Some Misgivings on the Part of Some Harpercon Backbenchers on the Asbestos Issue?

I was surprised when I read this piece from Jennifer Ditchburn and Andy Blatchford last night. It appears that some  Harpercon backbench MPs are getting a tad uppity and starting to look for their own information regarding the dangers of asbestos on their own. Five abstained from voting on an NDP motion to ban the export of asbestos. I wonder how much trouble Stevie Spiteful will give them now?  However, boys ‘n’ girls, before you get your hopes up too high, let it be known that they’re investigations are tentative at best according to Kathleen Ruff, one of the abestos industry’s critics.  I will get to that a bit later.  But given that Harpercon MPs are known to tow the party line, or else face the wrath of the PMO, this is a start, which I hope would develop into something further and I hope will not be the first time we’ll see disharmony within the Harpercon ranks, though, I’m not holding my breath.

There are a few Harpercon MPs who do have their reasons for questioning their own government’s gung ho stance on the asbestos trade, which, by the by, is dying, if not dead, altogether. The last active asbestos mine, in Thetford Mines, has been shut down indefinitely and the Jeffrey Mine is still waiting for an answer from the Quebec government regarding that 58 million dollar loan guarantee after delay after delay.  Honestly, I have no idea why Premier Johnny-boy Charest is dragging his feet.  One reason I can think of is I believe he will be calling an election as early as this coming spring and would leave the next government holding the bag with this decision. I do believe, if the polls hold up, and if Francois Legault and his hideously right winged CAQistse would do something that stupid. But even then, even if eventually, this 58 Million dollar loan guarantee is granted, I don’t see the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos would survive that long. Most countries have banned the import of that nasty shit.

Earlier this month, the Australian Senate passed a motion expressing disappointment with Canada’s position and urging Canberra to apply diplomatic pressure on Ottawa.

I’m pretty sure that the feds’ gung ho stance on asbestos has also added to our pariah status on the world stage as well.

Here’s what some of these MPs are saying:

That (The vote on the NDP Motion) was followed last Monday with a private Parliament Hill meeting that saw about a dozen Conservative parliamentarians ask some pointed questions of the Chrysotile Institute and industry scientists over several hours.

British Columbia MP Mark Warawa, who has expressed his concerns about asbestos in the past, organized the meeting. He said in an interview that he is simply looking for more facts.

Industry critics say it’s laughable to expect top-notch safety standards in the poorer countries that import the substance. Warawa said he wants more clarity on those workplace conditions.

“Chrysotile asbestos can be handled in a safe manner. The question is: is it? That’s what I’m looking into,” he said.

“I think that’s been the continuing message of our government, that it can be handled in a safe manner,” said Warawa, noting that asbestos is still used safely in Canada in some products.

“Whatever decision is made internationally has to be based on science, and the facts, and it’s not helpful to have rhetoric, it has to be based on science and facts, and that’s why I’m doing research just to find out what is happening internationally.”

Alberta Conservative MP Jim Hillyer also attended the meeting. He said he abstained from the Commons vote a few weeks ago for personal reasons — he suffered from leukemia as a younger man. Regular, unprotected exposure to asbestos fibres has been linked to lung diseases including cancer.

“We ask questions so that we can make decisions that we feel are in the best interest of Canada, so it certainly wasn’t a love-fest where we were making strategies with the asbestos industry or the chrysotile industry,” said Hillyer.

“But at the same time we weren’t there to attack them and lambaste them, we were just there to get some information.”

Other Conservative MPs who were not at the meeting have told The Canadian Press they too are uneasy with the current position on asbestos. One Tory, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some of his colleagues might have voted for the recent NDP motion if had been worded more narrowly and had actually been binding on government.

“I think there’s people who want to see some action taken on this,” said the MP.

Well, it is a positive sign and Kathleen Ruff seems to agree, albeit with cautious optimism. You see, one of the ‘experts’ in attendance was none other than Clement Godbout, president of the Chrysotile Institute, an asbestos lobby group,  who made a presentation for these MPs, among the scientists who were present. In fact, Ms Ruff believes this lacked credibility, as she compared it to “getting facts about the dangers of smoking from a tobacco company”:

“I’d say it’s the opposite of a fact-finding mission,” said Ruff, noting that chrysotile has been declared a major health risk by numerous doctors and reputable groups like the World Health Organization, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Medical Association.

“They don’t want to listen to the facts. If you wanted to listen to the facts about chrysotile asbestos, listen to the experts on it.”

Indeed. But it’s a start, which I hope is not stopped in its’ tracks.  I still have to wonder why Stevie Spiteful is still gung ho over this dying/dead industry here in La belle province.  He has proven to have contempt of Quebec, otherwise. His support of this dangerous shit doesn’t get him votes, as we’ve seen. Furthermore, according to Leger Marketing polls taken last January, most Quebecers disapprove of government funding of asbestos.  I don’t see how that would’ve changed to this day,  or if it has, I would suspect that disapproval would continue to rise.  It’s also curious that while Premier Johnny-Boy has touted Stevie-Spiteful’s talking points about how asbestos can be handled safely, he seems to be dragging his feet on that 58M dollar loan guarantee, although, as mentioned above, I do believe he is leaving that poison pill for the next government as I believe, as many do, that a provincial election will be held as early as this spring.  Likewise, I haven’t seen Stevie Spiteful offer to step in offering to make the Jeffrey Mine part of its’ pork barreling economic action plan program.

I do wonder, though, if those Harpercon MPs who went rogue, even tentatively, will have endure the wrath of Stevie Spiteful. What kind of punishment will they receive?