On April 28, the Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, CUPE is renewing its call for a comprehensive ban on asbestos in Canada\u2014the number one cause of occupational death in\u00a0Canada.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s estimated that asbestos-related diseases kill more than 2,000 people ever year in Canada. Many Canadians, including CUPE members, go to work every day in hospitals, schools, and other buildings that contain the deadly substance. Despite these facts, Canada continues to import asbestos in products like brake pads and cement pipes. In fact, just last year before losing power the Harper government actually made it easier to import products containing asbestos<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Harper government showed a repeated disregard for the health and safety of Canadians. This Liberal government now has an opportunity to show that they do care\u2014that the lives of countless workers across Canada matter to them,\u201d said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. \u201cIt\u2019s time to catch up with the rest of the world. On April 28, we\u2019re calling on the Trudeau government to ban the import, export and use of asbestos in\u00a0Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal government recently announced that they have banned the use of asbestos in the construction or renovation of federal buildings, but Hancock says if they\u2019re serious, the government must go\u00a0further.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy to see progress on this issue, but unless they ban it completely, banning it in federal buildings alone just creates a sad double-standard,\u201d said Hancock. \u201cBanning asbestos isn\u2019t hard! Fifty-six countries around the world have done it. All workers deserve this basic\u00a0protection.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond failing to impose a domestic ban, Canada has long been one of a small handful of countries that opposed adding chrysotile asbestos to the hazardous chemical list covered by the United Nations Rotterdam Convention. Including asbestos in the convention would help protect workers both here in Canada and abroad by making it more difficult to import and export the deadly\u00a0product.<\/p>\n Take\u00a0action:<\/strong><\/p>\n