Agriculture Committee on March 14th, 2012

[Paul Mayers]

No, transportation isn't a weak link. The entire system, frankly, in terms of the Canada-U.S. movement of goods, is a very strong system. Some 58% of the foods Canada imports come from the United States. They come from a system of which we have a very high degree of understanding, and in many sectors we have gone through formal equivalence initiatives. When we look at products from the United States, within the context of that overall volume, it is not to say that problems won't occasionally arise, but there's a very high degree of compliance with Canadian requirements.

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Have you continued to work with the Americans to align safety policies?

[Paul Mayers]

Yes, and the Regulatory Cooperation Council's focus on better alignment recognizes that even though both systems are very strong, there are areas of difference, and those areas of difference....

It's not that they're having a negative impact in terms of food safety. What they're doing is serving as a barrier to trade. Those small differences in terms of goods can result in the border being a thicker border, and by pursuing the work on alignment with the U.S. as we both modernize, what we aim to do is avoid small differences on either side of the border, resulting in products being held up in crossing the border.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

You have one minute left.

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

In your modernization plan, you say that you want to improve the recruitment and training of inspectors. Who is responsible for staffing, human resources? Is it your department or another authority?

Who will provide new training to the inspectors? Who will do the upgrading? Who will determine the training content? Have there been discussions about this at round tables?

[Barbara Jordan]

We are responsible. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for recruitment and for the training of the inspectors. In the last budget, in the context of the funding received for modernization, there is a tranche of that funding that will be dedicated to putting together a very systematic, entry-level training for all inspectors. It will be of long duration and will cover all the basics of inspection. It will also have specialization for inspectors who have specialized responsibilities.

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Am I to understand that the various partners in the chain have been consulted—the producers, processors and retailers—about the content of the training, because sometimes problems may vary depending on where you are in the chain?

[Barbara Jordan]

I would say we have not had a consultation specifically on the training that will be rolled out in the context of modernization. That being said, I want to be very clear that the modernization initiative, including how we propose to do changes to our regulations, etc.... There is a big consultation effort around that and also at the round tables. Many specific issues around consistency of inspection—for example, enforcement processes, etc.—are dealt with at those tables.

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Mr. Zimmer.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Thanks for coming again. We're getting to see you lots, but that's okay.

I just had a question with regard to the melamine. We all knew what the crisis was, and all of a sudden we realized that food that possibly was unsafe was on our shelves. What I wanted to ask for the benefit of our constituents is this. How do we know when we go into Walmart, or any store for that matter, and look at some of the products that are there...? Drink boxes, for example, are $2 for 20 of them. I wonder how they can be made in Canada. I'm assuming they are made somewhere offshore. How can we be—

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Mr. Zimmer, we're being called to vote, so if you have a quick question....

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Sure. How can Canadians be reassured that the product my kids are drinking is safe in terms of CFIA? How can you reassure us it is safe?

[Paul Mayers]

First and foremost, the products on our store shelves are subject to the same requirements, whether they are imported or produced domestically. That's first and foremost, it is the same set of requirements for those products.

Second, there's the oversight system I mentioned, which assesses products and takes action, and in fact we see a very high level of compliance. Where we don't have compliance—and many of you will have seen this in the newspapers—the agency is not at all hesitant to recall products from the marketplace if they don't meet those requirements.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Sorry, but I just want to back up a bit, and I'll use that drink box as an example. Have CFIA eyes seen that prior to our consuming it, or do we respond if there is an issue with the product? Do we know for sure it is being observed?

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Sorry, but please answer quickly, Mr. Mayers.

[Paul Mayers]

Very quickly, not every lot of product that comes in is subject to direct oversight. It is the confidence in the system, and like any other area of activity, we take a risk-based approach, a science-based approach, to defining what's the appropriate sample that gives us the confidence that the entire suite of products meets requirements.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

I was under the understanding that we had 15-minute bells, and I was just told they are 30-minute bells, but I think we should call it here anyway, Mr. Zimmer.

Thanks again, Ms. Jordan and Mr. Mayers, for being here.

We'll see everybody in two weeks. The meeting is adjourned.