food in the election [General]

2008 Sep 12
I sort of expect this thread to be tumbleweeds, but figured we should have a thread for the election :-)

Though I guess Harper is still calling for more industry self-inspection, in spite of the huge problems at Maple Leaf, which I think any reasonable person would equate to needing more government involvement, not less.

So - a vote for the Conservatives is like poisoning your loved ones, I guess! There's my political spin for the day!

2008 Sep 12
Isn't having meat producers doing their own health inspections like having the veterniary drug companies sponsor their own government drug approvals ?

Everyone remember this one ? ---> www.beyondfactoryfarming.org <---


2008 Sep 12
Ok, seeing as we are discussing "food" and not necessarily "politics" ;-)
I guess we are on topic, LOL

I for one don't trust the Conservatives at all any more. I was around in the Mulroney years, and I saw their love of BIG Business... talk about "in bed". The one getting screwed though was the Canadian Tax Payer... I for one don't think that a capitalist society (where money and supposedly the consumer decides what is right) is the best solution to every problem, it sure doesn't seem to have any regard for the weakest amongst us (the poor, the sick, the young, the elderly, and these days the middle class). This whole Maple Leaf fiasco is beyond belief.

But then I guess if you're "in bed" with the wrong people long enough "an accident" is bound to happen!

Good Grief Charlie Brown... guess I'm going to have to vote for Linus and the Liberals.

2008 Sep 12
F&T: Human nature being what it is, I understand the need to lay the blame for the Maple Leaf debacle on the sitting government. I don't know if it's fair to do so though. Harper and his lot (or their replacements) are responsible for finding out what went wrong and taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again, but it is too simplistic to blame them for the trend towards the deregulation of industry (ie the food industry and others) that has been going on for the past 15 years. It's true that they didn't do anything to stop the process, but they didn't start it either.

There are numerous good reasons not to return the tories to power your personal dislike of them and your personal dislike of Brian Mulroney doesn't make this their fault. It's too easy to say "conservative" governments always do x and "liberal" governments always do y when dealing with business. Reality is way more complex than that. You should try looking at this from a public policy perspective rather than a purely partisan one. If you did a little reading, your world may be a little less black and white, but you'd get a better handle on how governments balance their responsibility to protect us with their responsibility to manage the economy and the trade-offs they have chosen to make in Western societies in the past decade or so.

2008 Sep 12
Yes, it's very true that the Liberals are to blame as well! Those machines at Maple Leaf were not cleaned for 5 years, yet Harper has been in power only half that time!

2008 Sep 12
Urbanroutine - I know that reality is a lot more complex than just black and white, there are indeed a lot a grey. I have spent many years not just observing governments, but also working for them. And in many ways, one is just as bad as the next, or good as the other for that matter.

BUT, I was there when Brian Mulroney and his cronies gutted Canada, they were indeed "in bed" with big business, and thought that there should be a lot less government and a lot more business in this country. Some of their ideas have stood the test of time (so far), others, like doing away with Government Food Inspections to the degree they used to be performed... I don't believe is a good thing. I didn't believe it when I was at AgCan in the day, and I don't believe it now. Want to see how the world works when money is more important than common sense? Take a look at countries that bow down to the competitive dollar at whatever cost... think of all the food incidents that have come to light in the last couple of years out of China. That is not a government that puts its people first, that is a government that puts their competitiveness in the world market first... and I don't want to go down that road.

Has Stephen Harper said he and the Conservatives will act on behalf of Canadians to ensure food safety? No, to date all I've heard is they intend to continue off-loading government inspections to big business. Is food safety even an election issue? To date the only thing I've heard is water safety in the Liberals new Green plan. You think that after all that has happened, someone, would say this is a concern to Canadians.

Ah but then again, like Zym says the Conservatives are only partially to blame... the Liberals were in power during the said timeframe as well. All the more reason to be skeptical of all the parties... and for me that is as Black and White as it gets!