Recruitment and retention crisis of food
safety inspectors reinforced by Auditor-General

OTTAWA - The reinforcement by the Auditor-General of the looming crisis in retaining and recruiting food safety inspectors at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is welcomed, says Yves Ducharme, National President of the Agriculture Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

"A large portion of this crisis has been created with the salaries of CFIA inspectors being way out of line with those in the private sector," adds Ducharme. "And, it is a crisis that cannot be addressed without significant improvements to the compensation system."

"As the union for a group of employees strongly committed to delivering the food safety programs, we encourage Treasury Board to cut the purse strings it holds on the CFIA and give it the mandate it needs to negotiate adequate compensation for these workers. If this is not done, the crisis can only worsen."

Ducharme adds that the average age of the Regulatory/Inspection (RI) Community is 45 years, they have more years of service than most public service workers, and there is a projected departure of 29% of the RI Community by the year 2006. In his report, the Auditor General has reaffirmed our findings of an aging workforce in the inspection field.

The Auditor-General’s report is just the latest to draw attention to this problem. In the government’s 1999 report entitled "A Public Trust: Keeping Canadians Safe and Healthy", the importance of the Regulatory/Inspection function to all Canadians is articulated: The Community of federal inspectors is the heart of our ability to protect public health and safety. Maintaining a population of inspectors, which is adequate in numbers, well trained in most up-to-date methods and technologies and led by people with a broad understanding of the work they do, is the primary challenge facing government in this area today."

"With the government in a strong surplus situation and a stated commitment to the goals of public safety it is vital that it heeds all the warning signs that Canada’s food inspection system is at risk," adds Ducharme. "We reiterate the Auditor General’s comments that it is important that the Agency continue work on its initiatives to accomplish the goals for which it was created. ‘Canadians have a right to expect an efficient and effective federal food inspection system – one that ensures compliance with food safety standards’."

"This report also addresses a number of our concerns such as the workers’ inability to enforce compliance, inadequate and inconsistent training, lack of human resources to fully deliver the programs as designed, and the lack of consultation with our members, who provide the front-line inspection. If Canada is going to build a better food inspection system to meet the needs of its citizens in the future, it must have a workforce which is properly trained and given the tools necessary to perform their work," concludes Ducharme.

The PSAC and the CFIA are currently in conciliation board meetings in an attempt to settle, amongst other issues, the requirement for an economic increase that recognizes the needs of both the Agency and the workers.

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For information: Yves Ducharme, national president, Agriculture Union of the PSAC (613) 560-4306

06-080201