Associations petition for mandatory list

Health groups and the family of a Saskatoon man who died from an asbestos-related cancer want a mandatory registry of public buildings with the material.

The Saskatchewan Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Lung Association of Saskatchewan have started an online petition to support a private member’s bill which has been dubbed Howard’s Law.

The bill, named for the late building inspector Howard Willems, would make the reporting of asbestos in public buildings mandatory.

The province said last fall that it would provide lists of government buildings that contain asbestos.

But the groups say that doesn’t go far enough because it’s not mandatory for public buildings, such as schools or hospitals, to register.

Members of the legislature are expected to vote on the bill in the coming weeks.

Asbestos is typically found in building materials such as insulation. It is not considered harmful if it’s undisturbed, but renovations or construction work stirs up hazardous fibres that can be inhaled.

Willems had argued that people should know if they’re going into buildings that have asbestos — especially if construction is being done.

“We lost our stepdad because he didn’t know there was asbestos in the buildings he inspected,” said Jesse Todd, Willems’s stepson and spokesman for the Saskatchewan Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.

“If he had known, he would have taken the necessary steps to protect himself and would still be with us today. He dedicated the last two years of his life trying to save others from suffering the same fate as he did and we’re determined to carry on Howard’s fight.”

Premier Brad Wall told reporters in Saskatoon that the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Don Morgan, “has met with the associations and with the family in this case and those who have been, for all the right reasons, working toward full disclosure with respect to asbestos in buildings. And I think also when the government, through its communications efforts, is saying to everyone involved — whether they’re contractors or buying property — that every building that’s older than a certain date should be assumed to have asbestos. That’s a fairly wide acknowledgment that this is an important issue people need to check into.”