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Tainted meat taints gov’t

Government more interested in damage control than problem solving, one reader says.

To the Editor,

During the recent E. coli crisis at the huge XL Foods processing plant in Brooks Alta., federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz appeared more interested in damage control than problem solving. Before the tainted meat investigation was complete, a self-congratulatory Ritz was insisting food safety had not been compromised.

His reassurances soon sounded hollow and ill-advised when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) revoked XL Food’s licence to operate.

The compelling need to shut down the whole plant, a drastic action as well as a delayed one, serves as another alarming example of how some corporations put the bottom-line ahead of consumer safety.

Furthermore the massive recall of Albertan beef products has caused untold damage to Canada’s international reputation.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives like to thump their chests and tell us that government bureaucracy interferes with business. If government regulating agencies aren’t given the tools and resources to protect Canadians from powerful profit-motivated corporations, who is going to do the job?

Lloyd Atkins,

Vernon