Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162) - Canada (Ratification: 1988)

Further to its observation, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. Definitions. The Committee notes the response provided by the Government which indicates definitions of the relevant terms to the Convention under the New Brunswick Asbestos Regulation 92-106, and information concerning the establishment of a Technical (Stakeholder) Committee to review and recommend changes to this Regulation. The Committee also notes the response regarding the conformity of asbestos regulations in Ontario with the definitions of the relevant terms to the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure full application, across all provinces and territories in Canada, of the definitions in Article 2 of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the application of the Convention in practice across all provinces and territories, including the provision of asbestos abatement training to workers in Alberta, and the development of guidelines/resources on this subject; the development, by WorkSafe British Colombia, of a proposal to implement a harmful substances exposure registry, which would document any exposure to harmful substances (including asbestos); the development of various guidelines/resources concerning asbestos developed by the Workplace Safety and Health Division in Manitoba; the launch, by the Ministry of Labour in Ontario in July 2008, of an inspection blitz on demolition and renovation projects in the construction industry which among other hazards focused on asbestosis; and the commitment by the Workplace Health and Safety Committee in Quebec since 2006 on the importance of prevention interventions concerning safe work practices in the presence of asbestos. The Committee further notes the statistical information provided by the Government, obtained from the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC), who administer the National Work Injuries Statistics Program (NWISP), the primary purpose of which is to collect data from the provincial/territorial jurisdictions and maintain a national database of occupational injury and disease statistics, including data for the federal jurisdiction because the provincial/territorial workers’ compensation authorities administer workers’ compensation claims for the federal jurisdiction as well. The Government indicates that the number of asbestos-related occupational disease and occupational fatality claims accepted for compensation by a workers’ compensation authority came to a total of 164 in 2005, 177 in 2006, 164 in 2007 and 176 in 2008; that during 2000–08, 6 per cent of work-related fatalities accepted by the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba were caused by asbestosis; that the number of asbestos-related lung cancers and mesothelioma claims accepted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission during the period of this report were 21 lung cancers and 2 mesotheliomas; and that there were 16 accepted claims at WorkSafe New Brunswick between 2006 and 2010 with the source of injury being asbestos. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice.