Admission that “political concerns” framed listeria crisis response calls into question Ritz’s misinformation

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s admission today that political considerations were part of the government’s response to the listeria crisis reinforces the need for Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz to be fired.

At a press conference today in Farnham, Quebec, Mr. Harper said: “I think it's impossible at times like this to separate, you know, political concerns from communication concerns. They're all communication concerns.”

Mr. Harper’s comments about communications call into question whether Minister Ritz’s misleading statements about the Conservative government’s changes to the inspection system were deliberate. Among his misleading statements:

CLAIM: “Nothing in these plants has changed today from last month or six months ago.” (Gerry Ritz, CBC Radio's “The House”, August 23, 2008)

REALITY: After media reports surfaced saying that changes to the inspection regime had taken place on March 31, 2008, Mr. Ritz acknowledged that “this particular CVS (Compliance Verification System) went into play March 31^st.” (Gerry Ritz, Press Conference, August 27, 2008)

CLAIM: “About 50 per cent of an inspector’s time is on the floor of the plant.” (Gerry Ritz, Press Conference, August 27, 2008)

REALITY: “Under changes introduced on March 31 this year, including at Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto, meat inspectors now directly supervise from the plant floor at most 25 per cent of the time.” [Bob Kingston (inspection supervisor on leave from the CFIA, president of the Agriculture Union), Ottawa Citizen, September 16, 2008]

Minister Ritz either didn’t know what was going on or was trying to keep the truth from Canadians. Between Mr. Harper acknowledging the role that politics played in his government’s response and Mr. Ritz’s totally inappropriate comments about the outbreak, it is clear that Mr. Ritz must be fired.