Agriculture committee  I think the biggest difference is that there's more awareness, both on the public end and in food animal agriculture, about the issues that are important to the public in general. Food safety and animal welfare, I think, are two big topics, big issues, with the public. I think th

Agriculture committee  The issue is clearly one of antimicrobial resistance. We are already familiar with superbugs and people who become ill with conditions that would normally have been very responsive to antibiotic treatment and are not anymore. Based on the research worldwide that's been done, th

Agriculture committee  Just so it's clear, we're not talking about removing antibiotics or antimicrobials when they're necessary. There's a real distinction to be made there, because animal welfare is really important, and it's more important than restricting or reducing the amount of antimicrobials we

Agriculture committee  I understand what you're saying, but I would argue that we could make the argument to the public that, if we don't, it's an animal welfare issue. I think that's where the focus needs to be.

Agriculture committee  I'm going to have to answer that question from an Ontario perspective, because I'm not completely up to speed with the other provinces and territories. In Ontario now, it is a mandatory requirement to report all cases of suspected abuse; we have no option. We have to break clien

Agriculture committee  There is no official requirement, but there is an understood requirement that it should be at least once a year. Again, I'm going to speak to you from my understanding. I have a pretty good understanding of Ontario. At one time, it was in writing that a veterinarian had to be o

Agriculture committee  I've only recently been chair of the national issues committee on the CVMA. To my knowledge, there have not been many comments to us that we're not doing our job, not being proactive and not dealing with the issues with respect to food safety and animal welfare. If you look at th

Agriculture committee  I'm going to put on my veterinary practitioner hat. I work and live with it every day. I look at it from that perspective. I look at the sum total of my career, which has been a long one, and I look at what's important today, compared to almost 40 years ago when I graduated. Whe

Agriculture committee  Right. I think that's a true statement. I'm not sure if you folks are aware of it, but right now, worldwide, antimicrobial resistance is a very big issue. They are very concerned about the effects on human health. Right now, that's a very prominent topic. Because it's front of m

Agriculture committee  Sorry.

Agriculture committee  Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for the opportunity to appear before your committee as a representative of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. I'm a veterinarian licensed to practice in the province of Ontario. I am the current chair of the national issues