine for good.

Let's make sure cancer-causing asbestos is not a national export. Join in the call to end public finance of this poisonous mine. When we reach 50,000 signers we will deliver the petition directly to Charest. Sign below and forward to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/canada_causes_cancer/?vl

Asbestos reserves in the Jeffrey Mine (located in Asbestos, Quebec) are dwindling and their cancer consortium needs financial backing from the Quebec government to unlock a new massive underground reserve that will let it produce its poison for another 50 years. If the Charest government agrees to help finance this project, over 200 million tonnes of asbestos will be unlocked, mined and exported, causing illness and death in countries like India -- the worlds largest importer of Canadian asbestos.

Asbestos is practically banned for use in Canada. It is so hazardous that it can only be used if no part of the substance is ever exposed to the open air. Federal politicians are currently spending $863 million to renovate and remove asbestos from Parliament’s West Block, yet its extraction and export to developing countries remains legal.Canadians only used 6,000 tonnes of the poisonous material in 2006. Still, we exported 153,000 tonnes of asbestos in 2009.

The asbestos lobby claims that Quebec’s financial support will help create 500 jobs. By signing this petition we can help save hundreds of thousands of lives by cutting off the funding needed to mine this deadly product. Sign this petition and tell Charest that Canadians from all provinces are against the mining and export of cancer-causing asbestos.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/canada_causes_cancer/?vl

Avaaz members just won a major victory when we came together and urged the Ontario government to review the Highland Companies' mining application in Ontario that would have poisoned the province's water supply. Today we can stand united again and urge the Quebec government to immediately stop funding the asbestos industry and save millions of lives.

With hope,

Emma, Ari, Alice, Ricken, Shibayan, Morgan, and the entire Avaaz team

Sources:

Meet Quebec's "Mr. Asbestos"


Canada's Breathtaking Hypocrisy on Asbestos


"Yes, we have the $25-million," Quebec firm says of asbestos plan


Asbestos Critics Refuse to be Converted After Meeting With Industry Power House

Support the Avaaz Community!


We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way.


Avaaz.org is a 9-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

What is Mesothelioma? A Question I Am Sure The Harpur Government Well Knows The Answer To

Think of Stephen Harper and his minions when you watch this video. He and his government are directly responsible for cases of this dread disease in developing countries such as India.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

A Reminder to My MP

I am a great believer in holding our politicians to account. Even though they may prove to be ultimately meaningless gestures, letters to our elected representatives at the very least remind them that their opposition is not simply going to give up and accept the atrocities they commit in our names.

The following is the latest letter I sent to my Member of Parliament, David Sweet:

Dear Mr. Sweet,

Given your government’s refusal to end the export of asbestos, and given the fact that your government was the sole nation to oppose the labeling of asbestos as a toxic substance under Annex 111 of the Rotterdam Convention which would have required the inclusion of explicit instructions in the handling of this deadly material, perhaps you can prevail upon your leader to include the following with all subsequent shipments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jifoNSXvTuQ

At the very least, the inhabitants of countries like India should know the future that awaits them, thanks to your government’s insistence on elevating economics over morality and human decency.

Sincerely,
Lorne Warwick

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Lest We Forget Those Who Die For Canada's Economy

Although the following video was made to protect B.C. workers, perhaps it could be included as a warning to all the unprotected workers who are exposed to the asbestos that Stephen Harper refuses to stop exporting to countries such as India, insisting that it is safe if handled properly, conveniently ignoring the fact that he has also obstructed any labeling of asbestos as a toxic material.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

My New Anti-Asbestos T-Shirt

Obsessed and outraged as I am over the Harper government's ongoing sowing of death and disease through the export of asbestos to countries such as India, and inspired by the example of Michaela Keyserlingk in her efforts to promote a ban, despite the Conservative threat of a lawsuit against her, the other day I looked into how I could get a t-shirt sporting the anti-asbestos banners incorporating the Conservative Party logo that have sprung up in the blogosphere.

I found a company that allows you to design your own t-shirt by simply uploading the desired imagery, placing it virtually as you want it to appear on the shirt, and then ordering the end result. I am pleased with how mine turned out, as the photos below demonstrate:

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Asbestos and Politics - The Plight Of Dr. Kellie Leitch

The other day I posted my response to my M.P. on the Canadian export of asbestos, questioning how a man such as he, committed to Christian principles, can really consider himself doing God's work by condemning to suffering and death those working unsafely with our export in developing countries.

As reported in The Toronto Star, a similar moral conflict has been exposed in an open letter signed by 250 doctors and public health professionals to Dr. Kellie Leitch, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon elected last spring as a Conservative Member of Parliament.

As reported in the article,

The letter writers say Leitch has a duty to influence her Conservative colleagues to pull the plug on a sector they say will spread deadly disease in poorer countries.

“We understand that doing the right thing may run counter to your political interests,” reads the letter from Canadian and international signatories as well as more than 20 organizations.

Reminding Dr. Leitch that she has a moral and professional obligation to live by the tenets of the Hippocratic oath, the letter continues,

“However, your ethical code of conduct as a medical doctor requires that you put the protection of health ahead of personal advantage, no matter what the circumstance.”

The Tories have long maintained that Canada’s chrysotile asbestos is safe when handled properly.

But the letter’s signatories, including physicians from prestigious universities such as Harvard and Columbia, argue there are no regulations in poorer countries to protect people from the harmful effects of the hazardous substance.

Perhaps an indication of whether politics will prevail over morality is suggested by the fact that Dr. Leitch was unavailable for comment, her office referring all questions on the matter to The Minister of Natural Resources.

Is This a 'Goodbye Charlie Brown' Moment?

Those with long enough memories will recall a famous confrontation that took place in 1986 between Brian Mulroney, then just nine months into his mandate, and Solange Denis, a senior citizen defiant in her resolve to hold the Prime Minister to account.

At the time,

Mulroney [made] a controversial decision to partly de-index pensions. At a protest in Ottawa, an angry woman named Solange Denis [stared] down Mulroney and said: “You lied to us.... You made us vote for you and then goodbye Charlie Brown.”

Response: Mulroney [said] “I’m listening to you, Madame.” Indeed he was. Barely a week later, Mulroney’s government backed down on the plan to de-index pensions.

I'm wondering if we are not reaching another 'Charlie Brown' moment in the case of Michaela Keyserlingk who, as has been widely reported, is being told by The Conservative Party of Canada to stop using its logo in an advertising banner calling on Mr. Harper and his government to stop the deadly export of asbestos.

Like Solange Denis, Ms Keyserlingk is defiant as she confronts power, refusing to stop using the logo even though she admits she is doing so illegally. I suspect a moral victory is in the offing, and a column by Tim Harper in today's Star implies a costly price will be paid by the Conservatives if they seek legal remedy against this still-grieving widow. I hope you will get a chance to check out Harper's column.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

The Asbestos Wars – My Response To The Position Of My Conservative MP

Given Canada's unconscionable ongoing export of death (i.e., asbestos) and given that it is back in the media spotlight thanks to the brave efforts of Michaela Keyserlingk, about whom I wrote a brief posting yesterday, now seems a propitious moment to post the response I wrote to my Member of Parliament, David Sweet, on June 20th of this year, after he responded to my expression of concern calling for the termination of this deadly practice.

While I never publish emails that I have received, as I feel they are private communication between me and the other party, I don't see anything improper about posting my response to such communication.

Here it is:

Dear Mr. Sweet,

Thank you for your reply to the concerns I expressed regarding the ongoing export of chrysotile and the request that Canada join the United Nation in banning its production and export. While I appreciate that over the years you have always made an effort to respond to matters I have written to you about, I find that I must take issue about your and your Government's cavalier attitude toward asbestos.

In you response, you cite that the well-documented lethal impact of asbestos use is the result of past mishandling, and that Canada promotes the safe handling and use of this deadly product. Putting aside the fact that asbestos has been removed from Canadian buildings since its deadly nature was understood, I have to wonder whether you and your Government are indulging in either a form of sophistry or self-delusion when you imply that countries such as India, which regularly use this product, are going to handle it in a manner that will ensure the safety of its workers.

Despite the fact that India is an emerging economic powerhouse, it still is, even by the most generous of criteria, a developing country that is well-known for its willingness to exploit the labour of men, women, and children in the most dangerous of situations, not unlike the practices
cultivated in the West as the Industrial Revolution took hold. So by instructing upon the safe use of asbestos, you may have discharged your legal obligation, but not your moral one.

By all accounts you are a good person, one who embraces the tenets of Christianity. I urge you to consider the central message of that religion, as espoused by Christ: to love and honour God through caring for our fellow human beings, a commission that is often so very hard to adhere to, even in the best of times.

I realize that once a decision is made, the caucus must speak with one voice. I guess the question that I leave you to consider is this: have you, both in your capacity as the people's representative and as the chair of the Commons Industry, Science and Technology Committee, done everything possible to follow what your heart tells you is the right thing to do on this issue?

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.