NEWS RELEASES
CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SATISFIED WITH FINDINGS OF INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL EXPERT PANEL ON ASBESTOS RISK ASSESSMENT
January 16, 1997 No. 8
CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SATISFIED WITH FINDINGS OF
INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL EXPERT PANEL ON ASBESTOS RISK
ASSESSMENT
International Trade Minister Art Eggleton and Minister of Natural Resources Anne
McLellan today expressed their satisfaction with the findings of an independent
panel of international scientists who concluded that France's Institut national de
la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) overestimated the real threat of
asbestos to the French population.
This expert panel, gathering international and independent scientists from France,
the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, was convened by the Royal
Society of Canada. The panel was mandated to conduct a study following a request
by the Canadian government for an independent judgment on the quality of the risk
assessment of asbestos contained in the INSERM report, with respect to the
existing body of scientific knowledge on asbestos. The French government banned
the import, manufacture and use of most asbestos products, beginning January 1,
1997, based on the evaluation in the INSERM report.
"Because of the potential impact of France's decision on our export markets, the
Canadian government has been particularly active and has taken a series of
initiatives to protect the asbestos industry and the thousands of jobs associated
with it," said Mr. Eggleton. "Federal initiatives include written representations
from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to his French counterpart and a delegation of
Canadian experts to Paris last October. We are currently considering a series of
measures, including an intervention to the World Trade Organization. The Canadian
government is also working very closely with the Government of Quebec and the
private sector."
The Expert Panel believes that INSERM's estimates of risks associated with
chrysotile -- extracted from the Canadian mines -- are too high. The Royal Society
Report emphasizes that the assumed exposure on which the number of deaths is
predicted is hypothetical and is higher than levels that have typically been
measured in buildings containing asbestos materials.
"We continue to maintain that the controlled use of asbestos is safe," said
Minister McLellan. "The controlled-use policy, which we have advocated since the
late 1970s, is the most rational approach in dealing with substances like
chrysotile asbestos."
The Expert Panel report was reviewed by five independent experts, ensuring the
document's objectivity.
The Royal Society of Canada was founded in 1882 and it currently consists of 1450
Fellows -- men and women from all parts of the country, representing all
disciplines -- selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to scholarly,
scientific or artistic fields.
Initially modelled after the Royal Society of London and the Institut de France,
the Royal Society differs from most learned and scientific societies in that it
encompasses a broad range of disciplines: natural and applied sciences, medicine,
social sciences and humanities.
One of the main activities of the Society consists in undertaking studies or
projects in which the Society provides leadership or a knowledge base with respect
to intellectual, scientific or policy issues. Its role also includes advising the
government and others, and, in this regard, the Society is the agency chosen by
the government to nominate Canadians for selection in the North American Free
Trade Agreement dispute mechanism.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Nicole Bourget
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister for International Trade
(613) 992-7332
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Copies of the report can be obtained from the Royal Society of Canada. Tel.:
(613) 991-6999 Fax: (613) 991-6996.
| 
