The federal government says it will invest $113 million over the next three years in a program of increased vigilance by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to keep unsafe products off the market. 
It was one of the few agriculture and food related items in finance minister Jim FlahertyÃs 2008 $240 billion federal budget tabled in Parliament Feb. 26.
The other major announcement, a $50 million fund aimed at culling up to 10 percent of the breeding sow population in CanadaÃs pig herd, was unveiled the previous day by agriculture minister Gerry Ritz.
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The program will provide $225 per head to cover the value of the animal as well as slaughter and carcass disposal costs.
In fact, Ritz stole much of FlahertyÃs agricultural thunder with his Feb. 25 announcement of legislative changes to get money out faster to livestock producers.
“We are providing additional support for Canadian farm families – better access to $3.3 billion in advances to cope with extraordinary market pressures in the livestock sector and $50 million to help the hog sector adjust to new market realities,” the finance minister said in his budget speech.
The budget also announced a $10 million two-year research project to try to demonstrate that use of biofuel in Canadian vehicles can produce the greenhouse gas emission reductions that have been promised.
Ironically, on the same day the government announced it will do two years of research on the benefits of biofuel, the House of Commons agriculture committee completed a speedy review of Bill C-33 that will support CanadaÃs policy of requiring five percent biofuel content in gasoline by 2010 and two percent biodiesel by 2012.
However, the CFIA project was the food industry centerpiece of the budget.
Almost $30 million of the $113 million cost will come from CFIA itself after a review of its operations during the past two years produced savings of $29.7 million in projected unnecessary spending on equipment and bureaucracy to 2010-11.
A government official at a background briefing on the budget said the money will be used to hire more inspectors and staff.
She said the target will be increased inspections of products that are subject to lower inspection levels now, including fresh produce.
“Outside the heavily inspected areas like fish, meat and dairy, there have been concerns about product safety and recalls,” she said. “That is what this will target.”
The Food Safety Action Plan, first announced by prime minister Stephen Harper in mid-December with almost no detail, was outlined for the first time in finance minister Flaherty’s budget tabled in Parliament.
“The CFIA is transforming the way it performs its core role so that it can pursue smarter ways of managing risks to human and animal health,” said the budget document. “These savings are being used to help fund a major reinvestment in the Food Safety Action Plan. This will ensure that Canada better manages emerging health risks and ensure the quality and safety of products Canadians purchase.”
It said the program should help give Canadian consumers more confidence in the safety of the food products they buy.
One of the CFIA “savings” identified by the review could be controversial. Beginning next year, the government says the agency will save several million dollars by contracting out some inspection to the private sector.
Farm leaders gathered on Parliament Hill were underwhelmed by the budget.
Opposition MPs said it showed the lack of priority the minority Conservative government gives agriculture.
One notable absence from the budget was mention of an aid package for the beleaguered southwest Ontario tobacco industry.
Twice in recent weeks, Ritz had promised that an aid package was in the works and would be announced “sooner rather than later.” Critics like Liberal Brant, Ont. MP Lloyd St. Amand figured that meant a budget announcement.
However, the only budget references to the industry were some selective higher taxes and new rules to more effectively police import of illegal untaxed tobacco.
Producers have been pleading for more than a year for help to close down the Canadian industry, arguing that they cannot cope with low income and high debt because of competition from illegal untaxed imports and falling smoking rates because of government anti-smoking policies.
However, Ritz had warned that the government would not consider the expensive buyout producers have been demanding, estimated by government to be worth close to $1 billion for fewer than 1,000 active producers and several hundred additional quota holders.
The government also announced that fees for renewal of firearms licenses will be waived until May 2009.
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion immediately announced that the Liberal opposition will not defeat the government on the budget, reducing the chances of a spring election.
