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.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Were those things that you talked about implemented?
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
You made an interesting comment that actually kind of caught me and I didn't get all the wording for it. I will have to go back and read the blues, I guess. Correct me if I'm wrong, but basically you said that records from time to time, because the auditor's coming, actually might get falsified. Can you show me the proof of that, please? I ask you to do that because that's a serious statement about inspectors.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
I'm not trying to defend anyone; I'm only saying that's a pretty serious statement. It has been made on record here that actually inspectors, only when auditors come in, falsify records from time to time. I need to have that, and I would ask the chair for something to be shown to verify that, please.
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
Well, I can't show you anything to verify it. All I can tell you is that during our HACCP training, when I was with CFIA, that point was driven home to us, that we had to look at different forms to see if they were using the same pen to sign all the same forms, things along that line. We were trying to pick up on whether this actually did happen, and they were telling us to expect it to happen.
That was part of the training we got.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
What was happening to those records if they were falsified? Was there any sort of--
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
There would be a card written up on it, and I'm assuming that did happen with auditors. You'd have to question auditors on that. But in the history of the HACCP system, the instructors were quite clear in telling us to look for those things.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
So what do you do now? I want to move off this. You've had an incredible amount of experience in it, so what do you do now? Actually, you talked about training.
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
I work as a consultant with a company in Windsor that does import and export in meat products. I provide a training course for industry on the procedures of importing meat into Canada. I go through the gamut right from certification, getting it through the border, the inspection, everything that is required.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Would you work for an industry like McCain's, for example?
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
I do training. I do the training on my own and I advertise my course, and people participate. I have customs brokers and I have people in the industry and I have transportation companies, those sorts of things.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
I maybe do two courses a year, so I put through approximately 50 people.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
It's across the gamut. As I said, trucking companies, customs brokers. People in the U.S. have sent some of their people up.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Is there a big demand? What I'm hearing is that you're supplying something because CFIA actually isn't doing the job.
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
No, that's not actually a job with CFIA, I don't think, to train people outside the industry.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
No, I'm not saying that. But I think what I heard--I don't think, I know what I heard--is that you're required to do this because CFIA isn't doing it, so now you're working to supply that training for industry, to backfill.
7:55 p.m.
As an Individual
Yes. Let's avoid the CFIA. But I would point out that CFIA has given me assistance in doing it by providing me with guest speakers and that type of thing.
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
So that you can meet the same requirements and the same standards as CFIA?
8 p.m.
As an Individual
Right. As I said in my opening statement, the majority of people importing meat into Canada are reputable people. They want to do the right thing and they want to follow the procedures. They want to do everything right.
8 p.m.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
You made some reference, actually—and I'm not sure whether it was you or Mr. Vessey—a fair bit about comparison with the United States. They seem to be doing everything well and we're sort of doing everything badly. This is the kind of impression that was left. Can you give me any indication, when you say that, that there's backup for that?