Thank you both for appearing.
I'm going to start with Mr. Chambers, and then move on to Mr. Holmes.
Mr. Chambers, I'm going to ask you three questions about food safety.
A number of groups have appeared before our committee, one of which was the Agriculture Union. They made a claim that only 2% of imported food is actually inspected, which of course causes us concern and makes us alert to the issue. We really need to be factual about this. I'm wondering if you can speak to that claim and shed some light on it.
The second issue is that with respect to the lack of a food safety strategy, which you've been calling for and others have been calling for, and the fact that we are now second-last, as you say, in the lineup of 34 OECD countries in failing to have one, what do you think the holdup is? Is it a particular government? Is it a lack of initiative—and we need to be candid here—on anyone's part?
Third, I want to know if this alarms you. I'm looking at page 261 of the budget. It says that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is going to be cut by $56.1 million, something you're probably already aware of. We had 22 deaths to listeriosis not too long ago, recommendations to improve food inspection, and now we're seeing cuts of $56.1 million. To me, it means maybe they're not being quite intentional or as vigorous with food inspection as they—and by “they”, I mean the government—might be or should be.
Can you answer those three questions for me?