The Commons: Down with inequality, up with the price of cheese

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 7:14 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. It began with a rousing cheer for Nycole Turmel. The official opposition was perhaps behooved to loudly endorse their interim leader after a Conservative backbencher had used the House’s preceding minute to read aloud some scripted bit about how disgraceful Turmel had behaved on some matter or another.

“Mr. Speaker, over the past few months we have witnessed a protest movement on a scale never seen before,” she ventured. “The Occupy movement is denouncing economic disparity.”

There were grumbles and groans from the government side. Continue…

The Canadian Wheat Board’s long-shot lawsuit to keep its monopoly

By Colby Cosh - Monday, November 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM - 0 Comments

Sean Kilpatrick/CP

“Pierre Trudeau said there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation,” recalls Henry Vos, a grain farmer from Fairview, Alta. “So I ask, should the government be in the grain fields and the grain bins of the nation?” The private sex lives of Canadians and cultivating wheat might make for an unlikely comparison, but Vos, a former director of the Canadian Wheat Board, believes the board should start preparing to lose its grip on the export trade in Prairie wheat and barley. In late October, he quit the board in protest.

Vos is angry over a last-ditch attempt by the board to maintain its monopoly by taking the radical legal step of suing Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. The suit, announced Oct. 26, would thwart Bill C-18, the Harper government’s legislation to end the “single desk” monopoly. (C-18 is at the committee stage in the House of Commons.) But critics say the CWB is fighting an uphill battle against constitutional principles.

As a minority government, the Conservatives were blocked by the courts when they tried to change the wheat board’s mandate by order-in-council and without a parliamentary vote. Now the Conservatives have a majority and can presumably make whatever direct changes they want to the Canadian Wheat Board Act. But the board says, “Not so fast.” Section 47.1 of the act, added by the Liberals in 1998, says that the agriculture minister cannot alter single-desk arrangements without first consulting the board and holding a vote of grain producers.

Continue…

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 6:39 PM - 0 Comments

Martin Singh touted himself as the pro-business candidate. Thomas Mulcair touted himself as Stephen Harper’s nightmare and a man who can say no to organized labour. Paul Dewar unveiled his urban agenda and worked the room in Toronto. And Peggy Nash joined the race with two objectives.

There was yet another reason to question the purchase of new F-35s. David Anderson tried to explain the Canadian Wheat Board with a cartoon. More emails meant more questions for Tony Clement, which Deepak Obhrai and Pierre Poilievre promptly threw themselves in front of. Stephen Harper worried about the global economy. And the government pledged to destroy all traces of the long-gun registry, while the Victims Ombudsman defended the registry’s usefulness. Continue…

This afternoon in animal references

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 8:45 PM - 1 Comment

Picking up where the House left off last Wednesday, Gerry Ritz suggested this afternoon, in response to a question from the NDP MP, that Pat Martin had a “lingering case of beaver fever.”

Mr. Martin then suggested that Mr. Ritz probably didn’t know much about beaver fever because he was a “failed ostrich jockey.”

Mr. Ritz then observed that farming ostrich allowed him “the opportunity to get used to working with lesser life forms” much like he sees “sometimes on the floor of the House of Commons.”

The Speaker deemed all of this “unhelpful.”

The Commons: Democracy and testicles

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 8:47 PM - 48 Comments

The Scene. Time, once again, to yell about the Canadian Wheat Board.

The first sign that this afternoon would not pass without shouting was the Prime Minister’s right fist, bobbing up and down in front of him as he asserted that “Western Canadian farmers have long been looking for the freedom to market their grain, just like farmers in Quebec and other parts of eastern Canada have, and we are going to give them that freedom.”

This was but the end of his first answer and already he was gesturing forcefully. Usually, at this point, he is all shrugs and up-turned palms. But there would be no conciliatory hand movements this day.

Nycole Turmel stood here and insisted on reading what is written on some piece of paper somewhere. Continue…

We reject your democracy and substitute our own

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 10:00 AM - 67 Comments

A majority of voters in a plebiscite have voted to maintain the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopsony.

A total of 62 per cent of prairie wheat growers – 22,764 farmers – voted to keep the monopoly versus 38 per cent – 14,059 farmers – who voted to eliminate the monopoly and be able to sell their wheat on the open market.

Just over half of barley growers – 51 per cent – voted to maintain the monopoly compared to 49 per cent who voted to eliminate it. The vote was held by mail-in ballot of farmers in the CWB area including Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Turnout in the referendum was 56 per cent for wheat growers, 47 per cent for barley growers and 60 per cent for farmers who grew both.

The government responded last night with a note entitled “Statement from Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on the Result of the Expensive Survey.” Continue…

The Commons: This government of powerless men

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 7:02 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. Once more, Ralph Goodale stood and beseeched the Prime Minister to explain himself, at least as it pertains to the potential sale of Saskatchewan’s PotashCorp. To his credit, the Prime Minister stood and did just that. Which is to say, he rose and explained that he and his position were in this case entirely irrelevant.

“I can assure him,” Mr. Harper assured Mr. Goodale, “the Minister of Industry will make a decision according to a legal process.”

Unsatisfied, Mr. Goodale turned to the Minister of Agriculture, wondering if perhaps the honourable Gerry Ritz, the elected representative for a larger parcel of land in Saskatchewan, might have something to say about the matter. Mr. Ritz leaned forward as if willing to respond, but it was Tony Clement who stood, the Industry Minister so emboldened as to refer to himself in the third person.

“There is a process under the Investment Canada Act which leads to the assessment by the Minister of Industry of the net benefit to Canada test,” he said of himself. “That is what is being done and that will be delivered to the people of Canada in the due course of time.”

One will forgive Mr. Clement if he lingers for the fullness of this allotted time, if he revels in this newfound regard. For in this moment, Tweeting Tony is quite possibly the most powerful man in Ottawa. Continue…

MPs herd over to eat beef

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 7:38 PM - 2 Comments

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association were on the Hill and held a beef
reception which had 200 West Block packed. Beef gets MPs and staffers
every time. Below, Liberal MP Mark Eyking.

.

Liberal MP Justin Trudeau.

Continue…

Feeding Jean-Pierre Blackburn

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, September 25, 2009 at 10:20 AM - 16 Comments

The Toronto Star helpfully explains how to stage a government photo op meant to ease concerns about a potential health emergency.

After a herd of Alberta pigs was infected with the H1N1 flu virus last April, countries began closing their borders to Canadian hogs, threatening $3 billion in exports and 40,000 jobs. Ottawa’s response was to hold a barbecue on Parliament Hill with pulled pork on the menu, and hog farmers, foreign diplomats and lots of television cameras in the crowd.

But it was carefully crafted to ensure two Conservative ministers, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Minister of State for Agriculture Jean-Pierre Blackburn, were the stars of the show, according to 841 pages of internal emails obtained by the Toronto Star…

“I believe it’s important to have a visual where the ministers `eat’ pork. Not only flipping it on a barbeque,” suggested Sylvain Frenette, Blackburn’s political director. “So we have to ensure that what they will eat is visually appealing … . It has to be easy to eat. Small pieces already cut up and ready to eat. So that he’s not fighting with a piece of meat. So that he doesn’t get dirty, etc.”

Ritz’s staff had their own ideas about the best light in which to present him. ”Please ensure that the minister has a spot in the serving line (complete with apron would be best) – this is the money shot,” Murdoch wrote.

In which direction shall we move?

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 3:02 PM - 7 Comments

Randomly selected excerpts from Gerry Ritz’s press conference this afternoon.

Question: Last night we learned that two inspectors who were investigating a herd of pigs hit with swine flu in Central Alberta in April fell ill themselves and they became sick because they didn’t follow proper procedures in carrying out that investigation and they say they weren’t even instructed on what the proper procedures were.  So I’m wondering as Minister responsible, what you think about that, what it says about CFIA management and what you’re doing about it?

The Hon. Gerry Ritz:    Well we’ve, we’ve begun to move forward on those types of things, making sure that the front line inspectors have the tools they require, whether it’s gear or computer technology, whatever it is, we’re starting to address those. Continue…

And now, an important — and likely relieved — word from Gerry Ritz

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 12:34 PM - 6 Comments

Now that we’ve all gotten our hands on the official report, it’s time for the obligatory ministerial response, which is why ITQ is off to the National Press Theatre for the determinedly non-comedic stylings of Gerry Ritz, who is still the minister responsible. I have to think that it’s probably preferable for most politicians and staffers when this sort of report comes out after you’ve been shuffled off to a new portfolio, but such is life, right? (Which reminds ITQ — when does the summertime cabinet shuffle speculation officially get underway?)

Continue…

The Weatherill Report on listeriosis makes 57 recommendations

By kadyomalley - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 10:00 AM - 11 Comments

ITQ is off to the Chateau Laurier this morning to stake out a good seat to await the release of what we are, somewhat stubbornly, going to continue to refer to as the Weatherill Report, which will reveal the results of “a six-month investigation into a tragedy that cost 22 Canadians their lives”, and which – depending on which draft of the media advisory you read – was either an “outbreak” or a “preventable incident”.

We can get a preview — an teensy weensy preview, but a preview, nonetheless — via CTV News, which “obtained” (don’t you love that word?) the “key points” from the Embargo Fairy last night:

Among the key recommendations: food companies must report all public health threats to the government, and federal inspection reports should be published. [...]

Other recommendations in the report include:

• Meat plants must report any public safety threats to the government, not just those stemming from positive bacteria tests.
• Manufacturers must design meat processing equipment that is easy to clean and will limit the spread of bacteria.
• Canada’s chief public health officer must take the lead in any future cases of food-borne illness, lessening any potential political diversions.
• Provinces need to follow more strict safety rules.
• Ottawa should review the training of federal inspectors, in addition to reviewing inspection resources.

Since this is Inside The Queensway, after all, and not Inside The Meat Packing Plant or Picnics Weekly, ITQ will likely be focusing her attention on findings and recommendations related to ministerial actions and responsibilities — that bit about “lessening any potential political diversions” intrigues us particularly — although as is her sacred duty as a liveblogger, she will, of course, cover the entire press conference as it transpires, albeit with none of her usual gripings about sandwiches. Well, not many, anyway.

Oh, and it turns out, there is a half-hour pre-release lockup-ish thing after all,  although I’m not sure how many of my gallery colleagues realize that’s the case, since neither the original advisory nor the revised version made reference to it; it only shows up in the CNW release. I know that sounds like a whiny nitpick, but honestly, it does change the dynamics of a press conference when the people asking questions have actually had the chance to at least do a quick scan of the report, so I was glad to see the late addition to the schedule.

Anyway, check back at 11am for all the action!

10:45:15 AM
Okay, so — apparently, this is a real, official, give-us-the-BlackBerry-and-nobody-gets-hurt lockup which means that ITQ must now choose between sacrificing her sneak preview of the report, or entering — The Liveblogging-Free Zone. (Insert Tales From The Darkside theme here.) After mulling over the options before her — and a conversation with the obliging media registrar — she went with the former, which means you won’t get any particular insight from here on the innards of the report until *after* the official release at 11:00am. What can I say — the vision of reporters mobbing the Holder of the Berries as the newser was getting underway, and a quick assessment of the likelihood that I’d be able to elbow my way to the front of the line was enough to make my choice for me. Hope y’all appreciate.

So far, it’s a fairly good turnout — not quite as many reporters as I’d expected, although that may be partly due to the confusion over the pre-release peek. No sandwiches, alas — or even meat-laced muffins.

10:55:37 AM
Continue…

UPDATE: ListeriosisReportWatc … : Oh, wait, never mind. There it is.

By kadyomalley - Monday, July 20, 2009 at 2:59 PM - 12 Comments

Huh. We didn’t even have time to whip ourselves into a frenzy over the outrageous lack of transparency. Way to ruin a perfectly good 24 hour news cycle, minister:

MESSAGE FROM THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR

July 20, 2009 (Ottawa) – Today, I submitted my final report on the August 2008 Listeriosis outbreak to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.  This report concludes a six-month-long investigation into a tragedy that cost 22 Canadians their lives.

[...]

At the request of the Minister, I will publicly release my report tomorrow at a news conference. The report will also be posted to the Listeriosis Investigation website for public viewing at: http://www.listeriosis-listeriose.investigation-enquete.gc.ca/

Sheila Weatherill

Independent Investigator

UPDATE: PMO reassures us, via Canadian Press, that there will be no “tinkering” with the report overnight:

The Harper government says it won’t tinker with an independent investigator’s report into last year’s deadly listeriosis crisis before releasing it to the public.

Sheila Weatherill has handed in her report to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. She was expected to hold a news conference Tuesday in Ottawa to discuss her findings.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the report won’t be edited or altered in any way before it is released on Tuesday.

“We’re looking at the report right now and she’ll present it to the public tomorrow,” Kory Teneycke said Monday.

WELL, SOMETHING’S CERTAINLY UP-DATE: Um, y’all? Maybe I spoke too soon. Check out what just came down the wire — a corrected press release, which is missing rather a lot of the contents of this one.

Please refer to Ritz v. Good Taste

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 8, 2009 at 10:09 PM - 13 Comments

Of course, there is a precedent for ministers of the crown making uncouth remarks about the suffering of Canadian citizens in private only to have those comments later broadcast publicly.

Mitchel Raphael on a hill feeding frenzy

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 12:20 PM - 1 Comment

Those people on the Hill sure like free food

The Canadian Pork Council held a BBQ on the Hill (free pulled pork sandwiches!) to publicize the safety of their product in the midst of swine flu panic. It was the longest lineup Capital Diary had ever seen for a Hill reception. The final 30 people did not even get meat—some of them grabbed buns to soak up the leftover liquid in the serving pan. New Democrat Peter Stoffer was one of the few MPs who waited his turn in the endless line, even when organizers tried to pull him to the front for preferential treatment. The line went slower when cabinet ministers like Gerry Ritz (Agriculture) and Jean-Pierre Blackburn (National Revenue) took over from staff to do the serving. Everyone from Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq to Grit Leader Michael Ignatieff was chomping down. Conservative MP Shelly Glover noted she loves ham. “My kids live off of it,” says the mother of five, who was elected in the last election. (She is on leave from the Winnipeg Police Service, where she used to investigate crack houses and went undercover as a sex-trade worker.) Quipped deputy Speaker Andrew Scheer at the BBQ: “This is the good kind of pork on Parliament Hill.”

Who knew Justin had a tattoo?

Last year, Nova Scotia Grit Mike Savage was the lone MP to take up the Canadian Paraplegic Association’s challenge to spend a day in a wheelchair. This year, several politicians participated, including Conservative MP Dona Cadman and senators such as Olympic skiing gold medallist Nancy Greene Raine. They experienced first-hand the challenges of being in a wheelchair—travelling over carpets or hitting inaccessible committee rooms on the Hill. The day ended with wheelchair races. When Justin Trudeau took on his Toronto Liberal colleague Martha Hall Findlay, he suggested she remove her jacket. When she did and it was revealed she was sleeveless underneath, Trudeau, who was already without a jacket and tie, stripped down to his sleeveless undershirt. (A few people were surprised to see a small tattoo of the earth on his upper left arm.) He won for fastest male MP, but beat Hall Findlay only by a slim margin. It should be noted, however, that Hall Findlay had a “wardrobe malfunction.” Her bra straps slipped off her shoulders and she had to pause to push them back up.

Continue…

MPs dole out the pork, literally

By Mitchel Raphael - Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 12:50 PM - 4 Comments

The Canadian Pork Council held a Hill BBQ to show the safety of Canada’s white meat in the midst of the panic over the H1N1 swine flu.

Labour Minister Rona Ambrose serves up the pork.

Iggy chows down.

Continue…

Try the veal (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 6:17 PM - 1 Comment

Because it went over so well the first time, Gerry Ritz responded to a question today from Wayne Easter about listeriosis with a joke about the Liberal’s health.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot understand what the member for Malpeque is braying about. I hope someone has a set of paddles over there. He may need them one day.

The Commons: Shadowboxing the ghosts

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 6:49 PM - 27 Comments

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff opened with a joke. Of sorts.

“Mr. Speaker, yesterday the government tabled its first budget report, as required by the House, and what is remarkable is what is missing. There is no mention of the 190,000 jobs the government promised to create in its budget just six weeks ago,” he said.

The Conservative laughed uproariously, apparently assuming Ignatieff expected to see those jobs already created. The Liberal leader threw up his arms.

“I fail to see what is amusing, Mr. Speaker,” he said.

The Speaker called for order.

“Let me put this in a way the Conservatives can understand,” Ignatieff continued. “They promised to create 190,000 jobs six weeks ago. There is no mention of that figure in the current report. Why is the government backing down from its own projections?”

The Liberals stood and yelled. The Prime Minister stood and reviewed the latest analysis of the International Monetary Fund, including some generally positive remarks for the government’s stimulus package. “The focus now is appropriately on implementing that package,” Harper reprimanded, so I would encourage the party opposite, rather than always trying to find the negative in everything, to simply get on with passing this and doing something positive for the Canadian economy.”

Ignatieff deemed this not much of an answer. Continue…

The Commons: Stephen Harper requests your patience

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 6:02 PM - 21 Comments

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper were debating the state of the aerospace industry. Suffice it to say, the Liberal leader feels the Prime Minister isn’t doing enough, while the Prime Minister feels the Liberal leader is being silly.

Offering his second reply en francais, the Prime Minister switched in mid-answer to English. A witty retort seemed imminent.

“The Leader of the Opposition cannot support an economic plan earlier in the week and two days later say it is not working yet,” Mr. Harper argued. “That does not really have a lot of credibility.”

Ignatieff smiled.

“Mr. Speaker,” the Liberal replied, “I cannot help it if I am an impatient man.”

The Conservatives laughed and cheered.

“In terms of the leader of the opposition’s patience, he demonstrated a lot of patience in his long, 36 year return to Canada,” the Prime Minister mused at his next opportunity. “I would urge him to show that kind of patience in the future.”

The Conservatives laughed and cheered.

Lost, for the moment, was the brainteaser Ignatieff had snuck in between the chuckles.

“Mr. Speaker,” he said, “can the Prime Minister assure us that his infrastructure spending will benefit all Canadians, no matter where they live or who they vote for?” Continue…

Your Team Iggy starting line-up

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 5:23 PM - 43 Comments

Posted without comment for the moment. Some attempt at analysis to follow after some consideration now offered below.

Intergovernmental Affairs Michael Ignatieff
House Leader Ralph Goodale
Deputy House Leader Marlene Jennings
Whip Rodger Cuzner
Deputy Whip Marcel Proulx 
Finance John McCallum
Foreign Affairs Bob Rae
Defence Denis Coderre
Environment & Energy David McGuinty
Health Carolyn Bennett
Industry, Science & Technology Marc Garneau
Public Safety & National Security Mark Holland
Natural Resources Geoff Regan
Justice and Attorney-General Dominic LeBlanc
International Trade Scott Brison
Public Works and Government Services Martha Hall Findlay Continue…

Canada: a failing state — the listeriosis inquiry

By Paul Wells - Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 11:31 PM - 124 Comments

Today we launch an occasional series whose thesis is that, while Steve and Guy play chess over at Langevin, Canada has no coherent government. Essentially we are arguing that Canada has become a more genteel Somalia.

We define “coherent” as the action of a government that (a) says stuff; and then (b) does stuff that resembles what it said. Note that, by this definition, a government that (a) promised less state action; and then (b) delivered less state action would qualify as coherent. So a coherent conservative government would (to belabour my point) absolutely qualify as a coherent government. What doesn’t qualify as a coherent government, for instance, is one that (a) releases a fiscal update on Thursday and then (b) abandons every part of it by Saturday. Or one that (a) calls for deficits in Winnipeg and Lima before (b) announcing in the fiscal update that there will be no deficits, but then (c) retracts the fiscal update but (d) still insists for a few days that there needn’t be a deficit before finally (e) announcing that there will probably be deficits and then (f) appoints a panel of economic advisors whose previous pro bono advice had been (g) previously ignored by the selfsame government but, who knows, maybe (h)….

Anyway. Today’s exhibit comes via Colleague ITQ who has read this CP story which points out that the government (a) promised, in September, an inquiry into the listeriosis outbreak that killed 20 people; (b) set a seven-month deadline, until March, for the inquiry to report; (c) actually, let’s pause to count. Early September to mid-March. One, two, three, four, five, six-ish months. Six and a half, not quite seven months. Got it? Great. Onwards: (d) has not, as of today, four months later and with two and a half months left before the deadline, appointed anyone to lead the inquiry.

Got it? Note that the government doesn’t need a functioning Parliament (because we don’t have one; see “failing state,” above) to appoint an inquiry. All it needs is a minister — say, noted phone prankster Gerry Ritz — with a Rolodex, an envelope and a postage stamp to invite some retired food inspector to pay his wisdom forward by heading up the inquiry. In fact, here I exaggerate for effect because Ritz doesn’t even need a stamp. As a member of Parliament, he could write to the RFI (retired food inspector) without postage.

So really, it’s not hard for this government to do what it promised it would do. Or rather, it would not be hard if the current government, the one run by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, could find its own ass with a map and a flashlight. (Note to the anonymous legions who are itching to get some action on the comment board below this post: If you don’t think an inquiry is necessary, your opinion doesn’t matter because the Government of Canada disagreed with you and announced that it would hold an inquiry. Now we will all see who’s not bright enough to factor that inconvenient detail into their comments. This will be fun.)

So. Let us review the options.

• Coherent government: (a) announce an inquiry; (b) hold the inquiry.
• Alternative, conservative coherent government: (a) explain why no inquiry is necessary; (b) do not hold an inquiry.
• Incoherent government — failing-state government: (a) announce an inquiry; (b) attempt to ban public-sector strikes while appointing talk-show hosts to the Senate.

See the difference?

One drawback to the whole announce-an-inquiry/investigation-(public- or-otherwise)-to-push-a-scandal- onto-the-backburner strategy of damage control. . .

By kadyomalley - Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 1:07 PM - 128 Comments

Eventually, a nosy reporter with time (and column inches) to fill during the Christmas-to-New-Year’s news holiday may start asking annoying questions about why it still hasn’t gotten underway, which will lead to the revelation that nearly four months later, the government hasn’t even appointed a lead investigator for its promised probe into last summer’s listeriosis outbreak.

(Speaking of news holidays, and holidays in general – as of tomorrow morning, ITQ will be back on the job.)

UPDATE: Colleague Wells explains how this sort of dithering might give observers the distinct impression that Canada currently has “no coherent government.”

Er, sorry

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:39 PM - 2 Comments

About that listeria outbreak.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency could have done a far better job communicating with the public during this summer’s listeria outbreak, a top official at the federal agency concedes.

“There’s been a lot of hard questions asked … in terms of how we can get information to the public in as timely a way as possible,” said Dr. Brian Evans, CFIA executive vice-president and chief veterinary officer of Canada. “I accept the criticism that there is a need for us to reflect and to do a much better job of informing (Canadians).”

So what was the problem? What accounts for the lack of communication? Continue…

BTC: Five days

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 12:17 AM - 6 Comments

CBC/Star investigation says the CFIA was warned on Aug. 14 that Maple Leaf products were contaminated. The CFIA’s official alert came Aug. 19.