Canada is the Land of Milk and Honey, including Asbestos

Canada is considered by many Filipinos as the land of milk and honey. Because of Canada's health care system, great income opportunities and other social benefits, more and more Filipinos are immigrating to Canada.

Canada and the Philippines have a good relationship. The Philippines is one of the major sources of immigrants needed by Canada to address its labor shortage problem. On the other hand, the Philippines is one of the major importers of Canadian asbestos. Yup, asbestos. Great deal, eh?

Exposure to asbestos can cause lung inflammation and cancer according to studies. Thus, there's a call for Canadian government to ban mining and exporting asbestos but it isn't listening.

OTTAWA - Canada's opposition on Tuesday blasted the government for ignoring its own scientists' advice to stop the mining and exporting of asbestos to countries like the Philippines, one week before a major UN conference on dangerous products.

New Democratic Party MPs also accused the Conservative government of blocking the UN listing of chrysotile asbestos as toxic so that it would be strictly regulated. [Source: Agence France-Presse/www.interaksyon.com]

Read full story here: Canada hit for exporting deadly asbestos to Philippines, other nations