The real article - Who lost Lakeside - XL Foods or the CFIA?

[cpallett]

GaryE,

The biggest problem, as I understand it, is that nobody (XL or the CFIA) has been able to identify the problem with any confidence or precision.

So the CFIA is using the shotgun approach to hunt flies and the Nilsson brothers have opened themselves up to the type of capialist pig rants we see here and elsewhere.

Can anybody tell me with any sort of precision and accuracy (backed up by facts please, not assumptions) how exactly in the process the trimmings in question got contaminated with e-coli? Didn't think so.

Brian and Lee certainly screwed up big time by letting the CFIA handle the PR, although the CFIA protocol requires that CFIA handle release of information to the public.

Michael McCain was smarter than that. A lot smarter. Oh well, live and learn.

But until we know exactly what happened (and the players on the inside still don't know), then who the heck are we to point fingers? My jabs at the CFIA are at least based on information provided by the CFIA itself.

[rkaiser]

Here is another intersting twist on things from an obvious right wing activist on the Wild Rose Facebook site.

He is adressing Danielle Smith.

"What garbage, kinda disappointed that you would empathize with them too as you are supposed to be our right winger. The unions have spun this into a federal government issue and the media can't resist. Can barely stand this wrtier's drivel so did not complete. Cannot inspect every piece of meat. How about this, if people want to work with a succesful employer they do everything they can to ensure failure doesn't happen. Nobody other than the employees should have to inspect any of the equipment or product to ensure people are doing what is best for their own employment. When people work with pride and self respect in any industry failures are eliminated. Their union leadership should be protecting their people by ensuring they are washing their hands, sterilizing equipment, working safely and if they can't trust their "brothers and sisters" to do it maybe they should be inspecting equipment and product themselves to ensure the big bad investors who employ their membership (and therefore pay the union dues) will be able to continue profitting and growing job security."

[grassfarmer]

The most ignorant racist comment I've read on the
issue was some reader's opinion on Yahoo that "these
Africans have filthy habits and they must have
brought this pathogen with them as it was previously
unknown in North America"
And this is the electorate you think might overthrow
Harper on the ecoli issue if there were an election
tomorrow kato? lol

[kato]

Maybe not, but it would at least give the informed ones a chance to make their opposition official.

I don't know if it's so much a problem of CFIA being incompetent, as of it being underfunded and lacking leadership. If only a handful of inspectors have had the up to date training after all this time, then someone needs to explain why.

Once again, it should have landed on the desk of our ever absent ag minister... a long time ago. And if he couldn't have dealt with it in a timely manner, it should have landed on the desk of his boss so he could replace said ag minister with someone capable of getting the job done.

[ASRG]

The buck has to stop somewhere......and that is Gerry Ritz.....if not Ritz....Who? Stephen Harper?
I think it is a little naive to expect the worker to stand up and demand they do things right......in about two minutes he'd be kicking horse turds down the road with his pink slip in his pocket!
The CFIA has one job....to make sure the product going out the door is safe. They failed. They were being paid very well to do this job?
A corporations job is to maximize profits for the owners! The government, in their infinite wisdom, sets the standards and rules and hires the regulator to enforce the rules?
Was the regulator doing their job?
Somewhere, something went off the rails. If Nilssons were ignoring the rules and regulations......and the regulator was looking the other way...then maybe we need to find out what happened?....Gee...maybe we could a real inquiry?
We see this all the time in the oil and gas sector where the big oil corporations have bought the regulator and all kinds of rules and regulations are thrown out the door!....and then we see pipeline spills, and contaminated aquifers, and kids getting killed on the rigs!
Why would we expect anything differnt in the beef industry?
Same useless governments making the rules for their cronies.

[grassfarmer]

Sorry Cameron you are not in your courtroom here.
This is a public forum where people share their
OPINIONS - neither you nor anyone else gets to
decide what is admisable evidence. Our opinions are
shared freely and equally on here and I resent you
trying to stifle debate by trying to set guidelines for
what is acceptable evidence.

[cpallett]

Evidence is acceptable evidence, Iain. It goes with the critical analysis training that is an integral part of my job. You cannot expect me to divorce myself from who and what I am to suit your tastes anymore than I would expect that of you.

Just want to remind you and everyone (including myself) of the dangers of mistaking your own opinions for fact. You in particular seem to need that reminder from time to time, not that I expect it will have much practical effect.

[burnt]

Cameron, there are still miracles . . .

[ASRG]

The ways things are going, what will change?
Ritz says no inquiry. Redford says no inquiry.Everything is fine. Cook your beef. Let the good times roll.

XL will be up and running in a couple of days. With a cleaner plant....and a beef wash that actually works....but at the end of the day nobody knows what happened, nobody in government acknowledges that the CFIA dropped the ball...big time?
No big deal right? People will quickly forget and be back buying the same old meat! It will cost a little more to pay for what went in the tank....maybe just enough to make the housewife move down the meat aisle to the chicken!

Who is held accountable for this screwup? No one?
Are the CFIA inspectors? Did they lose a paycheck? Gerry Ritz...did he get demoted....or even chewed out by his pal Harper?

So who paid? The workers lost a couple of days pay. The cattle feeders had their price knocked back a few cents. The cow guy got hit a few bucks on cull cows. The consumer has to pay a bit more. The industry got a black eye. Nilssons got some bad press and in the end their reputation might be so tarnished they will have to close the doors....if that happens we will all pay a heavy price!
Thank you useless government!

[kato]

Well said.

[SheriMonk]

For what it's worth, I plan to keep working on it no
matter what the fate of the plant turns out to be.