Canadian Tory Party Threatens Asbestos Victim Widow
Hilda Palmer from Hazards Campaign has highlighted, on her Face Book group page 'We Didn't Vote To Die At Work', a major battle between an asbestos victim's widow and the Tory party in Canada. Making national headlines and reported on Canadian TV News, the story makes very interesting reading for anyone concerned about Asbestos and its related diseases.
Michaela Keyserlingk’s husband Robert died in 2009 of mesothelioma, and ever since she has been campaigning to alert the public to the true nature of asbestos and the fact that Canada is the only country in the western world to export asbestos. She doesn't belong to any organisation or pressure group and pays more than $300 per month for a website advert out of her own pocket.
Michaela told Canadian TV News that her husband, who died at age 76, inhaled asbestos fibres while working summer jobs on Canadian naval ships when he was a student.
The marathon runner led a healthy life until one day he had trouble breathing and was diagnosed with a form of mesothelioma, a cancer caused mainly by asbestos exposure. He battled the disease for two-and-a-half years.
However her campaign has now hit a turning point with the Canadian Tory party threatening her over her latest campaign vehicle launched some 3 months ago.
Since the Canadian spring, she has been running an online banner ad that reads, "Canada is the only western country that still exports deadly asbestos!" However, the problem is that the banner includes a logo which the Tories claim is their parties logo.
Her ad which appears on numerous Canadian web pages, includes a danger warning label and an image of the Tories' official symbol: a blue letter C with a Maple Leaf. The banner ad includes a web address for her website, where she's posted information on asbestos, links to news stories and an essay about her husband's battle against asbestos-related cancer.
She told CTV News:
"I just want to have the asbestos trade stopped because it's such a horrible death. It's just so terrible -- and to even contemplate doing that to other people is unforgivable."
She added:
"….. he died a horrible, horrible death - I mean these people suffocate. It's awful to watch. I hope he didn't feel as much as we saw when we had to watch him. None of us can forget how he died."
The Conservative party which stands by asbestos exporting and denies that asbestos is a killer, claims that if properly handled. However, the product is exported to developing countries where health & safety standards are far less stringent than in Canada and most developed nations.
Conservative party executive director Dan Hilton warned Michaela to stop using the Tory symbol immediately. Writing to her via email on 29th July ne accused her of not having permission to use the Tory Party logo and that "Failure to do so may result in further action."
Michaela is reported by CTV News as saying she will “….only cancel the ad if a high-ranking member of the Conservative party meets with her to explain why it supports the industry. She would be happy to take the issue up with Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself -- in person.”
She told CTV News:
"I have no permission to use (the logo) and they have a legitimate argument against me... But on a human level they have no legitimacy whatsoever," the Ottawa resident said.
She says she has tried unsuccessfully for years to contact the Tories over this issue.
The CTV News report goes on to report:
Before he died in December 2009, her husband also wrote letters to Conservative ministers and to Harper himself, demanding that he put an end to asbestos exports.
His widow said he received a response from the Prime Minister's Office, which said Harper did not have time to answer his letter.
Coincidentally, Keyserlingk said her husband was the Progressive Conservative riding president in the 1970s for Ottawa-Centre - the riding around Parliament Hill.
She said he used to pound the pavement with Tory candidates. And he continued to support the party.
"He stayed a true-blue Conservative," she said, before adding what she thought his reaction would be to the party's steadfast backing of the asbestos industry."He would be utterly disgusted -- it's not what he thought the Conservative party would be about."
The CTV News article ends:
Whatever happens, Robert Keyserlingk's wife of 47 years will keep fighting."I owe him not to give up because he never gave up," she said.
Canada, hardly uses the hazardous material Asbestos domestically, but exports the bulk of its asbestos to poor countries. The vast majority of Canadian asbestos exports come from an operation in Thetford Mines in Quebec, which is under threat. However, private investors are working to save the Jeffrey Mine, with Quebec promising to back a contentious $58-million bank loan to prolong the life of the mine for another 25 years, providing enough private money can be found.
An on-line petition has been launched by Right On Canada, an internet and public advocacy campaign of the Rideau Institute to put human rights back on Canada’s political agenda.
By signing the on-line petition, you can tell the Conservative Party of Canada: Instead of threatening an asbestos widow, listen to her message. Show humanity and stop exporting deadly asbestos.
You can read and sign the petition here
Source: CTV News / Face Book group: We Didn't Vote To Die At Work / Right On Canada / Rory O'Neill
