Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff told a B.C. crowd on Saturday that he supports a ban on the export of asbestos, but his position appears to have since weakened.
“Our export of this dangerous product overseas has got to stop,” he said responding to a question at a March 28 town hall meeting in Saanich attended by hundreds of people and recorded by The Tyee.
He noted at the time that the position might get him in political trouble. “I'm probably walking right off the cliff into some unexpected public policy bog of which I'm unaware, but if asbestos is bad for Parliamentarians in the Parliament of Canada, it just has to be bad for everybody else,” he said.
The commitment went unreported in the media until activists who have been working to stop the export of asbestos circulated Ignatieff's comments. That drew a press release from the industry and government funded Institut du Chrysotile and a column in Quebec City's Le Soleil on Tuesday criticizing Ignatieff. Canada's remaining asbestos mining industry is centred in Quebec.
The Liberal Party has always supported the asbestos industry, Le Soleil quoted the institute's president Clément Godbout saying. There must be many people in the party who are surprised today by Ignatieff's comments, he said.
On Wednesday the Ottawa Citizen quoted Ignatieff saying Canada has an obligation to warn other countries of the dangers of asbestos, but stopped far short of repeating the call for a ban on exports.
“We knew he would come under intense pressure from the asbestos lobby to recant,” said Kathleen Ruff, a senior human rights adviser to the Rideau Institute on International Affairs.
Ottawa reporters have told her Ignatieff denied on Wednesday having said he would support a ban, she said. “We never thought he would deny the comment he made in Saanich that this export must stop.”
A call to a media contact in Ignatieff's office was not returned by posting time.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
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Rod Smelser
3 years ago
Canadians warming to Ignatieff, poll finds
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090328.POLL28SASKART2132/TPStory/?query=ignatieff+warming
According to last Saturday's Globe and Mail, pollsters have found that Ignatieff is catching on with voters. So, ... does it matter what stand he takes on asbestos, or any other environmental or health and safety issue?
Perhaps someone should ask some Vancouver Island Liberal environmentalists such as Briony Penn and Andrew Weaver how they feel about Ignatieff's change of position on asbestos?
freebear
3 years ago
Tow tow the party line!
Merrily merrily!!!
annemoon
3 years ago
Iggy and asbestos
Iggy's comments in Saanich need clarifying: He was referring to the program to remove asbestos from Parliament. Obviously if it is not good for Parliamentarians it isn't good for users overseas.
Three cheers for researcher/author Kathleen Ruff and the Victoria Raging Grannies who brought this issue to the media's attention.
RickW
3 years ago
Rick Mercer's Take on Iggy:
Michael Ignatieff really wants to be Prime Minister. Of that there is no doubt.
In fact, he is so committed to the idea of running Canada, he moved here to do it. Which I think is a good thing because as a nation I don't think we're completely comfortable with the notion of a Prime Minister living in Massachusetts.
So he's here now, he's fully committed, but I can't help but wonder: does he have any opinions on anything? Because I haven't really heard them. In fact Tory backbenchers have more to say about public policy and most of them have had their tongues removed.
It seems to me the only thing we really know about Iggy is his resume. And if you talk to any Liberals and you ask them any questions about Iggy, that's what they do, they quote his resume. You say, "what does he really think about Afghanistan?" They'll say "he wrote nineteen books."
You say, "what does he think about an auto bailout?" They'll say "he used to teach at Harvard."
You say, "does he have a plan to fight climate change?" And they'll say "he has a class five driver's license." Okay maybe that part's not true. But it might as well be, because when it comes to public policy I don't think the man has any.
And just in case you're wondering if this is just a case of a guy trying to find his feet, it's not. The Liberals have a policy convention coming up in May and they've just announced they won't be revealing any policy. It's a no-policy policy convention. Or what the rest of us might call a night out with the lads.
Michael you might be a very smart guy, but Canadians, we're not that stupid. You think you should be Prime Minister? Fine, but showing up is not good enough. Eventually you're going to have to tell us why.