Evidence of meeting #43 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cfia.
A recording is available from Parliament.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
That was made public in budget 2008.
6:25 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
No, not the intention; I mean in terms of the details of those changes. Where would a member of Parliament or a citizen find, not the announcement in the budget, but the details of the operational changes? Is that public knowledge, or are there public documents that I could find to show exactly how the inspection of the feed mills has changed, and particularly the one that you mentioned: eliminating mandatory label registration of meat product and processed meats?
Where would I find the detailed information on how that has changed? What I'm asking is, is it in the public domain?
6:25 p.m.
Acting Vice-President, Programs, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
The approach the agency is taking for each of these initiatives continues to be elaborated as we implement the initiatives.
6:25 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
I'm sorry to interrupt, but I only have seven minutes.
So what you're telling me is that as a citizen I can't find out how the operational changes are taking place—not the announcement in budget 2008, not the intention to change things, but the exact way in which we're changing direction, particularly the elimination of the way the mandatory label registration takes place and how it's happening and the effects it will have on my family, for instance.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
In terms of the process, honourable member, the only adjustment that has been made in 2008-09 is the adjustment to the avian influenza program, which was the decision not to go forward and purchase the disposal equipment.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
That is the only difference.
6:25 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
So what I'm hearing is that we don't have the details yet of how things are going to change in these other facets. You have a change in approach, but you don't have the details that you can share with me.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
We don't have all of those finalized at this point, because those adjustments don't kick in until future years in terms of implementation.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Yes, a regulatory plan has been published that talks about the changes that are necessary as they relate to—
6:25 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
No, no, I'm talking about what actually happens on the ground. In each of these areas that you just mentioned, can I look at a document that says that from now on, in the case of meat products, we are going to change the way in which we actually regulate meat products, and here's who's going to look at them, here are the standard criteria, here are how many times an abattoir is going to be visited, and here's what they have to show us in terms of records? If there are changes that have been proposed and changes that are being made, I want to know what the heck those changes are.
What I'm hearing from you is, well, we announced in the budget that we're going to do it and there's an approach in place, but I want to know the details of how it's going to change for me as a consumer and for the producers. What I'm hearing you say is that it's not there yet.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
It is not there yet because the implementation of those changes has not been scheduled to take place, and for some not until 2010-11.
So as we said before, we consult. We will be consulting with industry, with provinces, and with consumers about the actual details of the plans prior to their full implementation.
6:25 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
As I said, there's a progression on each of these. Each of them has an individual timeline for when it's scheduled to be implemented in terms of the reallocation of the funding.
6:25 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
The final question I have, Mr. Chair, is that I just know that what's happening here in terms of what the government is doing is not in isolation.
I want to know if you're aware of and took part in the whole Treasury Board panel review of inspections of how labs are used. I'm not sure if the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was part of that, but I understand there was a Treasury Board panel put together—a group of experts, who I think were doing their work from August to December 2007—to look at how government can create “efficiencies and partnerships” with industry in terms of how they monitor and how they do testing in labs. Is that something you were part of?
6:30 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
We at CFIA were aware that under the government's science and technology platform, there was a review of what are called non-regulatory laboratories. CFIA is a regulatory agency, so our laboratory system was not considered within the scope of that review.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
6:30 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
I guess the last question I have, and can't resist, is on BSE.
I have to say, Mr. Evans, that I know you've said in the past that our system is up to the highest standard. I respectfully disagree. I'd just like to know, for the committee and for the public.... You mentioned that you looked at 60,000 samples per year.
6:30 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
That's what we're currently doing.
6:30 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Could you give evidence—perhaps not right now—to the committee about the sampling in other jurisdictions, be it Japan or Europe, if you have that information? And how many samples do they test per year? I believe, but I could be wrong, that they are more rigorous.
The final point is that I know that in the past you have publicly ruled out the idea of banning animal waste products as feed for cattle, yet isn't it the case that animal waste as feed has been banned in other jurisdictions, such as Europe?
6:30 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Mr. Chair, we would be more than pleased to share the information we have available on testing programs in other jurisdictions as part of our import assessments of other countries.
As we've indicated, our surveillance system in Canada is based on the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health and their surveillance guidelines. Our program is designed accordingly, and we are substantively exceeding the parameters set for us by that organization.
6:30 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
I heard that, but I'm specifically talking about those two jurisdictions.
6:30 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
To conclude, Mr. Chair, as we've testified on numerous occasions on BSE testing, we do recognize that other countries have adopted different approaches, for different reasons that are not food safety and public health related.
As has been seen in many countries, testing young animals at slaughter, while it may inflate numbers, has no potential to detect BSE, because (a) those animals are not affected at that young an age, and (b) the test methods are not validated to find it even if the animals could incubate the disease. The approach we have taken has been driven by science.
On the issue of SRM removal, in fact Canada did, in 2006, publish a total removal of all SRM from animal feed. That has been in force since July 2007.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Bezan
Thank you. Your time has expired.
We're going to our five-minute round.
Mr. St. Amand.