The PQ wants to create a “squad” to inspect the foods foreign

Archival Photo Simon Clark
The mp, pq’s André Villeneuve

Pascal Dugas Drone

Tuesday, 6 march, 2018 16:12

UPDATE
Tuesday, 6 march, 2018 16:15

Look at this article

QUEBEC-A year after the death of two persons, caused by raspberries contaminated from China, the Parti québécois wants to create a “squad-based inspections of food” in order to send a “clear message” to countries that export food to Quebec.

This team, attached to the ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec (MAPAQ), would include “a few tens of additional inspectors”, which would be between “2 and $ 5 million” to the quebec taxpayers, considers the PQ.

“We are talking about food security, ensure that the products that people consume are of quality at least equivalent to what our farmers produce,” explained the mp, pq’s André Villeneuve, during a press briefing on Tuesday.

According to the figures put forward by the PQ, the different federal agencies are able, each year, to inspect only 2 % of food products found on supermarket shelves.

A rate that is clearly insufficient, according to the PQ, which is however unable to clarify what would be the target of his new squad.

“I do not want to get in a figure, but as for me, I think the important thing is the message it sends,” said Mr. Villeneuve.

The PQ would also like to make a promotion more aggressive, certified “Aliments du Québec”, for which the Québécois are “willing to pay a little bit more expensive”.

Cost of the basket

Mr. Villeneuve does not believe that imposing additional restrictions to exporters, will lead to an increase in the price of food. Rather, we believe that to better regulate the foreign products will allow the products of quebec to better himself.

“We, in Quebec, a surplus of electricity, then we could leverage all this extra energy there to promote the culture in the greenhouse”, gave as an example Mr. Villeneuve.

However, he acknowledged that foreign companies that “do not comply with the rules […] have costs of production lower.”
In the spring of 2017, hundreds of people had been infected by a virus after eating frozen raspberries from China. Two people had also lost their lives due to this disease.