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Asbestos industry strikes back at Jon Stewart exec says Daily Show duped him

By Moe Tamani on | From asbestosdaily.com

You are here Brandon Sun Entertainment Entertainment Breaking News Angry asbestos executive says he was duped by Jon Stewart show

The Canadian Press ONLINE EDITION

By Sidhartha Banerjee The Canadian Press

17/05/2011 2:41 PM | Comments 2

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Daily Show correspondent Indian-born Aasif Mandvi stops for a photo at a New York premiere on Nov 11 2010 Mandvi interviewed Asbestos Jeffrey Mine boss Bernard Coulombe last week in an interview which Coulombe since called a tacky parody and in poor taste THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Starpix Dave Allocca

MONTREAL Quebec's asbestos industry which was subjected to international ridicule last week lashed back against the Jon Stewart show on Tuesday

The head of one of the country's last remaining asbestos mines called the satirical news report on the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart a tacky parody that was in poor taste

In a statement Jeffrey Mine boss Bernard Coulombe said he felt disgusted that he unwittingly participated in a segment he considered a hatchet job

He said he didn't know what he was getting himself into when he agreed to be interviewed and found out only later to his surprise that he was speaking to a comedian

It was already too late by the time I realized that this program was not a serious news show and that all the host wanted was to make fun of me and the town's representatives to insult us and to deliver anti-asbestos propaganda Coulombe said

Had we known what he had in store for us obviously I never would have agreed to involve myself in something for which I and the entire chrysotile industry would unfairly end up paying the price

The five-minute report interviewed local town officials and Coloumbe who said chrysotile asbestos is perfectly safe if handled properly A Canadian Medical Association doctor also quoted in the piece however called the industry a national embarrassment

The report said there was little evidence the product is handled safely in India the prime market for Quebec asbestos It ran images from a CBC documentary of Indian workers tossing around bags of the substance

Reporter Aasif Mandvi who was born in Mumbai mocked Coulombe and his suggestion that asbestos could be handled safely in India

At one point he even referred to Coulombe as a douchebag This was after Coulombe joked that Indians were perhaps better equipped to work with asbestos because they're used to living in pollution

In Tuesday's response Coulombe said the only purpose of the report was to discredit him and make the people of Asbestos Que look like ignorant imbeciles

Meanwhile the mayor of the town of about 7,000 said Tuesday he considers the Stewart affair over and done with

For me the incident is closed Hugues Grimard said in a phone interview

I'm working in a positive way to diversify the economy in the region All my efforts are aimed at that

I don't have time to waste on things like this

Coulombe insisted that the type of substance that is mined in the Quebec town chrysotile has been proven to be safe when used in accordance with safety standards

He says those standards are followed in Quebec mining operations as well as in many of the countries where chrysotile is exported

Coulombe said that foreign importers who fail to use the chrysotile safely are no longer sold the product

The mining of asbestos is an intensely sensitive issue in Quebec

Canadian exports all of which come from that province and are sold mainly to developing countries are increasingly under attack from international critics

Canadian scientists and physicians have called on the province to stop extracting and exporting the hazardous mineral

According to World Health Organization estimates more than 107,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer mesothelioma and respiratory diseases from workplace exposure

But the asbestos industry in Quebec is a fierce defender of the product and has repeatedly said it can be used safely

Coulombe dismissed the Stewart piece as a crude attempt to discredit the mine which was given new life as Jean Charest's government recently announced a $58-million loan guarantee to keep it open

Asbestos Que has become fodder for foreign comedians in recent years an Australian TV show once held a contest for advertising professionals to try making tourists want to visit the place

Grimard said the city manager interviewed as part of the report was also unaware as to what The Daily Show was The town gets a lot of media calls requesting interviews

We find it to be disappointing the attitude of certain media and the relentlessness media scrutiny on the town of Asbestos Grimard said

They should take the time to look at the situation as a whole and not have blinders on when they look at Asbestos

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Posted by:derric01

May 17 2011 at 1:57 PM

Anyone who just agrees to be interviewed by a US TV show without doing a bit of basic research isn't necessarily the sharpest knife in the drawer

Posted by:lindsortorte

May 17 2011 at 12:25 PM

I think a person who thinks asbestos is harmless doesn't need The Daily Show to look dumb--he pulls that one off all by himself

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