Maples Leaf Foods:deregulation kills

August 25, 2008

One of the key initiatives of neo-liberalism and the so-called “Washington consensus” is massive deregulation.  It is often couched as “self-regulation” - the notion that we hand over more and mire regulation to the companies we used to regulate through government agencies. It is notoriously ineffective and in combination with huge cuts to the number of regulatpors still employed by government it means that the public is at ever-greater risk from a wide variety of threats.

The listeriosis outbreak has led to twelve deaths as I write this with more added every few hours. At the same time as our most vulnerable citizens are dying or getting extremely ill, a whistle blower has revealed that things are about to get worse: food safety will be put increasingly in the hands of firms like Maple Leaf which is already cutting corners. In addition, the union representing food safety inspectors has stated that the Harper government has also slashed the number of inspectors still working.

Write a letter demanding the government: 1) hold a public inquiry into the listeriosis outbreak and its causes, 2) abandon plans for so-called self-regulation of the food industry and 3)  increase the budget for inspections to a level that guarantees the safety of Canadians.

FRAMING: We should frame the issue as one is which the government is more concerned about the bottom line of corporations than they are about the health and safety of Canadians (in this case the elderly, the health-compromised and pregnant women).  Highlight the conflict of interest inherent in self-regulation: between the corporation’s legal fiduciary duty to its shareholders and its social responsibility to its customers. In this conflict the company will always be trying to cut costs to the minimum - always pushing the safety envelope to ensure its share price doesn’t fall.

USE TWO OR THREE OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS TO WRITE A LETTER-TO-THE EDITOR. FEEL FREE TO UPDATE AS THE ISSUE DEVELOPS.

• the health crisis developing right across the country demands a public inquiry that will examine why it took so lomng to warn the country of a possible outbreak; what cut backs in safety may have taken place at the Maple Leaf plant; the business promotion mandate of Health Canada and the cut back in the number of meat inspectors protecting Canadians’ health;
• deregulation and self-regulation are inherently flawed because they create a conflict of interest between a company’s duty to its shareholders and its responsibility to public health. That is why we have government regulation in the first place.
• Maple Leaf has already demonstrated its willingness to cover up a potential health threat. “Four days before Maple Leaf Foods Inc. warned the public that two varieties of sliced meat may have been contaminated with listeria, the company told its distributors to stop shipping three different products and that federal health authorities were investigating its Toronto plant.” [see G&M story at: http://tinyurl.com/55el3u]
• a leaked cabinet document (the whistle blower was fired) is the focus of  hearings by the Commons agriculture committee. It details a Conservative plan to save money at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency by shifting CFIA meat inspectors to an oversight role and “allowing industry to implement food safety control programs.”
• The president of the CFIA inspectors union  told the G&M that “:...the agency is so short-staffed that food inspections and follow-up audits simply aren't taking place. ...Michèle Demers, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said inspectors are warning her that shortcuts cuts are taking place on food safety, but they fear speaking out.” [ See: : http://tinyurl.com/55el3u ]
• make the point that the Harper government is obsessed with privatization and deregulation with three of its senior ministers from the former Ontario government of Mike Harris: Jim Flaherty, John Baird, Tony Clement –  responsible for other deregulation disasters - Walkerton and the privatizing Ontario's propane inspection;
• the continued destruction of Canada’s regulatory framework by the Harper government should be an election issue.

 Click here to SEND YOUR LETTER NOW!