Canadians kept in the dark for two weeks over tainted meat scandal: Liberals

Opposition parties are demanding to know why it took more than two weeks for the government to warn Canadian consumers of a tainted meat scandal that’s so far left nine people ill.

In Question Period on Monday, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae asked the Tories when Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was informed of the problems at the XL Foods plant in Alberta, and why it took so long to tell Canadian consumers the meat may be tainted with E. coli.

“If the Canadian consumer is so much at the forefront of the government’s concern, can the government please explain why it was that the Canadian consumer in Alberta and elsewhere was not informed for a two full weeks by the government of Canada with respect to the problems at XL?” he said.

Earlier, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair questioned the ability of Ritz to handle the growing tainted meat scandal, pointing out he was the minister in charge when a 2008 listeriosis outbreak killed more than 20 people and made dozens sick.

The NDP is blaming the extensive Canadian meat recall on cuts they say the Tories made to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

“Why are the Conservatives continuing to claim there are not cuts, when their own financial documents say just the opposite? Are their financial documents not accurate?” Mulcair asked during Question Period.

“This is the same minister who manhandled the listeriosis outbreak in 2008 and joked about “death by a thousand cold cuts.” It wasn’t funny then and it’s not funny now. Is this the best they’ve got to offer Canadians who are worried whether the food they’re giving their kids is safe?”

In 2008, Ritz joked during a phone conversation that the listeriosis outbreak, linked to cold cuts from a Maple Leaf Foods facility in Toronto, was akin to “death by a thousand cold cuts” for the government. He later apologized.

“Mr. Speaker, I can assure you the minister of agriculture is working very hard, working sincerely to ensure that this issue is dealt with appropriately including ensuring we have more food inspectors, more meat inspectors,” said Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who spoke for Ritz in the House of Commons on Monday.

MacKay said the Conservative government has increased the number of food inspectors by 700 since they came into power, and that new legislation aimed at helping the CFIA respond quickly to food safety issues has been steadfastly opposed by Mulcair and the NDP.

E.coli was first detected at an XL Foods plant in Brooks, Alta., plant on Sept. 4, but it wasn’t until three weeks later that the CFIA suspended the plant’s operating licence until measures are implemented to ensure its products are safe.

The CFIA on Sunday made dozens of additions to its list of beef products at risk of possible E.coli contamination.

The list of stores and products affected by the recall is now so long that consumers are advised to inquire at the point of purchase whether the beef they’re buying came from XL Foods.

In response to Rae, MacKay said Ritz had already “held officials accountable with respect to this issue.”

“[Ritz] has been working throughout this process, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we have more food safety capacity,” MacKay said.

“We’ve increased the CFIA’s budget by $156-million during the time in government. So, Mr. Speaker, there is more front-line workers, more safety for Canadians.”

Rae continued to demand an answer to the question of when Ritz was informed about the tainted meat, highlighting the nine people who’ve fallen ill.

“We still have two hard realities: for a long period of time, a long period of silence, Canadians consumers were not informed and the minister has not told us when he knew about the problem at XL,” he said.

“Our thoughts are certainly with anyone affected by this issue … and that is why we have continued to put consumers first when it comes to the priority of food safety,” MacKay said.

Minister Ritz will continue to have his attention on this file, MacKay said.

A timeline of events provided by the CFIA explains there was no beef recall on Sept. 4 because the “potentially harmful product never reached the Canadian marketplace.”

Alberta Premier Alison Redford met with beef producers in her province on Sunday to discuss the E. coli issue. She told reporters Alberta beef was safe.

“We have, in this province, excellent beef,” Redford said. “We stand behind our producers and we stand behind the product they produce.”

Original Article
Source: national post
Author: Allison Cross