Guest Comments by Omana George

George represents the Asia Monitor Resource Centre, a regional labor organization based in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG – Calling for a complete ban on Canadian exports of asbestos, usually from mines in Quebec, the Asia Monitor Resource Centre organized a protest outside the Canadian Consulate on June 24.

The Canadian government should oppose and stop Quebec's proposed Cdn $58-million loan-guarantee intended to allow the opening of a new underground mine.

Our action formed part of wider protests in the Global Ban Asbestos movement. It had support from the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), Labor Action China, Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, Construction Site Workers General Union, Hong Kong Ban Asbestos Coalition, Hong Kong Catholic Commission for Labor Affairs, Asian Students Association, and United Filipinos in Hong Kong.

The HKCTU's Elizabeth Tang handed a joint statement to Canadian consulate representative Alain Tellier. Protesters urged governments to halt the trade in health-harming asbestos. They read aloud a statement, addressed to Quebec premier Jean Charest, expressing dismay at the decision to open a new mine. Effectively, it means exporting another 200,000 tonnes annually.

Canada has been exporting nearly all its asbestos to developing nations, mostly in Asia, despite asbestos being hazardous and banned in most industrialized countries. The International Labor Organization calls exposure to asbestos the world's largest cause of occupational cancers, killing 100,000-140,000 people per year. The World Health Organization says 5-10 million people will die from asbestos-related diseases. Hong Kong itself has an asbestos-disease epidemic.

We demand that Canada live up to its reputation for honoring human rights by not exporting death to Asia. Instead, it should devote time, energy and resources to help secure a global ban on asbestos and to assist the victims.

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