$75M for food safety

By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
September 12, 2009

On the eve of a possible federal election, the Conservative government announced a $75-million funding package to better protect Canadians from food-borne illness outbreaks after an independent investigator identified a "void in leadership" in Ottawa during last year's deadly listeriosis outbreak.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the cash is earmarked to solve the litany of problems flagged by Sheila Weatherill, who released her critical report in July.

"One year ago, we were reminded that the job of keeping Canadians safe is never done. There are always new opportunities to strengthen our food-safety system," said Ritz, who confirmed the government is moving forward to implement all of Weatherill's 57 recommendations.

"It was clear from last year's outbreak that further improvements were needed," said Aglukkaq.

As part of the government's renewed emphasis on preventing, detecting and responding to future outbreaks, the money will start to flow immediately to ramp up testing capabilities at government laboratories.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service