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Asbestos lobbying group dissolved in Canada

14 May, 2012The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) reports that the Chrysotile Institute, a pro-asbestos lobby group, funded by Canadian Government will stop its operation.

CANADA:  The Canadian Labour Congress reports on a major break through with the decision that the Chrysotile Institute created in 1984 to lobby for the interests of Canadian asbestos producers is being dissolved. The Institute funded by the federal and Quebec governments promoted safe use of asbestos if properly handled.

Canada, a major producer of asbestos, banned its use inside the country as hazardous to Canadian citizens, but continues exporting it to developing countries including Bangladesh, India and Indonesia.

CLC supports a total prohibition of production and export of asbestos by Canada along with a just transition program for displaced workers in the industry.

Unbiased international research, including by the World Health Organization (WHO), clearly prove that chrysotile asbestos is not safe and causes mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

IMF has long been part of the battle against production and use of asbestos, arguing it is a carcinogenic substance with no possible safe use. In 2005 at the IMF World Congress in Vienna a special resolution promoting a global ban on asbestos was adopted that launched a campaign against production and use of asbestos.

As the most recent move, on the eve of the International Workers' Memorial Day, on April 27 IMF jointly with Building Workers' International (BWI) and unions of the Indian state Kerala have called on Kerala authorities to ban asbestos in the state. The event was jointly organized by the BWI and IMF in pursuance of the Federal State ban approach agreed upon last year.