MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008

BC Building Trades unions urge federal Conservatives, Liberals to support New Democratic Party call for total ban on use and export of deadly asbestos from Canada, citing expected 1,500 BC workers’ deaths over next 5 years VANCOUVER – BC’s Building Trades unions are urging Members of Parliament from the federal Conservative, Liberal and Bloc Quebecois parties to support a New Democratic Party call for a total ban on the use or export of deadly asbestos mined in Canada. Mesothelioma and other asbestos exposure illnesses are expected to kill 1,500 BC workers over the next five years, according to medical experts, with the overwhelming majority from the construction industry, says Wayne Peppard, Executive Director of the BC and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council (BCYT), The new NDP policy calls on the federal government to adopt a comprehensive policy on asbestos including the phasing out of its use and export to other countries, as well as a transition strategy to assist asbestos miners in Quebec, Peppard said. “The current Conservative and past Liberal governments have failed to stop the use and export of deadly asbestos for years and workers here are already paying a heavy price for their inaction,” Peppard said. “We are urging both parties to join the NDP in supporting the end to the use and export of asbestos and a fair transition program for the asbestos industry.” Recently released research findings from the UBC School of Environmental Health indicate over 1,500 BC workers will die from asbestos-related diseases over the next five years, Peppard said. Construction workers in the piping and insulation fields are suffering the most fatalities, he said. Peppard said the federal NDP position backs the Canadian Cancer Society, the World Health Organization and the Institute National de Sante du Quebec, which have all confirmed the carcinogenic toxins in asbestos and called for comprehensive strategies to phase out the use and export of asbestos. “There is no safe use of asbestos’, said Peter Julian, NDP Trade Critic. “And the NDP policy says we will keep Canadians safe and ban exports of this toxic product overseas”. The NDP policy calls for economic development investments in Quebec communities that have been negatively affected by the asbestos industry crisis, Peppard said. The plan also calls for testing and the safe removal of asbestos in residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings, he added. “Canada is among a very few countries left in the world that have not ratified the inclusion of chrysotile asbestos in the United Nations Rotterdam Convention,” Peppard said. “We urge all of the federal parties to support a total ban on use and export of asbestos before the next meeting by the UN on the Rotterdam Convention in October.” For more information: Call Wayne Peppard, BCYT at cell 778-388-0014 or 604-291-9020 or Bill Tieleman, West Star Communications, at cell 778-896-0964 or 604-844-7827. Website: www.bcbuildingtrades.org

For further information contact 

the BCYT-BCTC office:  604-291-9020

cope 15