Let them eat listeria?

As of this writing, 17 people have died from contaminated food from a Maple Leaf Foods meat plant in Toronto (Canwest News Service). Yet Canada's Governor wants to continue doing away with government food inspectors. Mr. Harper believes the food industry will inspect itself. Of course it will.

Realistically, how long will an inspector employed by a food conglomerate remain employed if he or she insists the company follow costly procedures?

It would be very interesting to know where this idea came from - since it is very unlikely Canadian Food Inspection Agency people would be advocating self-destruction and it was not part of the Conservative election platform. Not that they have stuck to the open and transparent part of that, or the "we won't change the taxation on income trusts" promise.

One can only assume the idea arose in the boardrooms of industry where the absence of common sense in Ottawa was quickly seen and lobbying begun.

It would also be interesting to see what promises where made by industry and to whom. Change takes effort and effort needs a driver. In government there are only two big drivers - moral imperative and money.

Since there is no morality in exposing the population to increased risk, that leaves the other.