Document 6RNN5bxOkk2LQGJ89Yankb5D6

/ V i ' Inhibit No. .............. .. 7np'ilisum-of S IT Shannon Kd/rrnnaagghiuan nrnial Reporter (n \ 1-1* Jose-- MINUTES Cf~ Th SPECIAL GEN3At, MEETING OF THE! OUESEC ASBESTOS MINING A S5CCI AT TQM HELP ON QCT09ER 11th AND 17th. 1971. . AT THE SSOAOWCOR,- COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORAOQ MONDAY, OCTOBER lltn, ^97^ Thara usrs present:- fflessrs.j W.W. Oughtred F.P. Smith J.R.fH. Hutcheson R.J. Merrill M.C. Carpenter fl.J. Vessel Ph. Casgrain P.A. Filteau President Vice President Director \ Oirectcr Director Director Genera 1. Counsel for the Association General Manager sno Secretary Thor6 were also:present Measrs.r I.C.. Campoell J.O. Eby W.H. Foster R.P. Gagnon K,V. Lindell A.H. Bagenstoao W.P. Carson D,T, Colton - Chairman or the Legislation and Taxation Committee and of Public Relations Committee rChairman of ' Industrial Relations Committ: - Chairman of Uniform Classification 4 Crcdi.-.g, ar.d Technical Committee - Chairmanof Traffic Committas -- Chairman of Occupational and Environmental Health Committee -- Carey-Canadian' fTihsaHTmitad . -- Asbestos Corporation limited : Johns-fflanville Corporation j ! { I ii i .1 i* i \ Ple33r3.: Y. Couture E.J. Killian N.W. Hendry J. 8. Jobe L.E. Piuze D. Poutiatine W.J.ti. Smith W.L. VanDerbeek PI. Dorais A.R. Hooker PI. Prua J.O. Christian Canadian Johns-Planville Co.. Ltd. National Asbestos Plines Limited Canadian Johns-Planville Co. , Ltd. Johns-Planville Corporation Lake Asbestos of Quebec Limited Johns-Planville Corporation Bell Asbestos Wines Limited Johns-Planville Corporation Bell Asbestos Plines Limited Flintkoce Plines Limited Carey-Canadian Pline; Limited Case.or Asbestos Corporation ' * !I j jj |j I r The President of the Association, W.'J.'. Oughtred, acted as Cheirman and P.A. Filteau as Secretary of the meeting. The Chairman declared that a regular notice of meeting had been duly mailed to all the Directors of the Association and said notice was ordered to be entered at length in theminute book of the Aasocia ti on. There being a quorum, the Chairman declared the meeting duly constituted. The minutes of the Special Caneral fleeting of the Association held on Pir.rch 19th and 20th, 1971, were duiy approved. Tha Committee Chairmen were then requested to report, . f UNirORPl CLASSIFICATION & CRAPING, AHD TECHNICAL CaiflTTTCC In hia report, the Chairman atrested among several points of Interest the poaaibilities of the "Thermogravimetric Analysis" procedure (Eternit KapellB and Turner Newell Laboratories) to identify impuritia for certain end uses of asbestos fibres. I c( -3- Recent harshress-softness tast evaluations conducted by C.I.P^ Research c:nfirm the opinion of the industry as to Crcup 3 fibre ratings. The Asbestos Cement Producer Association has agreed to join again with the A.T.I. and Q.A.fQ.A. as sponsor of the next edition of the manual of Testing Procedures for Chrysotile Asbestos Fibre. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COHimiTTCC Summarizing his report, the Cha.rman observed that tha Government had officially enacted new regulations for the storage and handling of explosives with which, it was felt, the mining Industry could live. The additional excense to the suppliers will very likely be reflected In tha cost to users. As to the notice in the case of "Collective Dismissals", the C.C.T.fl. has preceded to the Department of Labour and Manpower a revised ' regulation providing for thB advance n^'.lce required by the Aut in the case of a permanent termination of employment and, If temporary. a notice at the time that termination take3 effect. The employer determines whetner the layoff is permanent or temporary. In tha case cf the new Unemployment Insurance Act (Bill C-22S) the question of integrating the new U.I. Accident end Sickness benefits with existing private A&5 Insurance benefits or other government programs remains to be solved. This will no doubt be an important point in the forthcoming labour negotiations. . Tha Advisory Committee to the Workmen's Compensation Commission has recently recommended that the application of the present merit system (Art. 90, par. 3) be extended to all classes of employers who wish to tako advantage of this system. On this premise the demerit', system, as proposed by the Workmen's Compensation Commission, would operate aa __ provided for.in Art. . 77': ofj!the :Workmen's Compensation' Act' and apply --to all classes.  i -4- ; Sill C-2S3, tabled in the"*-r-jse 'of Commons on June 28, 1S71, propose! that-any employer wishing t: make a technological charge must give j notice to the bargaining agent who may ask to commence collective bargaining for the purpose of revising the existing provisions. In other words, the Bill would grar.t the right to strike during a labour; agreement over a union-management dispute resulting from a technologi change. Such a prejudicial feature to the economic development of Industry has brought on the Minister of Labour protest from all j employers associations throughout' Canada (C.ffl.A., C.P.Q., Prov. Wining Assoc., etc.). An important discussion meeting on Sill C-253 was help with the Federal Authorities on October 10th. j i f In the case of the closure of Flintkote operations, the other asbestc companies in the area have agreed to give due consideration to applications of employees to be laid-off. \ TRAFFIC COf'ft! TTCE The main points emphasized by the Chairman in his report can be summarized as follows. Wajority of ocean rates are scheouled to expire on march 31, 1972 and meetings will be scheduled with the various services in the near futu. to determine 1972 transportation costs as early as possible. Both rail one truck rates to St. Lawrence River Ports expire cn December-31, - 1971'and "meetings 'with these services will be convenedii. shortly to negotieta 1972 rate levels. ;.* Container Inland rates have not been subjected to an increase since 1969, which would indicate higher transportation costs for 1972. j U.5. Railways will, again in 1972 attempt to get increased.revenues to offset labor demands and higher operating costs through assessment of a 3/6 rate .increase on interna tionaTlail irtQve'ffle'nts" effective "January^ 1, 1972, coupled with a further increase scheduled for April. 1, 19'. j _ _ -------- - cc 5- The Stevedoring Firm at the Port of Three Rivers has been successful in controlling nominal charges on warehousing space and has also permitted reasonable free time at the port prior to vessel loading. These arrangements could be seriously affected and result in increase charges, if the-National Harbours Board decides tc operate these sheds on a mors strict transit basis. Increased charges could direct tonnage to other St. Lawrence River Ports which would not be located in such advantageous proximity to the Asbestos industry. Indications are that all commodities will face Increased transportati. costs during the 1972 shipping season and the Traffic Committee there fore anticipates continued activity to finalize negotiations with bot: inland and ocean carriers. legislation and taxation committee The Chairman reviewed briefly the aajor areas of change in Canadian Tax Policy, proposed in 8ill C-259, which would affect the Mining Industry. Under the new system, th9 overall tax picture for mining companies should not be very much changed. Further action is being take.- to broaden the definition of expenditures eligible for accelerat depreciation and earned depletion. iI Bill C-256, the Competition Act, introduced on June 29tn by Hon. Ba^sford will be reviewed at public hearings during November. This new legislation is designed, to prevent monopolies or .trusts--,froa^,-; limiting competition In business. It makes a criminal offense'out of^ various restrictive or unfair practices and provides for a tribunal to rule on complex economic matter such as company mergers which may lead to monopolies. The proposed legislation is being much criticizec by business men who argue that the government is interfering in privat enterprise. As a result the bill, will quite likely be shelved until 1973. ' *' `-'J . c -6 - i Ccunsel has attended the first hearings-onSill 4E which were adjaurr after a one-day sitting to October 11th. A serious point of content! which raised considerable .opposition is the non-availability of the "assessment handbook", to be introduced later by regulation. It is feared the contents might affect the generally accepted interpretatic of the Act, especially as regards mining facilities and related real estate. Counsel'plans to watch developments'very closely, since he expects to make representations for several parties on this proposed legislation. Agreement is also expected relative to an amendme-c to Art. 206 of the Quebec Mining Act submitted at a meeting of the Canadian 8ar Association by a representative of 50QUCM in the matter of unregis tered mining right. After discussion between the Chairman of sub ject Committee and the proposer, Counsel feels that he can redraft the-amendment to the mutual satisfaction of all parties concerned. J \ PUSLIC RELATIONS Dnly the highlights of the report prepared by the Oireetor of Information Services were reviewed by the Chairman. a) Increasing acceptance by the employees and the general public of the new French-Enolish presentation of the Producer seems evident from comments received. b) The English-french.technical-lexicon...is^progressing slowly in search for greater quality. c) The poor headlines accorded Dr. McDonald's report by the Canadian news media was deplored. Nevertheless it carried the message that chrysotile asbestos fibre constitutes little ha2ard to mining production workers and virtually none to the general public...;iAn. effort should be made to demonstrate the beneficial uses and applications of chrysotile in protecting the lives of people, Its economic impor tance, to the country andTtheTmeasures-taken to suppress any ill effects from dust exposure. c - 7- ENUIRONilENTAL CONTROL CJmmiTTCC Following a discussion on the question of selling and giving tailings in place or fresh run-of-mill tailing for use off company properties, it was agreed that the Committee would make a survey of present company practices and policies concerning the distribution of tailings and would report on what is involved in phasing out present practice. This should allow everyone to give full consideration to the matter. NEW BUSINESS J/isit_of_pri_y._ColdblcomJ,_niini3ter_>_for_the_Quality of Environment^:The above meeting has bsen scheduled for October 2lst, at 4:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Asbestos Corporation Office in Thetford Wines. Or. Coldbloom will be accompanied by his deputy-minister Dr. J.,0. 8undock. The program would consist of informing the Winister on the environmental control policies and measures taken by the Asbestos Industry, the research sponsored by Q.A-.W.A.-on the biological effectsof asbsstcs and methods to improve dust suppression, etc. It was agreed that the Chairman of the' O.E.H. Committee would monitor the meeting. . Paper (with slides) to be given by J.R.W. Hutcheson on Environmental1 Control in the asbestos industry and Or. C.W. Wright to make a general review of the asbestos and health problem since 1950. Recent dust measurements taken in the air surrounding Thetford Wines and Asbestos could also be given. Amount of moneva spent.for - ~ research on asbestos end health could also be stated. It uould seem appropriate that each Company be represented by two officials. Also to be asked to attend were* Ors,.Cartier, Grainger, Pelnar and Wright, Ph. Casgraln, Counsel, Karl V. Lindall and P.A. riltaau. The group to meet at-12i30 p.m. of seme day at the Bell Asbeatoa Staff House to discuss the proceedings of the* meeting. C V c i -B- l55r.?S22?,I_Pfcember 5i 1971:- The next fleeting of the Directors of the Association will be held at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, I I December 5, 1971, at the Chateau frontenac, Quebec City. At 2:30 p.m. will follow a meeting of the Executive of the I.O.C.H. and at 6:30 p.m., the Directors and tneir associates will act as hosts at a reception and dinner in the Chateau Frontenac extended to Government officials and representatives of various associations and institutions. C0i~.~CNTS OH GENERAL BU5IWE5S C0N0ITIGKS "Business in the b.S.A. is good, but controls make planning difficul Building products industry is operating at close to capacity.." Trend in housing and industrial starts is upward (l,850,00CX and in general asbestos-cement pipe business is doing very well. "As a result of the Nixon freeze on wages and prices,,labour is expected to be quite militant and one can foresee a pariod of discussion and arguments." The 10/C surtax should not affect the Canadian fibre business to any great extent, except indirectly in the ability to sell to countries which are seriously hurt by said surcharge. The short fibre business is very strong. "The long term for?cast in the fibre and pipe business is encouragin but- industry must show leadership to meet customer demand." In the U.K., the present depreseed conditions are expected to continu for another six months; people are looking for soma sign of recovery and ora quits concerned about.1972.' Buyers are cautious, awatlng i.monetary.'problemsy.to^bo^solvedrir.flore^stability .muat .ba1.shown.-; -- , cc % I' S, Ir 9 In certain cases, business volume is ahead of last year or right on target as per budget and plans at beginning of year. 1972 according'; to surveys by architects offices indicate increased commercial projects as compared to 1971. In the operating end, however, environmental and ecological problems are consuming considerable time. . The excellent performance of one company in 1971, possibly 2Q% over;.: 1970, has prci.iotrd same to gearing operations to work at 95* of capacity in 1972. It is feared, however, that radicals are taking over in labour unions. The floor tile fibre market has oean very good in 1571. Medium grade fibre business should also be on par with 1970. In view of air-pollution control problems, one mining operation is seriou9iy considering changing over to wet processing cf tailings, i.e., a tailings pond. Outlook for soinning fibres appears strong for 1972. In Europe, the people seem to have a good understanding of the U.Sv problem and to believe that without a strong U.5. economy, they can't have a stable economy at home. It is the ganaral feeling that the U.S. will devaluate by acme S%. In the case of Japan, the yen has gone up 13 to 15^, which is what the U.S. wishes. . * ... cc 10 With the present market outlook, it would seem proper to recommend that tne Asbestos Hill operations be conducted at a moderate rate for the first year, 30 as to take the pressure off the market. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business,, the meeting then adjourned, i- CERTIFIED CORRECT Secre tary Chairman 4 i. *6. cr* c MINUTES or THE SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING Of THE QUE8EC ASBESTOS MINING ASSOCIATION hCLO ON OCTOSER 11h ANO l?th. 1971, AT THE- BROADMOOR. COLGRACQ SPRINGS. COLQHAQO TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12th, 1971 In addition to the Directors and their Associate?- wnn s-'tendad the meeting of Monday, October 11thf Dr. George U:; Wright, Chairman of.the Scientific Committee of the I.O.E.H., was present and participated in the discussion. ^ After calling the meeting :o order, the President, 'x'.'M. Oughtred, invited K. u. Lindell, Chairman of the Occupational ana Environmental Health Comr'ittee to chair the meeting. Reviewing the recent publicity on asbestos and health, the Chairman expressed his disappointment as to the headlines and comments of the Press following the news release on Or. McDonald's report. The Chairman reviewed briefly the highlights of the Ottawa meeting or- the hioljgical effect3._of asbestos which he attended September--^ 8th, ' 1971 (see report of :Dr/'P.` Pelnar re same). There were 24 people present, 12 from Industry and 12 from Government and other sectors. There seemed to be a lack of knowledge'on the part of Government people. Or. McDonald's report was fully discussed and commented by several members of his team. Mr. Lindell pointed out. that he objected very strongly tp a statement made by Dr. Buchwald to the effect that the T.L.V. in community air should be one (l) fibre per cc (fpcc) for which, in hia opinion, there waa no acien-- tific-basia.'***' c \ 'Av: - 2- Dr. A. J, de Villiers was appointed Head of the National Committee on the Biological Effects of Asbestos. It was emphasized that .the Committee should continue to operate with adequate industry participation. Dr. Pelnar attended an International Symposium on the Identificatio and measurement of Cr.vironmr"tal Pollutants which was held in Ottawa June 14th to the i7t.-.f 1971. His report shows that there v` t were 700 participants and although some of the presentations were aimeo at promoting tne monitoring of pollutants in the air, no . global program was recommended at this time. Another meeting was held in Finland on the Shipbuilding Industry. -The Swedish delegation presented a paper which was damaging to the industry since it concluded against the use of asbestos in shipbuilding. A Russian speaker dealt with generalities and ... ^ explained that he had no statistics because there was no problem In his country^ since oeople were moved as soon es affected by dust. At this time, the Chairman called on Or. Wright. DR. CECRCE W. WRIGHT In his usual masterful way Dr. Wright made a tour of the horizon of the asbestos and health issue. lii his notes - copy of which will be-forwarded later'-" Orv*.:'dJright*'commentedfoni *r'. * a) the status of.the research projects presently sponsored by the Institute; b) his recent trips to Finland and Bucharest (Romania); c) the present trend of. the Federal Government In U.S., ' In the application of Workmen1s Compensation'policiesj VaiiXjXj;'*** ' * : ****"-V M***-1^* 3- d) Pressing problems,csuch as Occupational T.L.V.'s, emission controls on air-borne asbestos by tne E.P.A., etc., referring with emphasis to the recent publication of tn f'.'2tional flc2det;y of Sciences on "Asbestos, the Need for and feasibility of Air Pollution Controls", copy of yhic* publication ic attached for your perusal. finally, Or. Wright submitted that he would liketo prepare a list of research projects and priorities covering work needed to be pursued in order to cover reasonably well several Important aspects of the asbestos and health problem which had been ignored so far. To allow Dr. Wright to aoproach, on a practical basis, peoole who would likely be disposed to carry out research on certain-, pressing problems, it was resolved that: Provided a feasible programme, car. .be developed with the proper people and within the financial capabilities of tne O.A.R.A., the latter will duly support such additional research. ! CARRICO. i There being no further business, the meeting, then edjourned. ;' ' Ct *7 I f IE L'"l'CJRRECT ' Secretary Chairman