Canada’s meat sectors were calculating the implications late last week as they begin absorbing the surprise news that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now the jurisdiction of Health Canada.
“We think on balance it makes sense to have food safety responsibility and accountability, the three organizations, together,” Canadian Meat Council government and media relations director Ron Davidson said following the Oct. 9 announcement.
“We are glad the inspectors are staying together in one department … but I don’t think they went very far into CFIA when they were planning this, so I think they have a lot of stuff to work out yet.”
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It was a theme among industry officials responding to the announcement of the most major change in food safety and food inspection structures in 16 years since the CFIA was created.
However, details are scarce about how the new configuration will work with responsibilities split between the health and agriculture departments.
“At this point, I guess we’re really trying to understand where we go if there is a problem,” said Canadian Pork Council communications director Gary Stordy.
“On the surface, we’re pleased that anything to do with exporting stays with Agriculture Canada, and we hope that functions well going forward. The food safety side is a bit more of a mystery.”
For Bob Kingston, president of the union that represents many CFIA employees, there is no mystery.
“They basically have flipped ministers, but the way the system works basically hasn’t changed,” he said.
“Reporting responsibilities have changed, but I don’t hear any commitment for more resources. We do have serious concerns that this change is largely a cosmetic one that will have little positive effect on food safety outcomes in Canada.”
Opposition politicians took the same line of argument, speculating that it was a vote of non-confidence in agriculture minister Gerry Ritz and his handling of the CFIA through several food safety crises.
“I definitely think this is a recognition that Ritz didn’t do a great job on the CFIA file,” said Liberal agriculture critic Mark Eyking.
“I’m not saying this (re-organization) is a bad move, and I hope it produces a more coherent system, but the core of the problem is resources and the fact that the Conservatives don’t believe we need all those inspectors and that companies should be more self-regulating. That is what has to change.”
As Ritz prepares for a new session of Parliament without the requirement to face opposition questions about food safety, he said it is one of the aspects of the change in responsibility he welcomes.
“I won’t miss the politicization on food safety that I saw coming from the opposition in question period.”
