All forms of asbestos are carcinogenic. This includes the white asbestos mined and exported in Canada - chrysotile. Knowledge about the dangers of all forms of asbestos has existed since the early 1920s. But over the course of the century, the Canadian government, in conjunction with the asbestos industry, has engaged in a deception to hide the risks of asbestos from workers. When the hazards of chrysotile were revealed to the public, they claimed they didn't know of its risks until the 1970s and they promptly dealt with the problem by implementing what they called "controlled use" of asbestos.
Controlled use, the Canadian government and the Asbestos Institute suggest, means that with our high level of protective technologies, asbestos can now be used safely and without risk to both those working with it and those receiving second-hand exposure. There is no evidence that controlled use has been implemented successfully anywhere in the world. Canadian workers are continuing to be diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, workers who were exposed in the 70s and 80s when controlled use policies were already supposed to be in place. Even the pro-commerce World Trade Organization has suggested that the concept is highly questionable in practice. And most obviously, if chrysotile is so safe, why is the Canadian government spending millions of dollars to remove it from government buildings?