Thomas Mulcair

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, four years ago, 22 Canadians died during the listeriosis crisis. The Minister of Agriculture has not learned from his mistakes. It has been 30 days since the E. coli bacteria was found in XL Foods products, but the Conservatives still cannot guarantee that there is no tainted meat on the market.

How can the Prime Minister say that they have improved the food inspection process when his Minister of Agriculture is overseeing the largest recall of tainted meat in the history of Canada?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not seem to have the slightest concept of ministerial responsibility. The minister responsible for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is the official responsible for food safety, period.

They cannot pass the buck to civil servants; they cannot keep their feet to the fire. What they can do is take responsibility and be accountable. That is the basis of our parliamentary system. However, the Conservatives say the minister is not responsible. The minister did not tell the truth, but the Conservatives say he is not responsible.

If the Minister of Agriculture will not be held responsible for the tainted meat scandal, then what is the point of having a minister?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, 700,000 new inspectors, indeed. And the Conservatives do not lie.

The 2012-13 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is very clear: $46.6 million in cuts and 314 employees laid off.

The most recent recall is of tainted meat purchased on September 28. The health alert over the E. coli bacteria went out not one day, three days or seven days later, but 25 days later.

Why was tainted meat still on grocery store shelves last Friday?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to claim that they did not cut money from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, but they did.

On September 25, the Minister of Agriculture said that the tainted meat did not make its way onto grocery store shelves, but it did. Yesterday, the Conservatives tried to blame officials: “The Minister of Agriculture will continue to hold those responsible for food safety accountable...”.

Does the Prime Minister think that food safety is the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture or not?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, why are the Conservatives continuing to claim there are no cuts when their own financial documents say just the opposite? Are their financial documents not accurate?

This is the same minister who mishandled the listeriosis outbreak in 2008, and joked about “death by a thousand....cold cuts”. It was not funny then, and it is not funny now. Is this the best they have to offer Canadians who are worried whether the food they are giving their kids is safe?

The minister stands in the House and keeps making misleading statements. Will there be no accountability for this new tainted meat scandal?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, how could the minister claim that tainted meat had not made it to grocery store shelves? That is the question.

How could he put Canadians in danger by telling the opposite of the truth?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's 2012-13 report on plans and priorities is clear: $46.6 million in cuts were made over two years and 314 employees were laid off.

The minister must stop claiming that no cuts were made. There have been cuts.

Does the minister not realize what a serious impact his cuts will have on the health of Canadian consumers?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the tainted meat issue, the Minister of Agriculture told the House that no tainted products had made it to store shelves. Yet people are sick because of this tainted meat.

The minister also said that no cuts were made to food inspection, but his own documents reveal that cuts were made to funding and staff.

Why did the Conservatives not take the tainted meat issue seriously?

[Foreign Investment, September 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, even Conservative MPs have expressed concerns about this deal. The Conservatives are considering allowing a foreign state-owned company to buy a huge slice of Canada's natural resources. Yet the guidelines for evaluating this takeover are being kept secret from the Canadian public. The minister says there are new guidelines, but will not tell us what they are until after the deal is done.

Why does this Conservative government persist? Why does it have to hide these new rules from the Canadian public?

[Foreign Investment, September 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of Natural Resources promised Canadians that new rules for evaluating foreign takeovers were on the way, but he also said the new rules would not be made public until after the decision was made on the Nexen takeover.

Why are the guidelines for evaluating one of the most important foreign takeovers in Canadian history being kept secret from the Canadian public?

[Foreign Investment, September 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Canadian oil company executives expressed concerns about the takeover of Nexen by a state-run Chinese company.

Members of the U.S. Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, are also expressing their concerns about the takeover of their resources by China. American elected officials understand what is at stake. Canadians understand what is at stake. The people who do not seem to understand are the Conservatives.

Why have they not yet made public the evaluation criteria that will be used to approve or reject the takeover of Nexen?