A town in Quebec is cleaning up its act â or rather, its name.
Asbestos announced this week that it plans to change its name, because apparently being named after a deadly mineral is a bit of a buzzkill.
Councillors voted unanimously to move forward with the decision Tuesday night. It had previously voted down a proposed name change in 2006.
âThe word âAsbestosâ does not have a good connotation, particularly in English-speaking circles,â the town wrote in a news release this week.
Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used in building and industrial materials to make structures stronger and more fire-resistant. However, itâs now banned in several countries because exposure to it can lead to health problems, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Asbestos is located about 180 kilometres from Montreal. It was home to the Jeffrey Mine, once the worldâs largest asbestos mine. At one point, the Jeffrey Mine supplied half of the worldâs asbestos. The mine shut down in 2012, and in 2018 the federal government completely banned the âmanufacture, use, import and exportâ of asbestos and products that contain it in Canada.
Watch: A New York Times story on Newfoundlandâs Dildo uses ... interesting graphic.
And while there are plenty of âless than idealâ Canadian place names â hereâs looking at you Dildo, N.L. â Asbestos town council says theyâre moving forward with the change because itâs actively hurting economic growth. The town has accumulated $7 million in debt since the mine shut down.
âWe have to adapt,â Coun. Nicole Forgues told Radio-Canada. âWe have companies ⊠that have [removed] the word âAsbestosâ from their trucks because they had problems in the United States.â
Whatâs in a name?
The town acknowledged the industrial role minerals like asbestos have played in its development, and says its citizens will have an active role in choosing a new name.
âAs citizens are the ambassadors of a municipality and are the representatives of its vitality, it was obvious that the public would be involved in the process and the choice of the new name,â said mayor Hugues Grimard.
The town is inviting Asbestonians â the name for people from Asbestos, of course â to give suggestions for the new name. Letâs hope it doesnât end up named âAsbestos McAsbestos Face.â
The process of changing the townâs name will start in early 2020.