In fact, the idea of handing over food inspection to the industry is exactly what was being proposed under Mr. Pomerleau's plan, referred to earlier. I'm referring here to the Conservative government's plan. The number of inspectors and the amounts invested are also subjects that seem to be a laughing matter to the Conservatives. Either way, statistics clearly indicate that on average, one inspector is responsible for inspecting five plants. Yet, it has been stated that the inspector working on the Maple Leaf plant had seven to inspect. I think you are the one who shared these statistics with us. We also learned that inspectors were increasingly focusing on paperwork rather than inspections out in the field, or in the plants. Regardless of what we say or what we do, some aspects of the food safety issue are not up to par, and this is one example. There is no doubt about that.
Also, we recently learned that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was supposed to create an emergency fund to deal with crises like listeriosis and this fund would have come out of its operational budget. The money allocated for this purpose represents perhaps 10 or 15%. There is talk of additional funds being disbursed, but perhaps the agency may have to use this money to create a contingency fund. Well, this is not new funding, but rather a portion of its own operational budget. Statistics can be interpreted in any number of ways, but you did point to a certain reality.