Debates of Oct. 4th, 2012

Ethics

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the parliamentary secretary has not addressed the question as she goes back through history and tries to mount an attack, but it does not hold water any more. There was a public inquiry. That was settled. There was not a Liberal elected person charged under that inquiry, but she wants to talk about scandal.

The fact of the matter is that this member is using the kind of doublespeak that we have seen all along. She tries to slough away the current E. coli crisis, when in fact we all know that the biggest beef recall in Canadian history is under way.

Something went wrong. What are those 700 inspectors doing? Are any of them in a primary slaughter beef plant? Were new people really added there?

What is really needed is for the Minister of Health and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to come together and give some assurances to Canadians so that consumers can have confidence in all the good beef coming from--

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite certainly has a lot of courage to stand up in this House and make those remarks about the Liberal Party, which totally disregarded Canadian taxpayers' hard-earned dollars during the sponsorship scandal.

On this side of the House we respect Canadian taxpayers and maintain a high standard in the use of taxpayers' dollars.

With respect to the specific plant he refers to, we have augmented the number of inspectors and veterinarians at that site. I encourage him to look at those facts when he makes comments, as he did in this House.

We will continue to stay focused on the creation of good paying, full-time jobs, continued economic growth and the things that Canadians are focused on, as well as making sure that food in this country is safe. That is why we augmented the number of inspectors and veterinarians at this plant. That is why we augmented the numbers overall. I encourage him to take a look at the facts.

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:58 p.m.)