ASBESTOS, QUE.—It is being removed from Canada’s public buildings, was banned by the European Union and caused Transport Minister Chuck Strahl’s lung cancer, but Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is defending asbestos exports.

In a Tuesday swing through this Bloc Québécois-held riding, Harper said while he has “no plans” to expand the use of the hazardous fire-resistant material in Canada, he supports its sale abroad.

“Chrysotile specifically is permitted internationally under conditions of safe and controlled use,” he said, referring to the white asbestos mined in Quebec.

“Canada is one of a number of exporters of chrysotile and there are a number of countries in which it is legal who are buyers,” Harper said at a seniors’ residence named for the local Jeffrey asbestos mine.

“This government will not put Canadian industry in a position where it is discriminated against in a market where it is permitted.”

While he nodded sympathetically at the mention of Strahl’s health plight by a reporter, he did not refer to his long-time colleague in a brief response on the issue.

Ironically, asbestos is being removed from schools, the House of Commons and even 24 Sussex Dr., where the Prime Minister resides with his wife and two children.

But it remains a construction staple in developing countries such as India.

Strahl, who is not seeking re-election in the May 2 election, was a partner in a logging and construction company and blames his exposure to asbestos for his mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer.

“My logging days included a time when we used open, asbestos brakes on the yarders, and while my exposure wasn’t that lengthy, it was intense,” the popular British Columbia MP wrote in 2005 after his diagnosis was made public.

“Typically, 20 to 25 years later, the asbestos works its ugly magic. Unfortunately, I’m right on time,” he continued.

“Unfortunately, I was exposed to asbestos. Unfortunately, my body couldn’t handle it. Unfortunately, it targets the lungs. Unfortunately, there is no cure, only treatment.”

The NDP, which polls suggest is surging in Quebec, attacked Harper and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe for being “vigorous proponent(s) of the asbestos industry.”

Health professionals, unions and environmental groups pleaded with Harper Tuesday to end his backing of asbestos, which is being exported mostly to developing countries these days.

“We call on you to put people’s lives ahead of politics,” said Dr. Kapil Khatter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

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“Canada’s leading medical authorities have all told you that the export of asbestos is medically and morally indefensible and will lead to an epidemic of asbestos-related disease and death overseas,” Khatter said, accusing Harper of being the “the only national leader in Canada and in the Western world to promote asbestos.”

The Conservative leader will be in Kitchener Wednesday morning.

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