FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 4, 2009
Ottawa, ON – Public Works Minister, Christian Paradis, is misrepresenting the report of an International Panel of Experts on asbestos, says the Panel Chair, Dr. Trevor Ogden.
Speaking on a recent national CBC program, The Current, Ogden said that the Minister “is wrong” in telling media that he Panel did not agree. In fact, all Panel members agreed that “exposure to commercial chrysotile causes cancer,” said Ogden.
Dr Ogden described as “particularly objectionable” the minister’s statements suggesting some panel members endorsed the possibility of “safe use” while others said “not to touch it”. Ogden said “The panel did not discuss whether controlled use was a satisfactory policy – this was totally outside the panel’s brief.”
In an interview with the Globe & Mail, Ogden stated that he thought the reason the government suppressed the report for so long was that “there were interests in continuing Canadian production of chrysotile and they saw the report as a threat.”
Thu, May 7, 2009
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