The
business plan the Canadian Food Inspection Agency filed with Parliament
contains planned failure rates.
For
example, the goal for fertilizers that meet standards is only 90 per cent, for livestock
and poultry feeds that meet label claims is 95 per cent, for pedigreed seed is
95 per cent and for imports free of plant pests is 85 per cent.
What the actual failure rates have been is not revealed.
In a
similar vein, 90 per cent compliance is the goal for establishments making
veterinary biologics, for eggs, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables,
processed fruits and vegetables and meat and poultry products.
The goal
for imported manufactured food that meets standards is only 70 per cent.
The
business plan also shows that the government intends to cut budgets and staff,
including those for food safety and meat and poultry inspections.
The planned
cuts to begin in April, 2015, were $36 million and 193 full-time staff. That
was to be done by March 31, 2017.
And more
cuts are in the works.
“Over the
three fiscal years from 2017-18 to 2019-20, the CFIA’s planned spending is
decreasing by $103.2 million (from $712.0 million to $608.8 million).
“The
planned full-time equivalent (FTE) count is decreasing by 535 FTEs, from 5,691
to 5,156.
“The decrease over three years
is primarily related to the sunsetting of time-limited funding for various initiatives and programs,” the CFIA
says in an e-mail to an Ontario Farmer reporter.
