Bill 32 - Meat Inspection Amendment Act, 2008
November 4, 2008 - Committee of the Whole
Ms Blakeman: Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman. I know that this bill actually started out being pretty innocuous, but just given the timing of it, it raised a lot of other issues of concern because this is around meat inspection. Of course, what it brought back to mind was the whole listeriosis situation but also, wider than that, the issues around public health and what kind of a relationship government has in regulating, monitoring, and enforcing various procedures to make sure that there is public health.
One of the ways that they do that here is around meat inspection. This is essentially transferring the responsibilities for the mobile butcher facilities to Agriculture and Rural Development. That clusters all of those requirements under Agriculture and Rural Development and in this particular case is moving the mobile butcher facilities – I would have called them abattoirs – away from the regional health authorities, which, of course, don’t exist anymore. I know that I’m expecting some brilliance by way of an amendment to this bill. I’ll just allow the member to get a bit organized here.
You know, with all of the other things that have been said around this bill or the concerns that have been put on the record around public safety, in the end we are cautiously willing to support this bill. I didn’t have any particular issue with any one given section. But I understand that there is going to be an amendment coming in, so I’m going to give way and listen carefully to what is being proposed by way of an amendment to Bill 32.
Thank you.
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