igpy kin has a blog

Nb. If you're really fucking lazy and don't want to read, just watch this, then Google News "asbestos Canada".

Right now the Green Party of Canada is running a campaign to get people to apologize for the "Harper Government"'s stance on asbestos. This is a pretty reasonable thing to do, since asbestos is a known carcinogen. Colloquially, we would refer to asbestos as "something really bad that kills people."

For an example of Canadian attitudes toward asbestos in their daily lives, have a look at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Association's FAQ on asbestos. Relevant paragraphs include:

How has the use of asbestos changed?
When it became evident that regular exposure to asbestos on the job involved health risks, the public became more concerned about exposure to asbestos in offices and schools, and, eventually, about all asbestos products.

This concern has led to a dramatic decline in asbestos use since the early 1980s. The use of asbestos insulation in buildings and heating systems has virtually disappeared. Residential use, for roofing, flooring and appliances, continues to decrease. . . .

. . . frequent or prolonged exposure to asbestos fibres may still bring health risks. This can happen with the release of fibres into the air when asbestos-containing products break down, either through deterioration as they age or when they are cut. People can put themselves at risk — often without realizing it — if they do not take proper precautions when repairs or renovations disturb asbestoscontaining materials. This can occur in a number of situations...

Health Canada also has a nice page about the hazards of asbestos.

Now, evidently, here in Canada we've gotten regulation of asbestos down pretty well. Unfortunately, the issue with the Harper Government's attitude isn't so much how we handle asbestos at home ― it's the fact that they're totally okay with sending a known carcinogen to developing nations that has a few people antsy. The World Health Organization has a lovely page noting that about 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos in their workplace ― that's about 3.6 times the population of Canada ― and over 107,000 die every year from asbestos-related diseases.

Thanks, Stephen.

The Ottawa Citizen has a great article on Stevie's fuckery here:

Consider what happened last week, in Geneva, at a meeting to discuss whether asbestos should be listed under the provisions of a United Nations convention covering hazardous materials.

The discussion was informed by the work of a UN scientific panel. Yes, the panel concluded, asbestos is hazardous. Yes, it fits the criteria of the convention. Yes, it should be listed.

The panel's conclusions weren't controversial in the slightest, since the science on asbestos is much clearer than it is with many other hazardous substances. Asbestos causes cancer. It kills. There's no doubt about that, which is why the taxpayers of Canada are now paying vast sums to have asbestos removed from Parliament.

And listing asbestos as a hazardous substance is a very modest step. It doesn't trigger a ban. It doesn't even restrict its production and trade. It simply requires that importers be informed of the risks and follow safety protocols in handling it. In other words, it requires informed consent. Nothing more.

But I digress. I could go on about this all day ― and you should absolutely click all the above links ― but the Green Party is running a particularly lovely campaign encouraging everyone to email imsorry@greenparty.ca apologizing for Canada's repeated and frankly unforgivable endorsement of asbestos exports. If you're not up to writing your own email of apology, you can just like the page on Facebook and be done with it.

Here's mine:

Dear United Nations, and the world at large,

I'm sorry my country is run by self-absorbed misanthropists with no moral compass. I could use different words, but I'm doing my best to keep this classy, since it's apparently being forwarded to the General Secretary of the United Nations.

I remember when I was about 13 and my cousins made me watch the South Park movie, and I was really irked by that song, "Blame Canada". I mean, we're the nice guys, right?

But, er, apparently now when innocent people die in developing nations from, say, cancer, you actually can blame Canada and be pretty justified in that, and I'm really sorry that's become the case.

I would say we used to be good people, but let's face it: we've just been way better at evading bad press than the US. It's kind of like if we were serial killers who never got any flak from the police, because we happened to live in the apartment above some really loud party people — let's assume they're bikers with anger management problems, since we don't want to give the US too much credit — and the cops were always too busy flailing at our neighbours to notice all of the horrible things we did.

I'm sorry that my fellow citizens' political apathy has allowed the survival of a voting system that translates a 60% vote against Stephen Harper into a majority government run by him.

I'm sorry that our apathy also meant a significant chunk of eligible voting citizens didn't vote.

I'm sorry my country is run by a deluded megalomaniac with all the soul of an iPod and all the moral compassion and empathy of Uncle Scrooge and the Grinch left together in a cell in Azkaban for 100 years.

I'm sorry that our government thinks getting money is more important than not killing people.

I'm sorry they also think making the oil industry look good is more important than admitting our oil industry destroys ecosystems and lives.

I'm sorry that we hide behind the US as if holding up all their worst moments makes up for the fact that we are an apathetic, environmentally destructive country that has lost all touch with its peacekeeping identity, that is willing to allow countless human beings around the world suffer terribly so long as our bottom line's covered, that would sooner see the world in environmental devastation than even think about seriously revising our attitude toward sustainability.

I'm sorry that we have become a destructive force in the world, and that so few people hold us accountable for it.

I'm sorry that this e-mail will, in all likelihood, not affect my government's policies and plans in the least.

I'm sorry that I'm writing this as a representative of a nation I cannot be proud of.

I am sorry, most of all, to the people we have murdered, and to the victims yet to come.

I'm sorry.