Thank you.
First, Canada does have one the safest food supplies in the world. The food inspection systems put into place to verify the actions taken by food manufacturers and importers are based on a risk-based approach, using the history of compliance; and when we take into account that history of compliance, it can, at times, include some of our previous non-compliance data.
Now, with regard to the food safety action plan, as has been noted, the food supply has become more complex. With the globalization of the food supply, we do find there are new products and new ingredients coming in from many countries. That same environment applies domestically, where we do have consumer demand for new and different products. Both industry and governments seek to respond in this new environment to verify that the products continue to be safe for Canadians.
There are occasions when we do find problems with the food supply. If that situation did not exist, you would not need CFIA. When do find there is a problem, we find that both the Canadian industry and importers do work with us to respond quickly to these events when they occur.
Further to that, we work very closely with other governments, and if we do find a problem that emerges with regard to a particular food product, we do work with other governments to verify that actions have been put into place to address some of these risks at source.
So the action plan itself is oriented at enhancing our capacity to do that, to further ensure the safety of the food supply, and it builds on the roles and responsibilities of those engaged in our food safety system, including industry, governments, and consumers. So it looks at better identifying those areas of risk, putting in targeted measures that will help us to address those areas of risk, working with foreign governments to address risks at source, and providing more information to consumers, so they too can play a role in the safety of the food supply.
So this announcement is relatively recent, and certainly we are working very actively to be able to work towards an action plan that will realize some of the objectives the government has identified in that action plan.