Mr. Speaker, when it comes to food safety, our government's top priority is the health and safety of Canadians. That is why the Food Inspection Agency directs its available resources to specific priority areas such as food safety and front-line inspection.
Since March 2006, the agency's field inspection staff has increased by more than 700, an increase of approximately 25%. The opposition members conveniently and repeatedly ignore this stat.
I stress that how inspection is done is just as important as how many inspectors are doing the work. That is why in budget 2011, the budget that the Liberal Party voted against, our government provided the CFIA with over $100 million over five years to modernize food safety inspection in Canada. The agency is using the investment to do a number of things: update its inspection approach based on common inspection activities and standard procedures; deliver better training to inspectors; expand the use of science to help refocus resources on high-risk areas; implement Health Canada's revised listeria policy; build a secure electronic interface so CFIA can share information more effectively with stakeholders; and provide better, more modern tools for front-line inspectors.
As the CFIA continues to modernize its inspection approaches, it will ensure there continues to be enough inspection staff to protect the health and safety of Canadians.
In the last four federal budgets, our Conservative government has invested significantly in our food safety system. The opposition always votes against these investments. In addition to budget 2011, in budget 2012 we provided $51 million over two years to CFIA, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada to continue key food safety activities. The recent budget is strengthening, not weakening, our government's commitment to the health and safety of Canadians.
The CFIA has not and will not reduce staff or cut programs that would put the health and safety of Canadians at risk. Indeed, our government is supporting the CFIA's drive toward modernization and will allow the agency to focus its resources where they are needed the most.
If the Liberals really cared about food safety for Canadians, they would have supported the millions of dollars this government invested in budget after budget to ensure that Canadians would have safe food on their tables. The Liberals continue to vote against these initiatives to ensure CFIA has the strength and the focus to ensure we have the health and safety of Canadians put first.