House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 36% of the vote.
Agri-Food May 7th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, we created this policy to help Canadians and our farmers. Our policy is a good one, but we are holding consultations because we want to know if it will work, and it will. I would like to quote the member for Malpeque, who is a member of the opposition. He said that:
—the new regulations would provide consumers with honest information on the contents they purchase and the changes could also increase the consumption of Canadian products.
Agri-Food May 7th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, Canadians wanted to know what is in the food they are eating and we responded to that demand. Now, we would like to undertake studies and receive feedback on our policy. That said, our policy is a good one because Canadians want to know what is in their products.
Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act May 6th, 2010
That was seven years ago. What have you done recently?
Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act May 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member give what some might consider to be a stirring talk, but it is also most disturbing. I served in our military for 20 years. Finally, we have a government that is taking action that supports our military. Although this is a chamber of ideas, it is also a chamber of action.
Every time our government puts forward a solid initiative seeking the support of other members to support our military, the member votes against it. I talked about budget 2006. The member voted against it. He also voted against budgets in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Every time this government takes an initiative or tries to deliver money to the military to improve its equipment and support it in operation, the member votes against it. He has all sorts of flowery ideas, but when it comes time to stand in his place and vote, he either votes against or he skulks out the door so he does not have to vote.
I would like him to answer to Canadians. If Canadians want to check the record, they can go to parl.gc.ca and check his voting record every time we act for the military. Why does he skulk out of this chamber or vote against the military when it is time to take action?
Firearms Registry April 23rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, farmers in my riding and all across Canada need to know that the Liberals do not understand them and do not represent them. Yesterday, in a rather shocking display of anti-democratic behaviour, the Liberals, with help from their NDP and Bloc partners, tried desperately to force upon the public safety committee only their list of witnesses who support the long gun registry.
Farmers, hunters and rural Canadians have been clear that they want the Liberal long gun registry scrapped, but what does the Liberal leader do? He publicly states that he will force his MPs to ensure the continuation of the long gun registry. With decisions like that, it is no wonder that only a handful of Liberal MPs represent rural ridings.
Now is the time to end the Liberal long gun registry. Now is the time to target criminals and not our farmers and hunters. First Liberal MPs are whipped to support the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry, and now their leader is trying to silence Canadians who disagree with him.
Let us work together to end the long gun registry.
Mr. Speaker, I believe I did answer that question. The first thing I said was that the CFIA acted as quickly as possible based on available information. The system is working. No illnesses resulted from the salmonella contamination and recalled products were in fact identified and pulled off the shelves.
The second thing I mentioned is that we are working in close collaboration with, for example, U.S. regulators and the U.S. food and drug administration on these types of matters. We are also working in close collaboration with our provincial and territorial partners. This is one of the key issues identified in the lessons learned document that came about due to the listeriosis difficulties we encountered early last year.
The member does not have to take my word about food safety here in Canada. The member for Malpeque, who is the Liberal agriculture critic, has said, “I personally believe that our food is safe”. I must mention as well that Mr. Bob Kingston, head of the Agriculture Union, has said that we have a pretty good system.
Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss this very important issue for Canadians.
To answer one of the questions my colleague put to me, the simple fact is that CFIA acted as quickly as possible, based on the available information.
The government is determined to continually improve efforts made to protect the safety of our food supply. Recent recalls of hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP) put food safety at the forefront of the public's concerns.
I am keenly aware of these concerns but it should be understood that it is impossible to create an environment where there are no risks to food safety.
We have learned lessons from the past that will help us to continue improving our policies and our processes.
Since our Conservative government committed to implementing all 57 recommendations of the Weatherill report, I can say that many of the commitments required from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have already been met.
Actions taken to date have focused on prevention, surveillance, detection and better response, and have included such initiatives as: the hiring and training of 170 new front line inspectors, building upon the 538 the government has hired since March 2006; strengthening the CFIA's directives regarding the control of listeria in federally-registered ready-to-eat meat processing plants; equipping CFIA inspectors with better tools and technologies, such as laptops, cellphones and faster network connectivity; updating federal-provincial-territorial protocols for managing food-borne illness outbreaks; and enhancing laboratory capacity and research into the development of rapid test methods.
The CFIA and Health Canada have developed a new screening method for listeria in meat, which allows for a more rapid response during food safety investigations. Furthermore, as my colleague mentioned, we have launched a food safety portal on the web, foodsafety.gc.ca, which provides Canadians with comprehensive food safety and food-borne illness information.
The CFIA has worked closely with American officials when salmonella-affected products were first identified. The agency is working in close collaboration with U.S. regulators to make sure we have accurate and timely information so that we can remove recalled products from store shelves. To date, there have been no illnesses associated with the HVP-related recalls.
It should also be noted that we have tougher food safety requirements than we have ever had before. We take food safety very seriously and we are in the process of improving our system at all times.
Agriculture and Agri-Food April 20th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, we accept the Auditor General's recommendations, and we are already implementing many of them.
Our government continues to invest in research, including $158 million for the agri-innovations program, turning new ideas in technologies into viable market opportunities, and $26 million to modernize federal laboratories.
We are investing directly in industry, including $28 million for canola, flax and pulse crops, $6 million for beef producers and $10 million for dairy.
Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, the status of the 57 recommendations and their implementation is on the website I just listed when I last spoke.
The CFIA is dedicated to the task of enhancing Canada's food safety system and has implemented a range of initiatives as a result of the Weatherill recommendations. These include the hiring and training of 35 new inspectors of ready-to-eat meat, instituting new requirements for the control of listeria in federally registered plants that process ready-to-eat meat, enhancing laboratory capacity and research into the development of rapid test methods, and partnering with federal partners to identify new and better ways to deliver food safety messages to the public during outbreaks.
However the member does not have to take my word for it. I will conclude with two more quotes: “I'd say they are good” and “It's a pretty good system”. The person who said those was Bob Kingston, who is the head of the food inspectors' union, and he made those comments last month during media interviews.
Mr. Speaker, as the House is well aware, the government is fundamentally committed to the continuous improvement of Canada's food safety system.
In fact the member knows that at the committee level, parliamentarians struck a very special committee on food safety. She participated in that committee, in very public hearings. We had many witnesses come in front of the committee, and that committee published an excellent report with good recommendations that have been taken into consideration by this government.
Immediately after the listeriosis outbreak in summer 2008, listeria testing procedures and reporting requirements were enhanced. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada quickly proceeded to review their activities and the measures taken during the outbreak in order to identify any shortcomings and to develop solutions for improving the coordination of federal and provincial efforts to monitor food safety and to fight food-borne illnesses.
The government has taken measures because Canadians and their commercial partners must be sure that the safety of Canada's food continues to be the top priority of the government's action program. The health of Canadians and the safety of food products in Canada remain among the government's top priorities.
On September 11, 2009, the government announced an investment of $75 million and committed to act on all 57 recommendations set out in the Weatherill report, to strengthen our food safety system.
The government is moving forward on all 57 recommendations and is making measurable progress. Health Canada, PHAC and the CFIA have taken collaborative action focused on prevention, surveillance, detection and better emergency response. At this time, the majority of the recommendations are well under way, ongoing or completed. A full report on the progress of the Weatherill recommendations is available on CFIA's website at www.inspection.gc.ca. I invite my colleague to visit that site to make sure she remains current on this issue.
Do members know who agrees that our government is on the right track? The Liberal member for Malpeque and the spokesperson for the Liberal Party on food safety said, on March 15, “I personally believe that our food is safe”.
Perhaps my colleague in the Liberal Party should listen to her colleague in the Liberal Party.