Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Of course, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to have a dialogue with you today.
By anyone's definition, what happened last summer was a tragedy. On my behalf, and that of the CFIA and the Government of Canada, I would again like to offer sincere condolences to everyone touched by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those families.
Each of us has a role to play in food safety. All levels of government work together to build food safety systems and policies. Governments work with players throughout the food chain to make that system work, from farmers to processors, to retailers, to our own kitchen counters.
The Government of Canada accepts its share of responsibility for what happened last summer. Protecting Canada's food supply is an important part of my job, as minister responsible for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Food safety is important to me on a deeper level, as it is to you. As a father and a grandfather, I want to know that we're serving safe food to our families. That's why our government is working so hard to learn the lessons of last summer's outbreak. In fact, there have been four lessons-learned reports that are already taking a hard, introspective look at the situation to find ways to improve. We're going even further by appointing an independent investigator to give Canadians confidence that we are leaving no stone unturned.
I would also like to thank this committee for redoubling its commitment to identify opportunities to strengthen Canada's food safety system. By adding extra meetings and sitting longer, you're going to make sure that Canadian consumers have the answers they need this spring, instead of waiting until next December—and I thank you for that. It's good to see that opposition members are willing to join government members to go that extra mile and complete this work as quickly as possible.
It can't be said enough that nothing is more important than maintaining and strengthening our food safety system. The government's most important role, as you know, is to deliver the resources and to establish the policies necessary to keep our food supply safe.
Although the CFIA is part of my portfolio as the Minister of Agriculture, it is a science-based regulatory agency with its own statutory powers. In fact, its Office of Food Safety and Recall operates independently, with protocols to act immediately when there is a confirmed link between food and illness. Every Canadian, including those who are personally affected, has this government's pledge that we will continue to strengthen Canada's food safety system.
Even prior to the events of last summer, our government announced $113 million for the food safety action plan, and introduced amendments to toughen the laws under the Food and Drugs Act.
During our first two years in government, we've hired 200 new food inspectors. The CFIA has increased its staffing by more than 13% in that timeframe. In fact, the CFIA has more resources and inspection staff than ever before, because we've allocated record budgets. This government is also investing $250 million this year in Canada's laboratory facilities.
As you know, you can't see, taste, touch, or smell many food safety risks, including the listeria we faced. That's why this government has increased monitoring for listeria. Having food inspectors simply walk around and watch the production lines is just not good enough. As technology changes and ingredients are sourced from all over the world, we must continue to improve.
Canada's food safety regulations are now tougher than ever before. Unfortunately, in early 2005 environmental tests were no longer required, and even if a plant did its own testing, there was no requirement at that time to report the results. Last summer's recalls made it clear that the cancellation of that particular requirement under a previous government was a huge mistake. That's why this government has implemented Canada's toughest environmental testing requirements. Processors are now required to meet stringent and consistent end-product and environmental testing standards. These tests are reviewed on a regular basis by CFIA inspectors. 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.
Our government is going even further by reinstating the CFIA's own comprehensive environmental testing regime. CFIA inspectors will now perform their own environmental tests to provide another level of oversight. This not only rebuilds the environmental testing regime that was cut in 2005, but it also goes above and beyond it with new and stronger requirements.
As you know, enhanced listeria testing is only one example of our continuing work to strengthen Canada's food safety system. In 2005 it became mandatory for processors to implement hazard analysis critical control point programs, also known as HACCP.
HACCP programs are an internationally accepted scientific standard for minimizing risk at key points in a production line. Sometimes this requirement has been incorrectly characterized as turning over inspection to industry. Nothing could be further from the truth. Canada's world-renowned chief veterinary officer, Brian Evans, made this point very clear to this committee. HACCP is not privatization and never will be privatization.
In reality, HACCP identifies the most critical stages in food production where problems are most likely to occur. That way we can prevent problems by focusing extra safety checks on those specific points. This helps inspectors catch potential problems sooner and fix them, rather than waiting until the end of the line.
Canada's food inspection system builds on the strength of the HACCP system. The compliance verification system, or CVS, was designed in the same year, 2005, and became mandatory in 2008. CVS complements HACCP by ensuring that inspectors consistently complete specific tasks on a checklist within certain timeframes. Some critics have mischaracterized CVS as another level of paperwork, or a weakening of the actual enforcement. Once again, nothing could be further from the truth.
Canada's food safety standards, regulations---