Mr. Chair, we would like to see the cannery. The building still exists and perhaps we can see that fired up again for the Niagara producers.
Let us move on to something else. Last year Mr. Paul Mayers, the acting VP for programs at CFIA told reporters on August 28 that 175 new meat inspectors were hired from March 2006 to March 2008. The day before at a press conference to discuss the listeriosis outbreak, the minister himself said, “there have been some 200 inspectors added to the lines of CFIA over the past two years of this government and we have another 58 that we brought on board before the end of this fiscal year”. That was on August 27, 2008. A few months later the minister said, “Between March 2006 and March 2008 we hired 200 food safety inspection personnel and an additional 87 food safety personnel have been added in the past year”. That statement was made on February 28, 2009 to the subcommittee.
What I have a problem with is the numbers. They do not add up. Initially the CFIA vice president said 175, the minister said 200 and then said there were another 58, then later on he went on to say there were 200 and then there were 87. The problem is in the subcommittee when I asked the vice-president, Mr. Cameron, could he give me the number, he could not. When I asked if he would send me the number, he said he would and of course we still have not received the number.
It seems to me the numbers have bounced all over the place and somebody really has a tough time with arithmetic because no one can actually add them up and make them come out to what they truly are.
I wonder if the minister can actually clarify all of these numbers and tell me how many meat inspectors, not inspectors, but meat inspectors were actually hired and put on the front line from 2006 to the present day?