Asbestos Awareness

The federal government has announced its commitment to banning asbestos and asbestos-containing products by 2018. This is a long-awaited decision; PSAC has been calling on the federal government to ban the import, export and manufacturing of asbestos for years.

PSAC is taking the ongoing campaign to ban asbestos directly to the Prime Minister.

NDP MP Sheri Benson has introduced a private member’s bill, C-321, to ban the import, export and manufacturing of asbestos and use the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to protect workers’ health.

Saskatchewan has become the first province to make reporting of asbestos in public buildings mandatory. The province passed legislation Thursday that requires government buildings and hospitals to post on an online registry whether they contain asbestos.

REGINA, SK – The Saskatchewan Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (SADAO) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) call on the Saskatchewan Party to follow through with their verbal commitment to Bill 604, as pledged in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan on Thursday.

The National Council of the Canadian Cancer Society has posthumously awarded Howard Willems the 2013 Impact Award for Leadership in Public Policy. It is the highest award within the Society granted to an individual who has made a significant contribution to public policy in the fight against cancer. Only one award is granted each year.

Last year, we lost a colleague, friend and brother, with the passing of Brother Howard Willems, a former CFIA food inspector and PSAC activist.Howard was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer of the lungs, and dedicated the final years of his life to advocating for asbestos awareness and protection. Though Howard is gone, the fight continues.

If you agree that you have to right to know if asbestos is present in your school, hospital or daycare, please sign this petition and share it with others.

The January 2013 issue of The Labour Reporter features an article on Howard Willems. The newsletter, published by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, has been the voice of Saskatchewan's working families since 1956. The article has been reproduced below with links added.

On December 27, 2012, Howard Willems was announced as the 2012 CBC Saskatchewan Person of the Year.  Howard’s tireless efforts towards advocating for a registry of public buildings containing asbestos earned him the honor of being the person of the year.