Union warns of cuts to federal food inspection
By JESSICA MURPHY, London Free Press
Almost four years after a deadly listeriosis outbreak, the union representing federal food inspectors says planned budget cuts could threaten the safety of Canada’s food supply.
Bob Kingston, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s Agriculture Union, warned Monday the cuts would undermine exports and consumer confidence.
Government figures for 2012-14 lay out $21.1 million in cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety program. The drop in funds is linked to the end of a beefed up inspection program initiated in the wake of the listeria contamination at Maple Leaf Foods that killed 23 Canadians in 2008.
