The Food Safety Shell Game

The Conservatives are treating Canada's food safety budget like a game of three-card monte but here is the straight goods on what is budgeted.  So fasten your seatbelts and keep your eye on the the cards.

The Conservatives recite repeatedly that the federal government has increased the food safety budget by $100 million.  Here's what they don't say about the Food Safety Budget:

• The $100 million is a one-time cash infusion paid in installments over five years (18 million spent so far).  
• Also the government sunset (i.e. cut) the listeria program that was $26 million.  For those playing at home that equates to negative 6 million for this year so far but I'm not done yet.
• On May 18, 2012 the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food signed a report tabled to the House of Commons that states "Planned spending is declining by approximately $46.6 million and 314 [Full Time Equivalents]" A Full Time Equivalent is government speak for Full-Time Employees.
• The current budget indicates the intention of another 56.1 million be cut annually over the next three years.

Okay so lets review:

 20 million (one-fifth of the 100 million "added")
-26 million (sunset Listeria Project)
-46.6 million (as per May 18 report)
Totalling  -52.6 million in 2012

 20 million (one-fifth of the 100 million "added")
-56.1 (projected budget cut)
=-36.1 x 3 years
Totalling -108.3 million for 2013-15

Less money is being spent on food safety this year and the plan is to continue reducing the amount.


Canadian politics

Playing with Fire - When Political Ideology Costs lives

"Let the industry police itself" is a key Conservative ideology that is killing Canadians. With the government getting out of the business of public safety, incidents like the Listeria outbreak at the Maple Leaf processing plant are bound to rise. So far at least 20 deaths have been directly linked to the tainted meat at the Maple Leaf plant alone. Without federal inspectors there is no way of knowing how many more incidents of compromised food safety will or are going unreported by companies most concerned about cutting costs and maintaining a public image. One would think that the tragedy that occurred as a result of the Maple Leaf outbreak would have swayed the government to re-think its decision to transfer inspection duties for ready-to-eat meats to the meat industry, but no. The Conservative government is more concerned with saving money than with saving lives. But how much money are we talking about? By eliminating spot checks of meat plants, the government will save approximately $3 million dollars. Three million dollars works out to approx 11 cents per capita. That's right folks, the Prime Minister and his cabinet believe that human life is worth less than a quarter.