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Could Quebec Premier Jean Charest have come up with a more obtuse way to mark the Canada Day long weekend? As people from coast to coast were breaking out Maple Leaf flags and fireworks to celebrate the nation’s many proud achievements, his government seized the occasion to throw a $58 million lifeline to the struggling asbestos industry, one of our most notorious exports.
“They’re pumping public money into a moribund industry that’s banned in 50 countries, all for the sake of miserable salaries in a mine that will involve significant risks,” says Dr. Yv Bonnier Viger, who heads a Quebec association of public health specialists. Sadly, that just about sums it up.
At a time when we’re stripping asbestos from the Parliament buildings, the prime minister’s residence and other public buildings as a health hazard, Quebec’s loan will help keep the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Que., productive for 20 more years selling chrysotile asbestos to India, Indonesia, Vietnam and other developing countries.
While Canada’s export industry has been on the brink of collapse, in the past it has shipped $100 million worth of chrysotile in a busy year, roughly 5 per cent of global production. Canadian investors, who intend to kick in another $25 million, say the deal will create 425 full-time jobs and 1,000 spinoffs.
They argue that the risks associated with asbestos have been exaggerated and the benefits downplayed. Countries such as India use the mineral to make cheap, fire-resistant and rotproof roofing, cement, water lines and other products. Canadian producers promise to monitor their foreign customers to make sure the material is handled safely. How realistic that is remains to be seen.
Although the industry has few friends, those it has are in conspicuously political places. During the federal election last year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper shamelessly trolled for votes in Asbestos as a “defender” of the chrysotile industry. Similarly, Charest’s beleaguered Liberals, who may face an election this year, hope to shore up their support in a depressed corner of the province.
For the rest of this editorial, please go to the Toronto Star website: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/1220990–quebec-shouldn-t-depend-on-asbestos-exports-for-jobs