OPINION
editionap.ca
To the editor: Sinking ship? Review passport tendering: Mayor “As such, the passport should be produced in Canada, and Columbia Finishing Mills has been a key partner in ensuring that Canadian content was there in the past. “
To the editor: In June, the Conservatives chose to make significant cuts to the Canadian Food In- spection Agency in the omnibus budget bill. Liberals voted against these cuts because Canadians deserve to feel confident that their food supply is protected just as our farmers and ranchers deserve safe and sta- ble business. On Sept. 3, a shipment of beef from an XL Foods facility in Brooks, Alta. was found by U.S. food inspectors to be contaminated with E. coli 0157 – the same pathogen re- sponsible for seven deaths and more than 2,300 illnesses in Walkerton, Ont. From the time that U.S. inspectors noti- Editors note: The following letter has been sent to Canadian Prime Stephen Harperre- garding the loss of contract by a city firm to produce covers for Canadian passports. Dear Mr. Harper: There has been a strong negative reaction to the government of Canada’s recent de- cision to award a contract for the produc- tion of Canadian Passport covers to a new company, one that wil see production shift overseas. Canadian Passport Covers are currently being manufactured in Cornwall by Colum- bia Finishing Mills, a Canadian company owned by Canadians. It is my understanding the loss of the passport contract will result in the loss of jobs at Columbia Finishing Mills, and poten- tially mean that machines will sit idle and
essary legal travel document. Passports are, to many Canadians, the only concrete and physical evidence of their citizenship, and their inclusion in what many people consider to be the best country in the world. As such, the passport should be produced in Canada, and Colum- bia Finishing Mills has been a key partner in ensuring that Canadian content was there in the past. A review of the tender decision should consider this question, and take into account the expectations of Canadians. Most would agree, we believe that a few cents is more than an acceptable price to pay for Canadian content, especially when costs of production can be covered in the document fee itself.
Harper’s leaky boat: Here are a fewglimps- es at the growing number of times the flagship has run aground on its voyage. Antagonizing the opposition parties only to find they may join together and re- act. Solution - prorogue all parliament op- erations. Denial of Afghanistan prisoners turned over for probable torture thinning and shredding. Prorogue all parliament op- erations again. Dismantling the established long- form census, coinciding with the passing of a new tough-on-crime bill to implement one-size-fits-all sentencing where the aver- age cost per offender is estimated to rise from $2,600 to $41,000. Likely the Canadian taxpayer could not be reached on this decision. Making the history books twice in two years. First and only government charged with contempt of parliament. And now a second meat recall, the largest seen in Canada. The contamination detected by U.S. officials Sept. 3 but not officially announced by Canada until Sept. 16, with at least 10 Canadians hospitalized so far. The March budget revealed plans to cut $56.1 million of the $722 million budget for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) by 2014-15. The massive E. coli outbreak is a reminder of the Listeriosis outbreak from Maple Leaf Foods cold cut meats four years ago which killed 22 Canadians. Is the flagship repairing its holes or creat- ing them? functions to small town fairs. His speciality is combining magic with laughter and has developed a number of different character-based performances to fit his audience. This years’ edition of ARTpreneur will also include a panel of successful local and re- gional artists who will share their stories of success and failure and discuss the ups and downs of operating an arts based business. “Success is out there waiting for us to seize it and move forward”, said Pollard. “Artists can and should learn from each oth- er and there is no better way to do it than to spend a day together listening, discussing, networking and learning. This is what ART- preneur is all about.” Registrants can take advantage of early bird pricing by registering before Nov. 5th to save on the conference fee. Visit www. artpreneur.ca or contact 613-933-0074 or send an e-mail to entrepreneurship@corn- wall.ca Ken Smith Cornwall
the production capability might eventually be lost. While the city of Cornwall respects the objective nature of any tendering process, in this particular case we would respectfully ask for a review of this particular decision. Canadian passports are more than a nec-
Bob Kilger Cornwall mayor
Conservatives have cut food inspection funding
fied the CFIA about the contamination on Sept. 4 until they finally issued a recall on more than 250 meat products, two weeks passed. In that time, the U.S. Food Safety and In- spection Service had already delisted the Brooks facility from exporting meat to the United States. It took another 10 days before the XL plant was closed. The recall grew into the largest meat re- call in Canadian history, spanning all prov- inces and territories, plus 41 states. In the meantime, at least 10 people fell ill, including a young girl who went into kid- ney failure. Conservative messaging that everything is fine is cold comfort to those who are sick
or were exposed to E. coli. No one wants to see Canadians get sick from eating tainted meat – so why are the Conservatives supporting cuts that remove vital resources from food safety profession- als and creating a space where the industry is responsible for more and more of its self- regulation? Waiting for Canadians to get sick is not a food safety strategy. Liberals support our scientists and pro- fessionals who are on the front line of food safety and call on Conservatives to do the same.
Frank Valeriote, MP Liberal Party Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food
ARTpreneur conference set for Nov. 13
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The fifth annual ARTpreneur Conference will take place Nov. 13th at the Best West- ern Parkway Inn & Conference Centre, the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre has announced. The event is open to all artists and entre- preneurs who are interested in developing new skills and insight on how to maintain a creative business. “In the past we have made an effort to provide Keynote Speakers who are actu- ally making a living by operating their own business based in the arts, and this year is no exception”, said Candy Pollard of the CBEC. “We are very excited this year to wel- come Steve Baker who will share his expe- riences of a long and successful career in entertainment. “ Baker, who now lives in Toronto, was born and raised in Cornwall and has been per- forming professionally since 1988. Baker has performed at a variety of events and venues, ranging from large corporate
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