Mr. Speaker, I rise today to participate in the debate on the bill introduced by my colleague from British Columbia Southern Interior concerning the horse slaughter industry.
As my colleague from Welland, who is the NDP agriculture critic, already stated, this bill would essentially put an end to the horse slaughter industry in Canada. It would require that horses be raised for slaughter and that they have a medical record. However, we know that horses in Canada are not raised for slaughter. The majority of them are raised for other purposes, including racing or recreational use.
We have to put this in context. The United States cut all funding to the United States Department of Agriculture for inspections. Meat could then no longer be exported given that the industry was no longer subject to federal inspections. Since the market for slaughtered horsemeat was primarily an export market and not an internal market, slaughter facilities were shut down. The horses still had to be slaughtered, so they were transported to Canada. Since then, more horses have been abandoned in the United States when they could be sent to slaughter facilities.
My riding has one of the few slaughterhouses in the country for horses. The plant is called Les Viandes de la Petite Nation and it employs about 70 people in Saint-André-Avellin, a town of less than 4,000 residents. Therefore, it is a very important employer in the RCM of Papineau.
The handling of horses at that facility is viewed as one of the best in North America. The slaughtering is conducted according to government regulations. The meat is tested, examined, and batches are identified to avoid any problem. If there is contamination, the whole batch is traced and pulled out. That plant's modern system for the handling of animals was designed by Temple Grandin, a professor at the University of Colorado who is a professor of animal science and an internationally renowned expert in animal husbandry. The goal is to respect the animals and ensure their well-being to reduce their stress.
All the meat from the horses slaughtered at Les Viandes de la Petite Nation is exported to Europe. That meat is not for our domestic market. The plant is not responsible for buying horses for slaughter. European companies buy the horses and have them slaughtered and packaged at the plant.
I should point out that there is already legislation on health and safety for that industry. We have regulations about transport, about how horses should be slaughtered, and about the types of drugs that are allowed or not allowed. All this is regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
I agree that it is always possible to improve inspections—it is clear, as we can see and as we know—to ensure that horses in auction houses have correct documentation and that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency meet standards and respect animals.
Some people are also very concerned about phenylbutazone, and rightly so. In fact, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency takes those concerns very seriously. The name of that product is on the list of controlled substances, and the CFIA has made sure it is not allowed. The evidence on phenylbutazone is clear. No one challenges the fact that it is a dangerous substance and that we must be careful. I do not think any member would question that.
Finally, the rules must be followed to ensure that we can continue exporting this meat. These are jobs in my region. The United States has already gone further in that direction and, when done properly, slaughtering actually reduces the mistreatment of horses.
To duly represent my constituents of Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, I must oppose the bill put forward by the hon. member for British Columbia Southern Interior. Therefore, I will not be supporting it.