Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Kingston, in the aftermath of the listeriosis crisis, someone that the Committee is fairly well acquainted with, but does not see often enough for its own liking, stated that the different departments are like an orchestra whose musicians have never played together. Do you agree with that statement? Mr. Ritz is the one who said that.
When he made that statement, what crossed my mind was that what is really missing is a conductor. Ms. Weatherill's report, even though we deplore the fact that her investigation was carried out behind closed doors, does contain some interesting recommendations. She spoke, in particular, of a lack of leadership, especially on the part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
However, the Minister is shifting the blame, saying that it's like an orchestra that has never played together, as if there had never been any food safety issues in Canada previously, which is completely untrue. Indeed, in the late 1990s, the Auditor General made recommendations in that regard, in the wake of incidents involving food toxicity.
So, there was no one leading the orchestra and there still isn't. Since the report we have been discussing today has now been issued, in your capacity as representative of meat inspectors, do you think that there will finally be some leadership?