Members of the House of Commons public accounts committee have put the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on a form of probation.
By Dec. 31, CFIA must provide the committee with a detailed plan on how it will fix gaps in its plant protection policy identified in a 2008 report by auditor general Sheila Fraser.
By June 30, 2010, it must provide a status report on how the plan is being implemented and do the same each year until it is complete.
“There is a general consensus that it costs less to deal with invasive plants and pests before they become established, so inspections and border controls are important,” public accounts committee chair Shawn Murphy said in a statement issued with the report.
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“The CFIA needs ongoing funding for the plant protection programs and must remain focused on solving the problems identified in the audit.”
In her 2008 report, Fraser said agency efforts to control and prevent import of pests and disease that could decimate Canada’s $100 billion agriculture and forestry sectors were inconsistent and inadequate.
Not all imports that are supposed to be inspected are inspected, communication with other agencies including border and customs security is inadequate and communication between CFIA offices about inspections is antiquated and often paper-based rather than electronic.
The public accounts committee acknowledged that CFIA has accepted the criticism and says it is working on a plan to correct the gaps.
However, it said action should have been taken long ago.
