Harper's new "Shoot Shut up and Shovel" meat inspection plan

Our Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, one of Harper's Reformers from Saskatchewan, has drafted a new food inspection plan.

Although approved by the Treasury Board last November the details of Ritz's changes have been kept under wraps until now. Apparently Steve deferred a public announcement of the proposed changes due to "significant communications risks."

And no wonder if the confidential copy obtained by Canwest and reported here is true.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is ending funding to producers to test cattle for BSE (mad cow disease) as part of a surveillance program.

The document, details how the inspection of meat and meat products will downgrade agency inspectors to an "oversight role. allowing industry to implement food safety control programs and to manage key risks."

Steve is moving us to the US styled plan for meat inspection.

Have you ever wondered why Canada seems to have more reported cases of "Mad Cow" than the US. It's because we actually have food inspectors that check and then report.

One US senior scientist and leading BSE authority, Michael Hansen thinks these changes are dangerous.

"They're moving towards the U.S. model, where the inspectors don't actually do the inspection, they just oversee and the companies actually do the inspection. That's a really dangerous thing,"

And a leading Canadian academic specializing in food-risk management called the cuts "unfathomable" because Canada continues to find BSE positive animals and is one of the few countries in the world where BSE is on the increase.

But this doesn't worry Gerry and Steve. They're just taking care of one of their regional support bases, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.

Hell if Stevie boy had been PM in 2003, we wouldn't of had a Mad Cow in Canada. Everyone knows that "Shoot Shut up and Shovel" works better than them damn revenuer's regulations.