Talk to any group of farmers, or the general public like I did recently at the wildly successful and well run International Plowing Match in Teeswater and they will tell you that one of the things that drives them around the bend is the lack of accountability in government these days.
It does not seem to matter what the topic is, but no one seems to take responsibility for their inactions or actions. The higher you get to the top of the food chain in government, and the greater your supposed responsibility, the less you seem to ever have to take responsibility for the outcome of your decisions. It is a recipe for cynicism and declining standards of service from government for citizens.
A case in point is the actions surrounding the outbreak of Listeriosis caused by tainted meat from Maple Leaf Foods. It has recently came to light that federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz made callous and inappropriate remarks in a quasi-public forum while discussing Listeriosis and the tragic deaths of many Canadians from eating tainted meat with underlings at the Ministry. It is clear that the minister’s main concern was not protecting Canadians and working in the interest of farmers and agri-business, but the political implications for his party.
Showing a shocking lack of commitment to the public good, at one point in the call Ritz fretted about the political implications for the Stephen Harper government on the eve of the election call: “This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts,” he is quoted as saying. Later, when informed of the death of another Canadian, he quipped he hoped it was Wayne Easter, Liberal MP and Agriculture Critic.
Taken on its own, it might not be the worst thing ever, but combined with this minister’s overall record and his specific actions on food safety, it should have been enough for him to be shown the door. This is a minister that, on behalf of his government, has worked steadily to undermine the role of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as a public watchdog. Minister Ritz and Prime Minister Harper have cut funding for food safety programs and shifted responsibility for monitoring compliance with safety standards to the food companies themselves.
Since March 31, CFIA meat inspectors are now directly supervising from the plant floor only 25% of the time, with the rest of their time devoted to reviewing company-generated reports. The government has also prevented CFIA inspectors from taking direct action when serious health problems arise; instead they are directed to give the offending company a 60-day “corrective action request.” Finally, when the Harper government took office in 2006, it phased out the reporting and ranking of meat processing facilities inspected by the CFIA.
Federal Treasury Board funding forecasts for food safety programs show a decline by nearly 30 per cent from $359-million in 2006-07 to $254-million in 2010-2011 – all under the Harper administration. Meanwhile, a secret government document was recently leaked which revealed plans to “shift from full-time CFIA meat inspection presence to an oversight role, allowing industry to implement food safety control programs and to manage key risks.” It was only the listeriosis crisis which brought those plans to light.
When no one in government takes responsibility for their actions and decisions, or is made to take responsibility, this lack of leadership guarantees that other tragedies, costly decisions, and mishaps are a question of when, not if. Politicians like to talk about the leadership they provide but this incident with Agriculture Minister Ritz and Prime Minister Harper highlights the astounding and lengthy record of the lack of it by those in government at all levels.
A commentary for the National Farmers Union Ontario by Grant Robertson. He is with the National Farmers Union-Ontario. He can be contacted at grant@bmts.com.
