Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not like to talk to Canadians about the consequences of their decisions. When the Canadian Food Inspection Agency discovered that beef from an Alberta plant was potentially contaminated, what happened? It took two weeks to sound the alarm, and we just learned that this product is banned in the United States.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. Yesterday, when speaking about the E. coli outbreak at the Alberta plant, the Minister of Agriculture said that there had been no illnesses in this case. So there is no problem. However, investigations are under way in five to eight cases. When this kind of problem comes up, consumers become distrustful and the entire industry pays the price.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, for months we have been telling the Conservatives that food safety is not negotiable. Their response has been to claim that the budget cuts have no impact and that E. coli contamination is not serious. The Conservatives are the ones who accelerated the food inspection process last spring.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, the tainted beef crisis is the second major crisis to shake the Canadian meat industry in less than five years. This meat recall fiasco is strangely reminiscent of the mess surrounding the listeriosis crisis. Every time, Canadian producers and the entire agri-food industry are the ones who pay the price.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, the problem with the Conservatives is that they have no idea what is going on in the different departments, or so it seems with this E. coli tainted meat crisis. The minister was incommunicado for several days while Canadians were looking for answers. The beef recall keeps expanding every day.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, there are limits to shirking responsibility for what goes on in one's own department. The United States discovered the problem on September 3, and yet the plant at the centre of all this remained open for another three weeks, until September 27. Thousands of Canadians were exposed to E. coli because of this unacceptable delayed reaction.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Burnaby—New Westminster. I congratulate my colleague on his speech. I want to point out that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a role to play. As elected representatives, we also have a role to play. Where does the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food lie in this issue?

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, I do have the bill and I think it is a good piece of legislation. This is a step in the right direction, but it needs more meat on its bones. This is not enough. We actually have some quotes if I could find them in time. With regard to Bill S-11, Bob Kingston said that, unless the government committed to providing the necessary resources, Canadians could not expect to see improvements to food safety as a result of this one bill.

Food Safety  I really do enjoy working with you on the committee. You too, Pierre—

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, obviously, it is the minister's responsibility. Why do we have ministers if they are not held accountable? He has to be held to account. This is the second time it has happened. Do we need someone else to pass away? I think this is enough. As I said, if one of our family members got sick, would the situation be different?

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, on September 3, a shipment of meat from XL Foods was stopped at the U.S. border because of E. coli contamination. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency did not ask the company for the information it needed about meat processing before September 6. Consumers were unnecessarily exposed to contamination for an extra 72 hours.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, too little, too late. Bill S-11 is not enough. Refusing to take responsibility for this crisis is not reassuring for consumers and producers, who are worried about the industry's future. For three long days, Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors did not know what they were looking for.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture is ignoring his responsibilities. He is choosing to protect his reputation instead of protecting Canadians. He is hiding behind the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He uses a technicality as an excuse every time he is asked about the details of this tainted meat issue.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, the fact that people became sick is not serious? It is not a problem? I do not understand. They make cuts to food inspection, but they spend millions of dollars on their own advertising. That is their priority. Canadians do not want a minister who is much more interested in saving his own skin than in accepting his responsibility.

World Food Day  Mr. Speaker, today is World Food Day, a day to increase awareness of food problems throughout the world and to strengthen solidarity in the fight against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Still today, 868 million people go hungry and 19 million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition.