Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has promised the events at XL Foods in Brooks, Alta., that led to the largest meat recall in Canadian history will be examined and the report made public.
“As part of our government’s response to the (Sheila) Weatherill report (on the 2008 listeria food poisoning crisis), an expert advisory committee was established some time ago,” Ritz said in the House of Commons Oct. 15. “That particular committee, along with CFIA, will completely review this and that report will be public.”
However, his promise during intense question period pressure does not represent the broad public inquiry that opposition MPs and critics have been demanding.
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It likely will be an internal review of processes without public input.
Opposition MPs want a public investigation of staffing levels at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, whether government claims of 700 new inspectors is true and if so, where they work.
They also want a public accounting of the impact of announced government cuts in CFIA budgets on CFIA inspection services.
Ritz insists there are budget increases rather than cuts, but he promised a public report on the XL fiasco that has seen the largest meat product recall in Canadian history, the closing of one of Canada’s largest meat packing plants because of E. coli contamination, the layoff of 2,000 plant workers by XL in a dispute with CFIA and then the recalling 800 of them.
The committee is a food safety advisory committee with industry and government representatives and chaired by former Canadian Food Inspection Agency president Ron Doering.
