According to a Winnipeg Free Press article, a Manitoba resident has lost a sixth family member to asbestos-related disease.  Raven ThunderSky, who has been leading a crusade against the Canadian government for endorsing asbestos-laden insulation, told the Free Press, "I can't put into words how I feel about this."

Fifty-year-old Rita Swain, ThunderSky's half-sister, was the sixth family member to die of asbestos complications.  Both of ThunderSky's parents and four of her sisters have died; five from mesothelioma and one from asbestosis.  ThunderSky, too, has asbestos-related lung disease.

ThunderSky suspects her family contracted disease from Zonolite insulation, which is used in homes and was harvested from the vermiculite mines in Libby, Montana.  Beginning in the late '70s, the Canadian government gave grants to citizens who wished to install Zonolite in their homes.  An estimated 200,000-300,000 residents took the government up on this offer.

ThunderSky is now lobbying for the government to provide funds to have Zonolite removed from homes.  She believes that Canada has the responsibility to get it out of houses since the government recommended its use.