Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture admitted that he does not know how many meat inspectors he has at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Canada went through a listeriosis crisis. Twenty-two people died. Yet here we are, two years later, and the minister is still not taking food safety seriously.
In March he promised to hire upward of 170 additional inspectors. Why did the minister fail so miserably in honouring that commitment? If he cannot tell us how many inspectors he has, how can he protect Canadians?