Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
I worked at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) back in 2008, and the thing that stood out to me the most was how under funded they were. I was an agency hire and was assigned the responsibility to copy edit and typeset the newest rules for how to slaughter farm animals. It was a hard job and I was pretty freaked out that I could miss a typo.
We’ll never find out if I totally screwed up because my contract ended in early August and then the big Listeriosis outbreak happened, which forced a complete reset on everything.
The big things I learned there were how hard people in CFIA work to make sure we’re healthy and how much they care.
The new government has started cutting jobs to save money, look good to conservative voters, and implement more AI. According to FoodSafteyFirst.ca, the cuts are roughly 20% at both the CFIA and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).
That level of cuts isn’t going to be replaceable with AI or “working smarter”. It’s going to affect our food and our ability to produce food.
Our food safety system is being dismantled.
Canada’s food safety system rests on two pillars: the CFIA inspectors who check the food on your plate today, and the AAFC researchers that help farmers grow food that feeds your family tomorrow.
The federal government is cutting both. Seven AAFC research facilities—some over a century old—are set to close. Nearly 600 CFIA jobs are being cut, which is more than one-fifth of the agency’s workforce.
This isn’t a budget trim. It’s a dismantling. A unanimous report from the House of Commons Agriculture Committee agrees—and is urging the government to reverse course. The government is cutting to the bone when there is no more fat to trim.
From the slaughterhouse line to the research field, the whole system is being hollowed out—and Canadians will pay with their health, their wallets, and their trust.
“Safe food doesn’t happen by accident.”
If you care about the safety of our food, go to the following site and email your Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister: https://foodsafetyfirst.ca/ It’s really quick and easy.
Thank you in advance!
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric