Asbestos and Occupational Cancers In the video, WorkSafe hosts Dr. Paul Demers from the University of Regina for a discussion on asbestos and occupational cancers. Dr. Paul Demers has profound knowledge on carcinogens as he is Canada’s leading expert on occupational disease and is internationally recognized for his expertise. He is also the director of the Occupational Cancer Research Center in Toronto and a leading scientist in screening and cancer control. The speaker argues that Canada has a sad legacy of asbestos due to the health effects from the past from exposure that have persisted over decades. Despite the efforts to prevent and avert the health impacts of these carcinogenic substances, current research shows that many Canadians are still regularly exposed to asbestos at the workplace. Although Dr. Demers appreciates the government’s policies, such as the recent ban on asbestos, he claims that the law is not efficient and might take too long to achieve favorable outcomes. The presenter approached the topic in a systematic manner by starting with the background and history of asbestos in Canada followed by health impacts, and preventive strategies. Interestingly, exposure to asbestos in Canada dates back to the early 20th century. Dr. Demers refers to an advert by the Johns-Manville Company in 1916 promoting the use of asbestos (SCSA Online, 2019a). At that time, asbestos was one of the many building materials highly utilized in Canada, especially in Quebec and Ontario, where there were large mines. The speaker recounts that even in the early twentieth century, the health risks of asbestos had been realized after suspicion of causing lung cancer. Still, Canada continued to import large quantities of asbestos to supplement what was domestically produced until 2018, when the ban on the products was enacted. Most of the imported asbestos comes in the form of friction materials such as brake pads. Dr. Demers says the ban is effective on new uses of asbestos, but the tremendous amount of asbestos exists in buildings, workplaces, and public buildings. Precisely, large quantities of the compound were available in school buildings since the mid-1970s; thus, it is continuing to be an issue for an extended period. Asbestos is undeniably a carcinogenic substance linked with several types of cancers. However, mesothelioma is the obvious type caused by asbestos, with 85% of the cases affected resulting from workplace exposure (SCSA Online, 2019b). Dr. Demers asserts that mesothelioma is the worst cancer in terms of survival, with most patients hardly living beyond one year after diagnosis. Thus, asbestos-related cancer is not only dangerous health-wise but also causes financial strain. The speaker claims that approximately two billion dollars cost is incurred each year in Canada due to mesothelioma. Also, new cases are rising from five hundred to almost six hundred cases yearly. Thus, given the perilous effects of asbestos, effective prevention methods are needed. Some countries, such as Sweden, have adopted an absolute ban on asbestos and related substances. Hence, Canada needs to find working solutions as well since the recently enacted ban does not comprehensively address the iss