Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm shocked, actually, that the government doesn't want to do some planning for the first week that Parliament is back to hear from the minister and Ms. Weatherill on an issue that 22 people died from. Anyway, that's beside the point.
To my questions, I guess they are mainly to you, Brian.
There is some discrepancy in the protocols now in place, and it could even just be a matter of interpretation. On April 29, when the Minister of Agriculture was before the committee, he stated:
If a plant finds any positive test, they are now required to immediately report that positive to the CFIA. These results are immediately submitted for further laboratory testing. In fact, results from those accredited labs will be sent back directly to the CFIA, not the processor.
Then this incident happened at the Hamilton plant. In the documentation Maple Leaf sent out on the nine wiener products recalled at that Hamilton plant, their tenth point was:
When did you notify them?
To that they said:
We notified the CFIA on July 14, upon obtaining lab confirmation of a positive environmental test on a single line at the plant and advised them of the actions we were taking to address the situation.
So it seems to me that the protocol the minister said was going to be applied is not being followed. There seems to be some discrepancy here. Maybe it's a matter of interpretation.