/R E P E A T -- INVITATION - Vigil to Remember the Hundreds of Thousands of
Victims of Quebec Produced Chrysotile Asbestos, which is still being Exported
to Developing Countries/

When:

Friday, December 10, 2010 from 11h30 am to 12:45 pm

Where:

In front of the Montreal offices of Premier Jean Charest: 770, Sherbrooke Street West, in Montreal, at the southern corner of McGill College (McGill metro station)

MONTREAL, Dec. 9 /CNW Telbec/ - The Asia-Quebec Solidarity Delegation, comprised among others of victims of chrysotile asbestos originating from developing countries and supported by several representatives from Quebec's health industry, human rights sector and environmental movement, is organizing a vigil in memory of the thousands of victims caused by Quebec's exporting of asbestos. This is also an opportunity to think about the consequences of our decisions since they can directly contribute to reducing the number of victims caused by this type of export activity.

As such, the Asia-Quebec Solidarity Delegation is deeply concerned with the Charest Government as it considers the possibility of granting a $58 million loan to a private consortium, whose purpose is essentially to support the return of mining activities at the Jeffrey asbestos mine. According to the mine's promoter, asbestos is destined for export only. This is not surprising since its use in Canada is very problematic and is almost completely prohibited.

This vigil is the culminating point of this week's demonstrations and meetings with government decision-makers and other influential leaders by representatives of the Asia-Quebec Solidarity Delegation. This vigil is part of ongoing initiatives carried out to influence the government as it makes its decision either to support mining activities at the Jeffrey mine or not, furthermore it also serves to mobilize public opinion of the issues at stake.

This will be the last opportunity for media representatives to conduct interviews with representatives from the Asia-Quebec Solidarity Delegation and to find out more about the outcome of the meetings held with various authorities.

For further information:

Kathleen Ruff514-502-4696