Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for being here to address this very important issue.
Sheila Weatherill found, and I quote from her report, that
Although the CVS is regarded as a sound system and has broad support, it needs critical improvements related to its design, planning and implementation.
Then she also indicated that
If senior management had been more engaged, the CFIA executives might have recognized that the new inspection system was being implemented without a detailed assessment of the resources available to take on these new tasks....
I want to ask you about the PricewaterhouseCoopers report released on October 21. As I understand it, PricewaterhouseCoopers was commissioned to conduct the resources audit Weatherill called for in her recommendation number seven. I'll read you recommendation number seven:
To accurately determine the demand on its inspection resources and the number of required inspectors, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency should retain third-party experts to conduct a resources audit. The experts should also recommend required changes and implementation strategies. The audit should include analysis as to how many plants an inspector should be responsible for and the appropriateness of rotation of inspectors.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report includes the following statement:
This review does not constitute certification or guarantee the accuracy of CFIA's calculation since the review did not involve, for example, either of the following: detailed testing, analysis or validation (for reliability or completeness) of data sources (e.g. timesheets or CVS reports) underlying CFIA's calculations; or technical or other assessments of CVS tasks in terms of the appropriateness of their nature, frequency or duration.
It sounds to me as if CFIA has not yet complied with Weatherill's recommendations. I'm just wondering, when will you?