The Globe and Mail says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
faces steep budget and staff cuts for three years, beginning this April.
It says the CFIA budget will be cut by 15 per cent and staff
by 14 per cent as part of the government’s effort to close the budget gap of
$26 billion within two year.
Aboriginal Affairs is the other department hardest hit by
cuts, says the Globe and Mail.
But it concedes that there is a potential flaw in its
analysis. Some programs that don’t show up in the budget might be renewed.
Because they don’t show in the budget, they’re counted as
cuts.
The Globe and Mail says the government insists there will be
no reduction in front-line food inspection staff.
Some indications are emerging about where the CFIA is
cutting.
It’s no longer checking fertilizers, soil amendments and
products some people call “foo-foo dust” for efficacy – i.e. to determine
whether they work as claimed.
That leaves farmers in a “buyer beware” situation.
Similar changes are under discussion with the feed industry.
That might leave farmers to fend for themselves when
marketers promote additives such as probiotics, exotic enzymes and trace
additives.
The CFIA has already scrapped its fertilizer testing program
and annual reports which routinely revealed a high degree of failure to provide
farmers full value for their money.
It is reducing its role in regulating the seeds industry and
is cutting out some committees which provide advice on the registration of new
varieties.
In sharp contrast to fanfares to announce new programs or
spending, the CFIA and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz have been silent about
the cuts.
