CANADA: Report calls for listeria inquiry

19.jun.09
TheStar.com
Robert Cribb

Canadians need a full public inquiry into the death of 22 Canadians from
last summer's listeria outbreak and increased inspection oversight in
meat plants, a parliamentary investigation has concluded.
After two months of hearings, the parliamentary food safety report also
found health authorities lost precious time warning the public because
they were immersed in confusion and "turf wars."
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who quickly dismissed calls for a
public inquiry yesterday, did not respond to an interview request.
Critics agreed with the parliamentary food safety subcommittee that a
public inquiry is needed.
"There have always been inquiries when there have been serious crises in
public health," said Amir Attaran, professor in the faculty of law and
medicine at the University of Ottawa.
"We've had it for tainted blood. We had it for Walkerton. We had it for
SARS. We're obviously going to need it for listeriosis. But Parliament
so far has not managed to push the Conservatives to do that."
In a dissenting report yesterday, Conservatives on the subcommittee
issued their own set of recommendations, none of which mention a public
inquiry.
Instead of a public inquiry, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced
last fall an independent investigation led by Sheila Weatherill. Her
report is to be completed by next month.
Critics dismiss the $2.7 million investigation for being conducted
behind closed doors without the authority to compel testimony or
documents.
Although Toronto public health officials first noticed a spike in cases
in mid-July of last year, Canadians weren't warned about the risk until
mid-August as people began dying.
"The (various health) agencies did not have a consistent approach to
public notification," said Toronto medical officer of health Dr. David
McKeown. "It wasn't clear that people were being guided by the plans
that had been made."
While the report doesn't speculate how much earlier Canadians should
have been warned, it suggests health authorities increased the risk to
consumers by pointing fingers rather than blowing whistles.
Officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Ontario
Ministry of Health said they were reviewing the report and its
recommendations.