Six days after the U.S. government said it was going to start looking harder at meat imports from Canada, based on dubious findings at a now defunct Alberta slaughterhouse — and apparently a few others — the Canadian Minister for Agriculture has publicly responded (the PR isn’t on the Ag Canada website yet, but will eventually show up at http://www.agr.gc.ca/cb/index_e.php).
The statement below is even more baffling in that there is no mention of the 45 sick Canadians, including one dead person, probably linked to the same world-class meat. And Ted Haney, president of the Canada Beef Export Federation, said in the Toronto Star this morning that, "This is a disruption of trade, a disruption of price and a disruption of production. This simply can’t be justified."
At some point, someone in charge — they make the big bucks — may explain what kind of testing goes on and provide some data to validate the claims of Canada’s world-class status.
In the meantime, Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, (exactly as pictured, left) said:
"I have every confidence in the strength and quality of Canada’s food safety, and I have strongly stated our Government’s disappointment with United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to temporarily hold and test Canadian beef, pork, and poultry exports to the U.S. We believe that the scope of these measures is not justified nor do they reflect established protocols.
The Government of Canada is committed to maintaining and strengthening Canada’s world-class food safety system to ensure that Canadians and our trading partners can purchase our food products with total confidence.
Protecting and promoting the health and safety of Canadians is of paramount importance for this Government, and we highlighted our strong and continued commitment to deliver action on food and product safety in our recent Speech from the Throne.
The Government of Canada is taking an active role in resolving this issue as quickly as possible to minimize any disruption to the Canadian beef, poultry and pork industries. Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials and I are working closely with our American counterparts toward the normalization of cross-border trade.
The Government of Canada is delivering results to maintain and enhance Canada’s world-class food safety system and make sure it meets the new challenges of a global marketplace."