Automotive News Canada - April 2017 - 18

* APRIL 2017

Ban asbestos brakes now, health expert says
Waiting until late 2018
just exposes more
in auto-industry jobs
to the cancer agent
By ROBERT BOSTELAAR
O T TAWA C O R R E S P O N D E N T

OTTAWA - JIM BROPHY CAN'T
understand why Canada isn't immediately outlawing asbestos in automotive
brake parts and other products.
It's not as if the grave risks from
exposure to the fibrous mineral haven't
been long known, says the workplace
health expert. Nor is it
a case that safer substitutes aren't available.
Canada, once a
leading producer of
asbestos, announced
in December it would
Jim Brophy
join more than 50
says the longother nations in proer the delay
hibiting the import,
in acting, the
export and use of the more risk that
cancer-causing subauto technistance. In announccians will face.
ing the ban, Science
Minister Kirsty Duncan cited "irrefutable evidence" of the dangers of asbestos.
Government officials have signalled,
however, that the ban won't take effect
until late 2018 because of the need for
a transition period to remove asbestos
products from the market.
The consequence, according to
Brophy, is that more people who work
on or around asbestos will develop serious illnesses in coming years.
"The latency here is enormous,"
says the University of Windsor adjunct

sumers and the
professor and forservice industry
mer director of
say their inventothe Occupational
ries are already
Health Clinics for
asbestos-free.
Ontario Workers
"Our supplier
in Sarnia, Ont., a
of friction prodhotspot for asbesucts, Rayloc,
tos disease.
stopped using
"Every day we
asbestos over 10
allow these prodyears ago," said
ucts to come into
Éric Dufresne of
the country just
With no current labelling requirement
UAP Inc., operextends the time
for asbestos content, people who work
ator of nearly
frame in which
on brakes have no way of knowing how 600 NAPA parts
this disease will
much risk they face, says workplace
stores across
arrive and be
health expert Jim Brophy.
Canada.
experienced by
(PHOTO: ROBERT BOSTELAAR)
Canadian Tire
people in our popCorp. verified with its brake-parts supulation."
pliers in December that none of its
Asbestos disappeared from brakes,
products contained any of the seven
hood liners and other new car compoasbestos-derived substances to be covnents in the 1990s, largely because of
ered by the ban, according to a statecampaigns by auto assembly workers.
ment from Kimi Walker, associate
But it has increasingly made its way
vice-president of product stewardship.
back in imported replacement brake
Yet with no current labelling
pads and shoes as a cheaper alternative
requirement for asbestos content,
to synthetic fibres.
Brophy says people who work on
WORKPLACE FRICTION
brakes have no way of knowing the
materials they're working with or the
In small amounts, it can also be
found in building products, paper, even risk. And while all provinces have
guidelines for the handling of hazardfootwear, according to the Canadian
ous materials, he believes "most garagLabour Congress (CLC). But the lion's
es do not have even close to the kind
share - nearly 75 per cent of the $8.3
of protections that government regulamillion in asbestos imports in 2015, the
tions would say would be needed."
CLC reports - is friction materials.
The Canadian Automobile Dealers
The Automotive Industries
Association (CADA) has not issued
Association (AIA), which represents
any public statement on asbestos and
aftermarket suppliers, was among
would not say whether it offers eduthose pressing for a grace period to
cational programs for its members on
allow the removal of existing products
hazardous substances.
from vehicles and store shelves.
AIA president Jean-François
ENACT BAN NOW
Champagne thinks that asbestos parts
Brophy says the dangers are highwill be gone from inventories long
er for home mechanics who likely lack
before the ban takes effect.
any training and equipment to deal
Two major retailers that sell to con-

Joe Verde Workshops
Vancouver * Calgary * Edmonton
Toronto * Halifax * Saskatoon * Kelowna

RISK MANAGEMENT
There is no way to reverse the
potential damage caused by longterm exposure to asbestos, but there
are steps to limit further exposure
and risk for auto technicians and others who handle vehicle components.
Health researcher Jim Brophy offers
these suggestions:
* INSIST no new parts containing
asbestos are used in your workplace.
* ASSUME brake parts coming in for
service contain asbestos.
* OBSERVE every safety procedure.
Wet the material. Use a proper respirator. Wear paper coveralls, and
make sure waste material is labelled
hazardous instead of going to a landfill where someone else could be
exposed.
with asbestos, "and that's why the
only real way to effectively deal with
this is to enact the ban and make sure
that these products are not sold on the
Canadian market."
Yet the consequences of its use will
continue to surface for decades in the
form of the lung disease asbestosis and
cancers such as mesothelioma, as well
as gastrointestinal and other cancers
that aren't always linked to a patient's
asbestos history.
"The full extent of the harm that has
been caused is so under-reported and
so under-recognized," says Brophy,
"that even when you say that it's the
leading cause of occupational disease
and death in this country, you're actually underestimating the full extent
of it." - ANC

ICBC to pay dealerships
to fix windshield chips
'Quality-challenged'
windshield repairers
will be called out

"After this workshop, I went from 12 to 21 units!"
- Ryan McGuckin, Salesperson, ON

By JIL MCINTOSH
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

"From 7 units to 20...and $250 to $625 in commission!"
- Chris Fearneley, Salesperson, NB

The Dealer's Choice Since 1985
(888) 700-9454 * JoeVerde.com/Can

Call for dates & locations in Canada
SC 13120

Joe Verde Sales & Management Training, Inc.

03_24_17

RICHMOND, B.C. - A NEW
windshield-repair policy by
ICBC insurance is "great
news" for many auto dealerships, according to Blair
Qualey, president and CEO
of the New Car Dealers
Association of B.C.
Drivers who buy ICBC's
optional comprehensive coverage for private vehicles can
now have their chipped windshields repaired at no cost.
The repair must be done by
a shop accredited by ICBC's
Glass Express service, providing the windshield is deemed
repairable. There are about
450 Glass Express suppliers in
the province, including dealerships, collision shops and
glass companies. The program
was developed with input
from the dealership association and repair suppliers.
It will relieve pressure on

insurance rates, "because the
cost to replace a windshield
is significantly higher than to
repair one," said Christopher
Hancock, director of strategic
sourcing and asset management for ICBC.
"Customers have the
choice of proceeding with the
free chip repair, or having
their windshields replaced
but with the comprehensive
deductible."
ICBC will pay the shops $75
plus tax for each repair. Some
shops absorbed the cost in the
past to improve customer satisfaction, Qualey said, and the
new program will mean more
money for Glass Express dealers.
"Members who have collision shops are pleased with
this, and I think it's a long
time coming," Qualey said.
"A lot of mobile repair services haven't been that well
regulated and quality might
have been an issue," he said.
"Now only those that ICBC
approves will be able to get
paid for this work and hopefully this will call out the
'quality-challenged' groups
that may have been out
there."- ANC

http://www.JoeVerde.com/Can

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - April 2017