FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      NOVEMBER 21, 2000

OTTAWA - "The release by the Canadian Health Coalition of the European Commission’s food safety report reinforces our concerns about the federal deregulation of food inspection in Canada," says Yves Ducharme, National President of the Agriculture Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

"Federal regulations proposed by the government and currently before the House of Commons would allow corporations to police themselves," explains Ducharme. "Inspections at food plants across Canada would be carried out by untrained plant employees rather than by qualified Primary Products Inspectors. Our members would merely become supervisors."

Under the guise of HACCP – Hazard Analysis at Critical Control Points - more responsibility for food inspection is shifting to the food processing industry. "Our government is continuing to pursue this unsafe and unhealthy route even though the United States Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General trashed the concept. HACCP was also defeated in the second highest American federal court, where it ruled that HACCP violates clear mandates of the U.S. meat and poultry inspection acts."

"The deregulation of food inspection to commercial enterprises is another step in government downsizing. Rather than providing adequate budgets to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in an attempt to ensure that the food Canadians eat is safe, the government’s solution is to put it into the hands of industry."

Ducharme points out that in the highly automated poultry processing sector where HACCP operating principles were first adopted, the kill chain speed has gone from between 5,000 and 6,000 birds per hour to 10,000 per hour in the last 10 years. "At these plants, where HACCP is a pilot project, the bulk of the inspection is being done by processing plant employees under the supervision of CFIA inspectors."

"Morale amongst the food inspectors and administrative support workers is at an all time low," Ducharme adds. "These workers have filed 5,000 grievances as a result of classification issues implemented by CFIA. In addition, negotiations between the CFIA and the PSAC for a new collective agreement have reached a stalemate. CFIA is showing a total lack of respect for its employees.

"We say enough is enough. Rather than bragging about the huge federal surplus, the time has come for the Prime Minister to be more concerned about the health of Canadians. Perhaps the release of this European Union’s audit will sound a wake-up call and help to pressure the federal government into taking immediate action to ensure that Canadians are protected from cancer-causing drugs in meat by putting the inspection back in the hands of its own qualified inspectors."

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For more information:

Yves Ducharme, national president, PSAC Agriculture Union, (613) 560-4306
Sylvie Rochon, service officer, PSAC Agriculture Union, (613) 560-4306
Nancy Mitchell, PSAC communications officer (613) 560-4235

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