Agriculture committee  —complicit or whether it was an accidental cross-contamination. As I say, having just confirmed the results yesterday, we are now just engaging with the producer. We anticipate that it will take us two to three weeks, as other investigations have done, to get to a determination o

Agriculture committee  As the honourable member pointed out, there's accountability across the entire production chain. That's been well recognized, as has the success of our programs. I wouldn't want anybody to walk away saying the success of BSE is based on CFIA. It is based on producer participation

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, honourable member, for the question. I think it's important to recognize that the 1997 version of the feed ban did not prohibit a rendering plant from handling ruminant material. The regulation was designed to ensure that what was processed

Agriculture committee  Again, I'm sure most of the members around the table are aware of the reports in Dow Jones and others yesterday on what the OIE has pronounced on a preliminary basis, leading to adoption in May, with further steps to follow. The international panel of the most astute subject matt

Agriculture committee  No, prions are extremely indestructible, and even under certain pressure and temperatures, through rendering processes, they don't get 100% broken down. But again, the environmental standards in terms of deep burial and containment of those issues have been looked at. There has b

Agriculture committee  Under the current circumstance, unless there can be a demonstration of a reduction in the prion activity, you're correct. The legislation is drafted in such a way that it provides the opportunity for further research to be done following these processes, to determine if in fact i

Agriculture committee  Thank you. That's quite the analogy. I'll address three very quick points, I guess, recognizing the time and the interests of the parties at the table. On the first issue, of whether this will go on in perpetuity, I would just bring it to the attention of the committee that ve

Agriculture committee  I'll just make an opening statement and certainly allow others around the table in the provincial jurisdictions who have provincial abattoirs outside a federal establishment registration.... Certainly. from a federal perspective, one of the initiatives that we continue to invest

Agriculture committee  That's exactly what we're working toward at this point, honourable member, yes. Obviously there are still short-term pressures, but hopefully as those standards become standard, that will provide additional opportunities for some of the smaller abattoir operators in the longer

Agriculture committee  Understood.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, honourable member, for the question. As I indicated earlier, I don't think anybody should underestimate that the challenges encountered in 1997 with the initial feed ban are any less than the challenges we're facing today. The 1997 feed ban was in fact brought in agai

Agriculture committee  If I could, very briefly, honourable member, at the end of the day we will have equivalent measures across the country. As I indicated, the preparation of this particular regulation was based on taking into account flexibilities that would exist based on existing infrastructure,

Agriculture committee  I would only again pick up, as the honourable member has indicated, that given the nature of this file, the regulatory lead is ours. I think it's fair to state that I have every understanding and belief that there is planning, as was indicated in our opening comments, that this i

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the clarification of the point raised, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I would ask if Freeman Libby, who has been involved with the discussions with industry and provinces across the country in implementing this, could speak to the issues of implementation and strate

Agriculture committee  Thank you, honourable member. Certainly, from my perspective, in terms of the design of the regulation and its ability to achieve the outcomes necessary to sustain public confidence in our food supply domestically and with our international trading partners, and in terms of our