Monday, October 08, 2012

Nevermind 1812...Could That $28 Million Have Been Used To Help Prevent The Beef War Of 2012?

What,UsWorry?
PrioritiesVille


The NYTimes has taken notice of our government's shameless self-promotion of the war of 1812.

And how much that shameless self-promotion of a war that was not actually 'ours' is costing, we the people, of Canada:

DUNVEGAN, Ontario — Although it produced “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the War of 1812 does not get much attention in the United States. In Canada, however, the federal government is devoting surprising attention to the bicentennial of the conflict, which it describes bluntly in a new television commercial as an act of American aggression against Canada.

Much about the war is fiercely debated by historians but one thing is clear: Canada was not yet a country at the time of the war, which pitted the United States against the British.

As sweeping government budget cuts affect historic sites and national parks, the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has set aside about $28 million for events, advertising and exhibitions to commemorate the war.....



But here's the thing.

What if that $28 million (and, given what we have previously paid for fake lakes and gazebos, who knows if that is the 'real' number) had been used to put CFIA inspectors actually doing swipes for actual microbes into meat plants like XL?

I mean, would we have prevented the firing of our massive tonnage of potentially lethal E. Coli artillery over the border, a tonnage that is much higher than first thought, as noted by the Canadian Press this morning?


The U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service has almost tripled its estimate of the amount of recalled beef that was imported from the XL Foods Inc. plant in Brooks, Alberta.

An estimated 1,134,000 kilograms of beef from the recall list that could potentially be contaminated with E. coli entered the U.S., the agency said in a revised statement.

A previous estimate, released Sept. 28, said almost 404,000 kilograms of the affected beef had entered the U.S...



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And yes, I know that the real issue regarding 'self-regulation' that has hamstrung CFIA inspectors  is ideology, not money....But with every cutback we are told by the government of Stephen Harper that the rationale is money we don't have......Thus, the comparison...

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Premier Redford of Alberta, is trying to force the Enbridge pipeline and her dirty Bitumen into BC. Redford said, she will just wait. Harper is to force BC, to accept the Enbridge pipeline and the dirty tar tankers. Redford is just as arrogant, as Campbell and Harper are.

Premier Redford can stuff her precious money, her dirty lethal Bitumen and her Alberta beef, right where the sun doesn't shine.

To hell with Alberta. I refuse to buy Alberta beef, ever again.

RossK said...

Anon--

Your choice, of course.

However, in my opinion this is a FEDERAL de-regulation problem.

And, regarding the unintended consequences that de-regulation can unleash, Fern Hill has more, here.

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Anonymous said...

Well. I like Harper about as much as I like Premier Redford. I refuse to support, either one of them.

I would like to force feed both Harper and Redford, the deformed fish out of Athabasca lake, the poisoned Caribou and Buffalo. To force them to drink the water, downstream from the tar sands.

I know where my loyalties lie. They sure in the hell aren't with Redford, or Harper.

Eleanor Gregory said...

If a government efficiently and effectively spends money on projects or programs that quietly do what they are supposed to do, who would notice? It seems we notice when governments are doing a bad job and not when they are doing a good job, because in part, when a government does things well, everyone gets to pay attention to their own lives.

Any publicity is good publicity; no publicity is no publicity.

cfvua said...

Put your wallet to work and buy your beef and other foods direct from producers who don't have the corporate might to "influence" ideologically willing political parties. Parties that when forming government will let public safety come in second to profits for their corporate backers. By cutting out the middleman you might find yourself getting a higher quality product as well. Support your local farmer/ranchers by buying direct. Who suffers? Now remember that a good portion of what is sold as Alberta beef is reared on the huge number of cow-calf operations resident in BC. Trucked to Alberta, fattened and processed there. Why not short circuit the process for the better health of our families?

RossK said...

Interesting perspective Eleanor.

Are you suggesting we should be paying more attention to the solid, but boring, stuff that actually matters?

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Thanks cfvua