Tim Duboyce

At the same time Gilles Duceppe is dodging the contentious question of which Quebec town is the true home of poutine, the Bloc leader is also unabashedly diving into another even more controversial issue.

While visiting the south central part of the province, a local reporter asked Duceppe if he thought the federal government should act to help protect the region's dwindling asbestos industry.

For decades, the mines, which are nearly all shut down, provided thousands of jobs.

(Most experts and politicians from outside Quebec agree the substance presents human health hazards that outweigh its benefits as a fire retardant in the construction of buildings.)

Duceppe is urging Ottawa to release a study on the real danger levels of asbestos, which he claims has been unduly kept from the public.

But Duceppe's most controversial claim is the following:

"We have always supported the people here in the region and [have been] telling the world that the type of asbestos done nowadays is quite different from the type that was done in the past," Duceppe said.

"Chrysotile is not the same thing as the problems we were facing at a certain time. There's quite a difference."