Yes.
Evidence of meeting #9 for Subcommittee on Food Safety in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was inspectors.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #9 for Subcommittee on Food Safety in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was inspectors.
A recording is available from Parliament.
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
In terms of food safety and food health and sickness, can you give me the actual documentation or the background, based on your comments that we're much worse than the United States? You say we have many more deaths and many more sick people proportionately than the United States under their regime. Can you supply that to me, please?
8 p.m.
As an Individual
I can't supply that, but what I can tell you is that they're reducing the risk of that happening. I think they've gone a little overboard on some things, to be honest, like the Department of Homeland Security. As you know, they're quite extreme in what they want, and what has been happening is that to get a load of meat into the U.S., you have to go through three or four government agencies. You have to go through the Food and Drug Administration, you have to go through the USDA APHIS, and every load has to go through an I-house.
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
I'm hoping you're not suggesting that we would create a homeland security--
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Okay. But I am concerned because of the statements you've made in terms of the comparison, which seems to, in my mind, put Canada's food safety in pretty deep trouble compared to that of the States.
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Well, I think I need more than one, because that's a pretty--
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
We have 12 million to 13 million, we're told, food-borne diseases in a year, or sicknesses, I guess, and I'm looking to get that sort of comparison. So out of those 12 million to 13 million we get some sicknesses; in relationship to that, we had 22 deaths because of listeria, a product, something that happens that you can't feel, can't taste, and can't smell. It's there. It isn't something that's seen. Mr. Vessey talked about critical points, and I don't know in fact that where this was caused was a critical point. You talked about it being where the meat and the slicer actually meet; that it's usually at that critical point. But I don't understand the slicer. My understanding was that it was down inside and deeper than that.
Mr. Caron, all I'm really concerned about is the impression that's being left in terms of your comments about food safety. I can tell you that I think if you were to look at the facts of Maple Leaf right now, at their credibility, and if you were to look at their sales, I think you would see that actually they're coming back. Canadians trust food in Canada. I don't know if you can make a comment in terms of that comparison.
8 p.m.
As an Individual
First of all, I consume Maple Leaf products now and I always have. Secondly, the one thing I'd like to draw your attention to is that in Canada we allow exporters of meat to the U.S.A. to have notice in advance on whether their loads are going to be inspected or not, and I objected to this quite vigorously when I was with CFIA. An exporter to the U.S. knows 72 hours.... I remember doing an import inspection on a load of turkey breasts. I looked at the certificate. It was dated a day after the kill date, so the turkeys were still walking around when the load was certified for export.
At the same time, you have offshore meat shipments, and the exporter knows 30 days in advance whether his shipment is going to be inspected. In the U.S., you don't know until the load hits the border and it goes to the I-house. That's when they get their assignment. That's when it's determined whether they're going to be inspected or not.
8 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Just so I can clarify that, Mr. Caron, you're saying that here we notify them in advance?
8 p.m.
As an Individual
That's a good question. I remember when it was proposed at the time--
8 p.m.
As an Individual
I would say when they went to the skip losses; it's part of the free trade agreement. I think it was back in the early nineties.
8 p.m.
Liberal
Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Thank you, Chair.
I have in front of me a document that we were able to acquire through the access to information and privacy act. This is a “Scenario Note” of the meeting of the board of directors of the Canadian Meat Council on April 7, 2006. According to this document, the CFIA reluctantly implemented but “disagrees with a number of specific USDA requirements”, such as “daily visits, finished product testing for listeria”, etc.
Given what happened later on, with the resulting crisis, could you explain this position? And how do you think Canadians should interpret this position?
My question is to both of these gentlemen. Am I putting you on the spot?
8:05 p.m.
As an Individual
Well, no. I always like to try to answer a question, but because I haven't been working since this whole listeria crisis came up, I don't think it would be fair for me to comment on that specifically.
8:05 p.m.
As an Individual
Yes, I understand that, but I don't have the comfort in answering that.