It mines more than 320,000 tons of asbestos a year, more than 90 percent of which is exported to other countries, including the United States.

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Now that most North American and European con-struction legislation has banned totally the use of as-bestos in human habitation, what have Canada asbestos miners and manufacturers done with 95% of our Canadian asbestos? Guess! Sold it and shipped it off to the third world to use in its building projects, markets in Thailand, Singapore, Brazil, India and other developing nations.

Most of Canada's toxic asbestos goes to Asian countries. But it's all okey-dokey, say the many government-sponsored "safety" agencies.

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Chrétien followed the official line that Canadian asbestos – 'white' chrysotile, like that exported to Chile – is safe. Sounding much like a press release from the Quebec-based, industry-funded Asbestos Institute, the Canadian Government has been suggesting that chrysotile, which has been mined and used in Canada for nearly a century, is a 'new and safe' form of asbestos. However, they omit to tell the public exactly where they've found the scientific evidence to back up such assertions. The reason we are never shown this documentation is simple: it doesn't exist.


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Asbestos is a word that has lost much of the meaning it once held for Canadians. Within our own country we have essentially prohibited its sale, use and manufacture. The 'magic mineral' has faded from our collective memory. We have forgotten how prevalent it once was in brake linings, cement sheets, flooring, tiles, packing and textiles. We have also forgotten about asbestosis, mesothelioma (a deadly and incurable form of cancer which gives its victims between 6 and 24 months to live) and various other types of cancers including throat, oesophagal, laryngeal, kidney, stomach and colorectal.

Ask the average Canadian what they know and you will likely hear something along the lines of: 'That stuff will kill you. It causes cancer. That's why we don't use it any more.' Exactly. Chrysotile asbestos, still heavily mined in Quebec, isn't used precisely because it kills. It will continue to kill those Canadians exposed to it in the past as well as those who handle it today. What most Canadians aren't aware of is that our Federal Government, in partnership with the Province of Quebec and its asbestos industry, is peddling the deadly dust abroad.