Perhaps you will not be able to answer my question immediately, but I would ask you to forward this information to us, where appropriate.
How many CFIA inspectors were at the Maple Leaf plant when this situation occurred? Let us take the months of July and August, for example. What exactly was their job there? Were these people working on the floor, inspecting the food? Were these inspectors there throughout all the operations? I think it is important to know these things. From the information we have obtained, the inspector at the contaminated Maple Leaf plant in Toronto was responsible for seven plants at the time of the listeriosis outbreak.
We are entitled to ask the following question: did the inspectors have enough time to ensure the plants for which they were responsible met the food safety requirements? Various pieces of information have been gleaned here and there since these events occurred. You can help us get some very specific answers. Is it true that this inspector was responsible for seven plants? Do you think that is appropriate? Is this how things should be, or do you think there is room for improvement?
Our objective is to ensure that tragedies of this type are as infrequent as possible. I know you cannot prevent everything. Mr. Evans said that, and we also realize that Listeria cannot be eradicated. It would be nice if we could, but that is not possible. Listeria is always present.
This subcommittee can definitely try to find some improvements. Would one improvement not be to ensure, first of all, that there are enough inspectors, and second, that they do not have more bureaucratic duties than actual work on the floor?