I'm advised that we're not just talking about seasonal or normal, typical vacancies, but chronic, established vacancies. I've been told that inspectors working in northern Alberta are short-staffed by 33%, and six of 18 inspection positions were not staffed.
According to a recent Abacus Data survey, almost 60% of meat inspectors say that the shortage of inspectors is so acute that the daily presence at meat processing plants is possible only some of the time.
Is that an overstatement?