Mr. Speaker, I too wish Mindy a happy birthday. Unfortunately, her mother is here to ask me questions at this late hour. I wish she was at home with her daughter, but I wish her a happy birthday as well.
I think it has been said several times throughout the evening here that the first priority of our government is the safety of Canadians. That means that we have been focused and investing and making sure that food safety is a top priority for us. We have invested in having over 700 food inspectors, including 170 meat inspectors, over the last five to six years. We have also made sure that there are additional investments. In fact, in budget 2011, there was $100 million over the course of five years.
The beef producers in my riding of Simcoe--Grey are actually quite concerned about this debate. The level of fearmongering and the concerns being put forward by the opposition are really causing challenges for them with respect to how they need to deal with the beef industry.
What I ask of the opposition is to stick to the facts. The facts are that we have increased the number of food inspectors that are available. I would really like them to stop the fearmongering.