Locals angty over his call for export halt

By Stephen McDougall

A local advocate for the asbestos mining industry has denounced federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff for not having the courage to face residents of two towns whose asbestos mines he wants to see closed.

“He is a hypocrite who is afraid to face us,” said Serge Boislard, a member of the Pro-Chrysotile group, which promotes the industry.
“He denounces our industry from Quebec city and says it should be banned, but he doesn’t have the time to come and see us and tell us that to our face. I have no respect for him.”
On Wednesday, Ignatieff told reporters in Quebec City the fireproof mineral fibre is a toxic substance that should not be exported to other countries.
“I think it has become impossible to export a product like that because we can’t have guarantees that it will not be harmful to other countries,” he said.
“It is clear we still have to work with the workers in this region who have worked for generations to find other ways for them.”
But Ignatieff’s press secretary, Michel Liboiron said from the leader’s tour bus Thursday morning that there is no time to visit the towns of Asbestos and Thetford Mines, even though they are within two hours of the provincial capital.
“We can’t go everywhere this time,” he said.
`But we are committed to the people of these towns to find alternative work for the future.”
He would not comment on Boislard’s comments, nor would he confirm that the Liberal leader wants the local mines closed.
“We are not in power,” he said.
“We believe the mines will shutdown eventually.”
The fibre, known here as Chrysotile, or white asbestos, has been mined in this town and the nearby community of Thetford Mines for over a century.
Presently, the industry employs some 700 workers in the two towns.
The federal and provincial governments have backed the industry repeatedly, arguing the fibre is safe for use if handled carefully.
But a growing number of groups and associations are calling for a total ban on the industry and are presently pressuring the Charest government in Quebec to not loan the local Jeffrey mine $58 million so that the undergournd operation can start up later this summer.
The government has told mine owner Bernard Coulombe they are undergoing a “due diligence” analysis of the mine before agreeing to the loan.
Boislard argued the loans could be in jeopardy if exports of the fibre are halted by a future Liberal government because the mines will have no markets for their products and be forced to cease operations.
“Ignatieff is a hypocrite who does not understand the issues,” he said.
“He does not know the fibre and is just going on popular sentiment from people like him who are too afraid to even visit our town and better understand our industry.”
Boislard finds it curious that Ignatieff has not come out against a total ban on exporting Canadian tobacco, which is also considered highly toxic and linked strongly to lung cancer.
“Could the fact that the federal government makes billions of dollars in revenue each year from the sale of cigarettes have anything to do with it?” he asked.
Local Liberal riding president Andre Beaumier did not denounce his political leader, but admitted he is disappointed with Ignatieff unwillingness to visit the town.
“I sent him letters last year urging him to come here and discuss the issue with us, but his office would just respond that he has no time,” said Beaumier.
“Now, he again says he has no time even though he is in the province and not far away. We are disappointed by his lack of interest.”
More discouraging, Beaumier admitted that his leader’s dislike of the industry will continue to keep the Richmond-Arthabaska riding in the Bloc Quebecois’s hands.
“The Bloc defends the industry, and that means (present MP André) Bellavance will get the votes from here,” he said.
“I think Ignatieff is poorly advised on this issue, but it is hard to get him to listen to us if he doesn’t want to come here.”
Louis Bérubé, the Liberal candidate in Richmond-Arthabaska still holds out hope his leader will make an appearance later this summer.
“We have been told that he will come sometime in August and then we can discuss this issue further,” he said from his Caisse Populaire office in Plessisville.
“That is what his office told me on Monday.”
But Liboiron would not confirm Bérubé’s comments when asked by The Record.
“I cannot confirm any visits in August” he said.
Bérubé is hopeful his leader will be open to a discussion on the future of the industry if he does show up.
“The industry has been in trouble for the past 20 years and we need to know what can be done for it,” he said.
Last year, when he was chosen as the Liberal candidate for the riding,  Bérubé said he would convince Ignatieff not to abandon the industry.
But on Thursday, he said he was willing to listen to his leader and explore other possibilities.
“This is not the final word on the industry,” he said.
“But if this is what the rest of the world really wants, then we have to move on. This is not the only industry in our riding.”

(2010-07-23)