BC NDP leader John Horgan is pledging to protect workers by improving the asbestos rules if elected next May.
Horgan says he plans to put this issue into the spotlight.
“Up to 25,000 residents are affected by this every year, this is an important issue and the first order of business is we need to get a registry as to where the asbestos is in public buildings and where we have public facilities that are potentially putting workers at risk.”
According to WorkSafe BC, 584 workers in the province have died from asbestos related exposure in the past decade.
Only 51% of home-owners surveyed believe it is their responsibility to test for the substance when making renovations.
One proposal is already on the table by the New Democrats. “We need to ensure we have certification programs in place when workers do potentially go into these compromising situations they are trained and prepared to work with this very dangerous substance,” says Horgan.
Just 36% of people who renovated a home built on or before 1990 in the past five years recall testing for the presence of asbestos before renovations.
That’s a figure Horgan would like to see changed.
“It is a significant issue for those doing renovations or improvements on people’s homes. We do need to have a better understanding of the challenges workers face and I believe we can do that by putting in these certification programs.”
Horgan has also applauded the recent efforts of WorkSafe BC. “I do understand WorkSafe is looking at this because of the significant impact it is having on working people in the province and I think we are long overdue to make sure we have put standards in place to protect people, no one should be putting their lives at risk when they go to work.”