The most visible symbol last week of Canada’s vigilance against the foot-and-mouth disease virus was the decision to send back a ship carrying British military equipment destined for exercises in Alberta.
It got to Quebec City, where Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials boarded and noticed mud on some of the equipment. The mud had splashed on as the equipment was hauled by trailer through muddy roads to the port.
CFIA officials said it could not enter.
“A shipload of U.K. military equipment was sent back because it was not as clean as it needed to be for entry,” agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief told Parliament April 3.
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Military commander Bruce Donaldson later told the House of Commons agriculture committee the British were apologetic: “It has been acknowledged as a mistake.”
That apology was not enough for fiery Bloc Québecois MP Suzanne Tremblay, a member of the Commons agriculture committee. She insisted that all British soldiers should be sent home.
Agriculture committee chair Charles Hubbard, a New Brunswick Liberal, said a Canadian Armed Forces member should be on each U.K. contingent coming to Canada to train, just to make sure safety precautions are taken before departure.
The federal government also announced stepped-up surveillance at airports and other ports of entry, including videos on airplanes telling travelers to be cautious.
Delegates to next week’s Summit of the Americas in Quebec City will be closely checked before entering if they come from a country with foot-and-mouth disease. They will be subjected to airport foot baths and their luggage will be thoroughly searched, CFIA officials said last week.
And at the Commons agriculture committee, senior agency official André Gravel confirmed that the disease is reportable under the Health of Animals Act.
It is an important incentive for producers.
A livestock owner finding an animal with foot-and-mouth symptoms need not hide the evidence because of fear they will lose the value of their herd.
There will be federal compensation for animals ordered destroyed because of the presence of the disease or the suspicion of the disease, Gravel said.
