Perhaps you recall the listeriosis outbreak in Canada last year. The outbreak, connected to Maple Leaf Foods, was responsible for twenty deaths and 53 confirmed cases of listeriosis.
Gerry Ritz, some jackass Tory MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster, was reappointed Agriculture Minister by the government despite doing an appallingly irresponsible job managing the crisis. He was quoted saying the public food safety disaster was death by a thousand “cold cuts.” Later, he publicly pleaded that a listeriosis fatality in Prince Edward Island would be Liberal MP Wayne Easter. It was Harper’s “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” moment.
The conservative party leader and Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, just announced his appointment of an “independent” investigator into the outbreak. Sheila Weatherill, former President and CEO of Capital Health in Edmonton, is taking on the job.
Mr. Harper remarked: “Protecting the health of Canadian families and the safety of the Canadian food supply is of paramount importance to our Government. I am confident that Sheila Weatherill has the expertise required to independently examine the factors that contributed to the listeriosis outbreak and make recommendations on how to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.”
Ms. Weatherill already sits on the PM’s advisory committee to revamp the public service. The committee’s mandate includes: “Branding the public service as a trusted and innovative institution of national importance.”
Critics argue that it is unlikely she will be able to independently probe the potential breach of public trust by food-safety agencies and the government while maintaining her previous mandate.
“I think it’s pretty clear: Ms. Weatherill can be a cheerleader for the public service, or she can be an independent investigator of the public service,” said University of Ottawa researcher Amir Attaran, a lawyer and biologist by training.
“But she can’t be both at the same time. In ignoring that reality, Mr. Harper has foolishly failed once again to keep conflicts of interest out of his government.”
The Liberal, NDP and BQ parties are pushing for a full judicial inquiry into the affair.
The report is due July 20, which is four months past the deadline of March 15 that Harper committed to in September, right before he called a potentially illegal election. The government also indicates that Ms. Weatherill will be unavailable for comment until her report is made public.
Ms. Weatherill should really just go on vacation and let an independent inquiry take place. She can afford it, too. When the Capital Health Board was shut down, she received almost $3.5 million in severance and retirement — combined with a $915,000 annual salary highly criticized by Alberta Auditor-General Fred Dunn.
Terms of reference and an additional backgrounder on the appointment is available online from the PMO.
