VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A Vancouver, British Columbia, businessman was sent to jail for 60 days Tuesday for repeatedly exposing his demolition workers to asbestos.
The sentence meted out to Arthur Moore in British Columbia Supreme Court was considered light but still welcome by Jim Sinclair, president of the British Columbia Federation of Labor.
"Thankfully, at least one time in all the time I've been in this province, an employer is going to jail for basically giving the death sentence to a whole lot of workers," Sinclair said.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported the provincial Workers Compensation Board had asked that Moore be given a prison term of six months to one year for his contempt conviction. Moore was found to have ignored court orders he halt all demolition work after failing several times to provide protection for his employees while they handled the cancer-causing material.
Court documents alleged Moore hired recovering addicts to do demolition work where they were exposed to asbestos. Some of his workers were as young as 14.
The CBC said Moore, who was arrested in October, operated under various names, including AM Environmental, Tri City Hazmat, Surrey Hazmat and Pro Scan Environmental.
"Over the last few years, he has exposed at least 50 different workers to asbestos products in the demolition," said Lee Loftus, spokesman for the British Columbia and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council.
