OTTAWA - Liberals and Conservatives are accusing each other of playing politics over the listeriosis outbreak one year ago that resulted in 22 deaths.
Opposition MPs on a Commons committee had hoped to hear Wednesday from Dr. Sheila Weatherill, who investigated the outbreak and issued a report to Parliament containing a number of recommendations to prevent a similar occurrence.
Instead, the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food adopted a motion commending Weatherill's work and declaring that no further investigations are needed into the outbreak that was linked to a Maple Leaf Foods plant.
"Ms. Weatherill's in-depth examination has provided Canadians with a complete and comprehensive review of the events of last summer and recommendations that will improve Canada's food safety system," the motion read.
"Due to this extensive review, the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is of the view that no public inquiry is necessary."
Parliamentary Secretary of Agriculture and Agri-Food Pierre Lemieux later issued a statement, praising the committee for supporting the motion.
"I am glad that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food has recognized the outstanding contribution Ms. Weatherill has made to food safety system in Canada," said Lemieux.
"Our government takes food safety very seriously and we are taking action to ensure the health and safety of Canadians."
But the Liberal Opposition accused the Conservatives of using political tricks to silence Weatherill, saying the Tories voted in favour of the motion to maintain a "veil of secrecy" over the government's handling of last summer's crisis.
"We came prepared to ask Sheila Weatherill questions about her report and find out if the government has made any progress in improving the food safety system," said Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter.
"Instead, the Conservatives used every dirty trick in their manual to obstruct, distort, and hide the truth by blocking witnesses from testifying."
"They'd rather show their secretive side than be open and get down to fixing the problem."
The Opposition also wanted to hear from Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
But a spokeswoman for the minister told The Canadian Press that Ritz had other commitments.
"(Minister Ritz) could not make the schedule work to fit the opposition's political games at the last minute," Meagan Murdoch wrote in an email.
The political wrangling over last year's outbreak came on the same day as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a warning about deli meats from a Quebec food processing plant that may contain listeria monocytogenes.
The warning involved Compliments-brand smoked beef eye of round pastrami and roast beef from Delstar Foods Inc. of Montreal. The warning also applied to Delstar-brand smoked beef eye of round and pastrami smoked beef round club packs.
The meat might look and smell safe, but could still cause listeriosis, the CFIA said in its online Health Hazard Alert.
The recalled deli meats were distributed only in Quebec and there were no reports of illness associated with the products.
