Canadian comedians fight mesothelioma with satire

Comedian Lauren Cochrane's grandfather died of mesothelioma in 2007. Now, the Canadian stand-up comic and other young comedians (Sean Devlin, Cam Reed, and more) are using their talents to bring attention to Canadian asbestos exportation with the catchy, funny, and eye-opening campaign Canada Causes Cancer.

Cochrane plays an oblivious character named Crystal Tile who invents asbestos products like a fire-proof asbestos jumper for babies, and asbestos trivets for the kitchen. Male counterpart Chris O'Tile suggests asbestos insulation for hot tubs and asbestos coffee cozies:


Their aim is memorable, funny, and gets to the point: Prime Minister Stephen Harper should either ban asbestos, or install asbestos insulation in his home. The Prime Minister recently had asbestos abatement in his home, and each skit begins with the words: "Canada exports asbestos to developing countries, yet the Prime Minister took it out of his home. We're putting it back!"

The hypocrisy of Canada's "pro-asbestos abroad/ anti-asbestos domestically" stance is obvious, and like Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal, or Stephen Colbert's persona, satire can represent the truth of a situation that one has grown tired of repeatedly decrying. A fireproof baby gets more YouTube hits than an exposé about flagrant workplace dangers in India, but their goal is the same: stop Canada from exporting asbestos.


What do you think? Tasteless? Funny? Effective?