Tory Backbenchers Growing Wary of Asbestos Support

Questions raised over the party line that asbestos is safe when handled properly.

A handful of backbench Tory MPs have apparently developed spines and/or consciences, as there is growing internal opposition to the party's rigid support of Quebec's asbestos industry. Canadian Press' Jennifer Ditchburn and Andy Blatchford point to the five Tory MPs that abstained from a vote on an NDP bill that last week that would have made exporting chrysotile evidence illegal as evidence that the rank and file aren't exactly too keen to support a party position that directly contributes to the death of 100,000 people in the developing world each year. Further, during a committee meeting on the mineral, Tory MPs Mark Warawa and Jim Hillyer raised pointed questions to asbestos industry scientists over how we can know whether the mineral is being handled safely in the developing world, while other MPs voiced their opposition to the industry anonymously to Canadian Press. All this comes after the Australian senate passed a motion earlier this month condemning Canada for its continued support of the industry and for the country's role in keeping asbestos off the UN's list of hazardous materials. Prime Minister Stephen Harper openly expressed his support of Quebec's $90-million asbestos industry during the election campaign, and his party has routinely said that when handled properly, the mineral is completely safe.