Reuters, Dec. 15, 2016
TORONTO – Canada has set a 2018 target to ban asbestos and products containing the fire-resistant material, which is linked to cancer and other illnesses, the government said on Thursday in a move that brings the country in line with much of the developed world.
Canada also will review its position on a global blacklist of the toxic material before a U.N. meeting on the issue next year, part of a plan that includes new domestic regulations and workplace rules.
Successive Canadian governments had worked against the hazardous material listing under the United Nations’ Rotterdam Convention, fearful it would put Quebec asbestos mining out of business. They also refused to ban asbestos production, arguing it was not harmful if used appropriately.
In 2012, Canada dropped its longtime opposition to the international listing, after Quebec mine production and export had ended.
At the time, Canada was the only Western developed country to export asbestos, declared a carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 1987. It had continued its export despite strictly regulating its domestic use.
Canada said Thursday it will create new regulations banning the use, manufacture, import and export of the substance and create new workplace health and safety rules to limit the risk of exposure. It also plans building codes to prohibit the use of asbestos in new construction and renovation projects.
Canada continues to import products with asbestos, such as brake pads, the Canadian Labour Congress said, with imports growing to C$8.3 million ($6.2 million) in 2015 from C$4.7 million in 2011.
More than 2,000 Canadians die each year from diseases caused by asbestos exposure, the labor group said.
Valued since Roman times for its heat-resistant properties, asbestos pervaded construction sites, industrial settings and ship and rail yards for much of the 20th century. Canada, the United States, Russia and South Africa were major producers.
It’s women’s month!
“Support women every day of the year!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and Made-in-the-Philippines
Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
Mar 4— Employee Appreciation Day
Mar 15 — World Consumer Rights Day
Mar 18 — Global Recycling Day
Mar 21 — International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Mar 23 — International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
Mar 25 — International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Mar 27 — Earth Hour