Mr. Speaker, the hon. member makes a point. The government members may stand in the House and tell everyone until their noses grow that they have not cut, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer, appointed by the government to look at these kinds of issues, said that $16 million were directly cut from food safety, $56.1 million in cuts to the CFIA and that 200 inspectors were laid off in March. Of the 40 inspectors and 6 vets at the XL Food plant right now, only 3 of the 46 inspectors and vets were actually versed in the compliance clarification system and the other 43 were paper pushers and not completely trained.
How do we expect people to do their jobs if they are not appropriately trained and there are cuts? How can we ask the food inspectors to take the hit for this? The minister has to take the hit. The three ministers in this House responsible for Walkerton in Ontario, where people died, are now passing it on to the rest of the country. It is not acceptable.