Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulator fired for leaking government plan

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Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulator fired for leaking government plan

http://www.publicvalues.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=00117

Canadians' health and safety risked by handing regulation to unaccountable

private sector.

by Michèle Demers

When an honest and dedicated food safety professional is fired just for the sake

of a communications plan, we must all be very wary of the direction the country

is headed. Luc Pomerleau was fired by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

last week for releasing a government document implementing the shift of food

inspection from government to food manufacturers and distributers.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Pomerleau was alarmed by the vision of the fox guarding

the henhouse. In his position at the service of Canadians, Mr. Pomerleau was

part of a large team of government scientists and regulators assigned as the

watchdog for all food produced in or imported into Canada. After studying the

document, he became concerned for the health of his own children and for all

Canadians. He made the right choice, even if his boss does not think so.

Transferring the responsibility to industry is not the right thing to do.

Mr. Harper is selling off his own country — our country — one vital piece at a

time. All of us should beware. The privatization initiative: brokering federal

laboratories and buildings, contracting out government services to the lowest

bidder, including much of the information technology work, and now delegating

the food inspection and product labelling to private industry, is all at a huge

cost to us taxpayers. Are we Canadians at risk? Is our security and safety

jeopardized? What will the cost be in the long run?

Mr. Harper and his minority Conservative government are secretly implementing

their privatization agenda. As months go by, that ideology has started to

permeate all levels of government departments and services. By handing public

services over to a non-elected, non-accountable private sector, they are risking

Canadians' health and safety one decision at a time. Most disconcerting is the

dismantling of the regulatory functions of the federal government. Who will bear

the brunt of these decisions? We will. Even though Mr. Harper promised us

accountability and transparency, he is clearly moving in secrecy.

Canadians have faced a number of human health or animal health crises, such as

SARS, mad cow disease, avian influenza, and E. coli in produce. The adverse

effects have been mitigated by the quick and effective work done at CFIA, Health

Canada and other federal departments. Food allergies are on the rise, and

children, in as early as grade 1, are taught how to read labels. We purchase,

eat and drink items from all over the world. We do so with the trust that many

vigilant, hard-working professionals have ensured a high level of safety.

Furthermore we have faith that the information on the labels is accurate and

truthful because of CFIA's high reputation. In this global economy, it is the

wrong time for the government to withdraw from the inspection of animal feed

mills, the certification of commercial seed and the elimination of mandatory

label registration of meat and processed products. Implementing self-policing

for the food industry will never be the

right choice.

This government's actions are induced by an ominous exercise titled " strategic

review " . The review requires that government departments and agencies reallocate

5 % of their budgets to some unnamed new priority. Whatever way you figure, five

per cent is a fair chunk of change. There is very little information available

on strategic review. Will access to confidential reports be the only way to find

out what Mr. Harper and his Cabinet have in store for Canadians? More to the

point, has the government done the necessary risk analysis of the impact on

Canadians' well-being to prove that these cutbacks are scientifically sound?

Reviewing programs can be necessary, but setting an arbitrary financial target

for cuts is not. Financial cuts mean fewer services. Canada is not a discount

store where you get a smiley face when you roll back the prices. We don't want

the CFIA to be diminished to an oversight role, allowing industry to implement

food safety control programs and to manage key risks. What will happen in a

crisis situation, after Mr. Harper has sold off the laboratories and dismissed

all the regulators? By the time the managers in Ottawa find out, it will be very

late in the process. And by then, will the CFIA have the expertise to deal with

the issue and save lives? The Australian privatization model, of which Mr.

Harper is so fond, created just such a problem. Australian public affairs

experts have noted that the system has efficiencies, but public health benefits

are less apparent. The system is less accessible to consumers, and

decision-making processes are not open or

transparent. Finally, the science has been separated from the core

policy-making process, rendering the system more vulnerable to political agendas

and processes.

This summer, we Canadians need not worry about having tomatoes on our burgers

and in our salads. This is not the case south of our border. This is just one

example where our system of government regulators is superior to the American

model of more self-regulation. Canada employs scientists and regulators for a

very good reason: our health. Canadian public regulators are so well respected

that they are invited by other countries to implement Canadian-style systems and

educate new government regulators. This is based on the reputation of our

existing system of public regulation, not the stripped-down private sector one

that Mr. Harper is planning.

The Pomerleau issue will have a far-reaching negative effect and long-lasting

repercussions on the health and welfare of us all. An invisible gag order has

just blanketed the entire public service. Scientists, researchers, regulators

and other government experts will be fearful of speaking up when dangerous

situations arise. In order to maximize industry profits and fund future

government 'strategic reviews' corners will be cut. When the regulated become

the regulators, a true assessment of the risks cannot be accomplished.

Contaminated food will enter our food supply. Accidents are bound to happen, and

we will be left wondering how our government could have let them happen. So much

for accountability, Mr. Harper.

Michèle Demers is President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service

of Canada, on whose website this first appeared.

------------------------------- Food inspection

deregulation a 'disaster'

http://www.publicvalues.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=00118

BSE-testing cut to save cash

OTTAWA, July 11, 2008 — A government plan to transfer key parts of food

inspection to industry so companies can police themselves will put the health of

Canadians at risk, according to leading food safety experts who have reviewed

the confidential blueprint.

The plan, drafted by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and approved by the

Treasury Board, details sweeping changes coming to food inspection in Canada.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also ending funding to producers to test

cattle for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow Disease) as part of

a surveillance program, the document indicates, a move that is expected to save

the agency about $24 million over the next three years.

The new system, part of a push to trim the agency's budget by five per cent, was

approved last November, but a public announcement " has been deferred owing to

significant communications risks, " . . .