Fernand Turcotte is a veteran of the tobacco wars; he is an occupational health expert and a retired professor of at Universit Laval in Quebec. Now he is leading most of the country's medical and scientific community against the asbestos industry and the politicians who support them.
Leaders of the asbestos industry are awaiting the agreement for a vital loan needed to expand an asbestos mine in the town of Asbestos, Quebec. The expansion of the mine will create nearly 500 jobs and secure Canada's place in the industry for at least 30 years.
A petition signed by 50 of Canada's top medical and scientific experts, demanding the government outlaw the mining, use or export of chrysotile asbestos has been taken by Turcotte to the government offices determining the loan. The World Health Organisation released a document last week calling for a halt to all asbestos use since, "all types of asbestos cause lung cancer, Mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx and asbestosis.
Studies by the WHO show that nearly 130 million people are unsafely exposed to asbestos in their workplace on a daily basis and over 100,000 people died in the last year from exposure to the fibre. These shocking statistics, multi-million dollar lawsuits, spiralling costs to the health industry all raise many questions over the moral, political or economic reasons for Canada to continue supporting the asbestos industry.
Prior to the banning of it's use in Canada, it was widely used in the construction until the 1970s but since the ban, companies have been forced to export it to developing nations where experts fear there are limited regulations on its use. When inhaled the fibres can scar lungs and cause disease, including cancer.
In Ottawa, over 100 health professionals and a handful of politicians led an anti-asbestos rally on Parliament hill. But Turcotte is frustrated that the mounting number of public declarations and petitions of scientific and medical institutions are not having an effect on the politicians.
"People in third world countries will curse the name of Canada if this (mining) continues," said Mike Bradley, mayor of Sarnia, Ontario. Sarnia is an industrial town on the edge of Lake Huron has suffered an astonishing number of asbestos-related cancers and deaths.
Many people who have suffered as a result of exposure to asbestos are recruiting the services of an asbestos lawyer primarily for mesothelioma compensation
