13
2011
Public Outcry Calling on Canadian Red Cross to Asbestos Industry Connected Remove Board Member
The Canadian Red Cross is considering removing one of its board members from the humanitarian organization because of her connection to the asbestos industry.
The governing body of the Red Cross is tackling the sensitive topic of the private interests of Roshi Chadha at its January meeting, Postmedia News has confirmed.
As reported in the Vancouver Sun, Chadha is an executive of Montreal-based Seja Trade Ltd., a subsidiary of Balcorp Ltd. that has for years exported asbestos from the open-pit Jeffrey asbestos mine in Quebec to India. Her husband, Baljit Singh Chadha, is seeking to revive the Quebec asbestos industry as the president of Balcorp.
Roshi Chadha is also affiliated with Balcorp, which is leading efforts to open a new underground Jeffrey mine to export asbestos to Asia. In addition to private financing, Balcorp is working to secure a $58 million loan guarantee from the Quebec government.
The Canadian Red Cross is considered a leading humanitarian organization that provides disaster relief at home and abroad, and anti-asbestos campaigners say any affiliation with the export of asbestos to developing countries conflicts with its mandate to improve the lives of vulnerable people.
The Canadian Red Cross is going to consider Ms. Chadha’s status at it’s upcoming meeting in January.
Currently, the Red Cross does not specifically screen the private interests of its board members.
Leah Nielson, originally from Sarnia, Ont., got things rolling when she wrote to the organization recently, asking that Roshi Chadha be removed from the board. Nielson’s father, Bill Coulbeck, died in 2008 of mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos as a younger man. He worked as a labourer and electrician, and carried fibre asbestos home on his work clothes.
Nielson’s mother, Jackie Coulbeck, has a spot on her lung and is now being monitored at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital as part of its mesothelioma early detection program.
Chadha declined to be interviewed about next month’s board meeting. When reached via email at Balcorp, she also declined the opportunity to provide a written statement.
Chadha was elected to the board of directors at the annual general meeting of the Canadian Red Cross in June 2008. She is one of four members-at-large on the 16-person board.
Earlier this summer, the federal government blocked the listing of chrysotile asbestos on Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, a move supported by the asbestos industry in Canada.
Such a listing would have required Canada to receive “Prior Informed Consent” before the mineral could be exported. That would have allowed developing countries that import asbestos to, after being informed of the hazards, refuse to accept the carcinogen if they thought they could not handle it safely.
You can contact the Canadian Red Cross to voice your concerns, at WeCare@redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111.
