Might Canada have some import risk itself?
Contacts: Canadian Health Coalition
phone:613-521-3400 x 308; fax 613-521-9638 director
name: Michael McBane
This respected public interest group in Canada is
making some rather disturbing assertions in the open
letter below to the Canadian Minister of Health,
especially in the context of the Canadian blast at
Brazil, so the webmaster challenged them to produce
the primary government documents mentioned:
"In fact, Canada imported 2.8 million kilograms of
blood meal, meat scraps, bone meal and waste meat
between 1996 and 2000 from European countries since
shown to have mad cow disease outbreaks (Source:
Statistics Canada, International Trade Division)."
They responded with a massive fax of primary
documention which appears to provide the necessary
factual support for the their letter. It is too long
to enter fully electronically; contact Canadian Health
Coalition directly for further details.
GB
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001
From: Brad Duplisea
Organization: Canadian Health Coalition
Subject: Letter to Allan Rock
Canadian Health Coalition
Letter to the Canadian Minister of Health
Regarding Mad Cow Disease
Monday, January 29, 2001
Hon. Allan Rock
Minister of Health
House of Commons
Ottawa, CANADA
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Rock,
Re: Dereliction of Duty to Protect Canadians from BSE
and vCJD
This letter is to seek your immediate commitment as
Minister of Health to protect the people of Canada
against risks to health posed by the infectious bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease)
agent and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
For some time now significant evidence of harm and
potential future harm to human health from the
infectious BSE agent has been made public together
with precautionary measures required to avoid exposure
to BSE risk.
Why have you not acted on the World Health
Organization recommendations to reduce exposure to the
BSE agent? In December 2000,
the WHO issued a warning of global exposure to BSE. It
therefore recommended that: all countries must
prohibit the use of ruminant tissues in ruminant
feed. The WHO also called for the application of the
precautionary principle for human and veterinary
vaccines prepared from bovine materials
(http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact113.html).
To date, your department, Health Canada has taken
minimal and lethargic steps which fail to apply the
precautionary principle. Instead, federal regulatory
officials have characterized precautionary measures to
reduce exposure to the BSE agent as ridiculous
overkill. (Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 14, 2001, p.A4).
With respect to beef and animal products, Health
Canada has taken a blind approach denying, together
with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the
existence of the infectious agent in Canada. But there
are not the inspections, testing, surveillance or
enforcement needed to substantiate such a claim.
In fact, Canada imported 2.8 million kilograms of
blood meal, meat scraps, bone meal and waste meat
between 1996 and 2000 from European countries since
shown to have mad cow disease outbreaks (Source:
Statistics Canada, International Trade Division).
Canada also imported 15.5 million kilograms of animal
waste meat for feed from the United States last year
alone. Recent inspections in the United States
revealed that of 9,500 feed mills visited, only 2,700
were abiding by feed regulations to protect against
the BSE agent (Toronto Star, January 20, 2001).
Even in the absence of BSE, chronic wasting disease is
present in Canada and yet we continue to feed rendered
animal protein, including elk and deer from road kill,
to animals for human consumption.
With respect to plasma products and vaccines, Health
Canada demonstrated poor judgment in failing to act to
exclude contaminated British source plasma more than a
year after a British ban was imposed. This lengthy
delay permitted contaminated plasma to enter Canada
without restrictions during that year. As other
jurisdictions move to raise standards, Health
Canada consults with industry and delays. We remind
you of your statutory duty to take precautionary
measures to protect lives.
Justice Krever concluded that Health Canada must not
wait for scientific certainty about the spread of a
transfusion-associated disease and the effectiveness
of particular risk-reduction measures before they act
to reduce risks. (Commission of Inquiry on the Blood
System in Canada, Final Report, p. 994). Justice
Krever also concluded that Health Canada must not
delegate their functions to others, nor rely on
consensus decision making as a substitute for
independent judgment. (Final Report, p.996). What is
true for the blood supply is true for the food supply.
Your duty as Minister of Health includes: the
promotion and preservation of the health of the people
of Canada and the protection of the people of Canada
against risks to health and the spreading of diseases
Department of Health Act, 1996, s.4 (1) and s.4 (2) b.
This legislation places upon you as Minister the
statutory duty to uphold the
Food & Drugs Act. The intent of this Act is : to
protect the public from health hazards and fraud in
the sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics and medical
devices.
The willful blindness that characterized your
departments approach to the hazard of blood
contamination in the past is being repeated today with
mad cow disease and vCJD. Your officials were quoted
on Saturday, January 27, 2001 as saying Health Canada
has set up a committee to review the situation and
added: Were not worried (National Post, 27.01.01,
p.A 15).
In so far as your duty as Minister involves the
protection of life from a fatal hazard, dereliction of
that duty may constitute criminal negligence. If your
officials are not worried, you should be.
At a minimum, the precautionary measures urged by the
World Health Organization, including a total ban on
the feeding of animal protein back to animals and a
ban on the dangerous use of plasma containing bovine
materials in drug products and vaccines, must be
implemented immediately.
You, Mr. Minister, will be at risk if this dereliction
of duty continues.
Sincerely yours,
Kathleen Connors, RN
Chairperson
Canadian Health Coalition
cc:
Rt. Hon. Jean Chritien, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Lyle Vanclief, Minister of Agriculture
Rt. Hon Joe Clark, Leader of the Progressive
Conservatives
Hon. Stockwell Day, Leader of the Opposition
Hon. Gilles Duceppe, Chef, Bloc Quibicois
Hon. Alexa McDonough, Leader, New Democratic Party
Contacts: Canadian Health Coalition
phone:613-521-3400 x 308; fax 613-521-9638 director
name: Michael McBane
This respected public interest group in Canada is
making some rather disturbing assertions in the open
letter below to the Canadian Minister of Health,
especially in the context of the Canadian blast at
Brazil, so the webmaster challenged them to produce
the primary government documents mentioned:
"In fact, Canada imported 2.8 million kilograms of
blood meal, meat scraps, bone meal and waste meat
between 1996 and 2000 from European countries since
shown to have mad cow disease outbreaks (Source:
Statistics Canada, International Trade Division)."
They responded with a massive fax of primary
documention which appears to provide the necessary
factual support for the their letter. It is too long
to enter fully electronically; contact Canadian Health
Coalition directly for further details.
GB
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001
From: Brad Duplisea
Organization: Canadian Health Coalition
Subject: Letter to Allan Rock
Canadian Health Coalition
Letter to the Canadian Minister of Health
Regarding Mad Cow Disease
Monday, January 29, 2001
Hon. Allan Rock
Minister of Health
House of Commons
Ottawa, CANADA
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Rock,
Re: Dereliction of Duty to Protect Canadians from BSE
and vCJD
This letter is to seek your immediate commitment as
Minister of Health to protect the people of Canada
against risks to health posed by the infectious bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease)
agent and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
For some time now significant evidence of harm and
potential future harm to human health from the
infectious BSE agent has been made public together
with precautionary measures required to avoid exposure
to BSE risk.
Why have you not acted on the World Health
Organization recommendations to reduce exposure to the
BSE agent? In December 2000,
the WHO issued a warning of global exposure to BSE. It
therefore recommended that: all countries must
prohibit the use of ruminant tissues in ruminant
feed. The WHO also called for the application of the
precautionary principle for human and veterinary
vaccines prepared from bovine materials
(http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact113.html).
To date, your department, Health Canada has taken
minimal and lethargic steps which fail to apply the
precautionary principle. Instead, federal regulatory
officials have characterized precautionary measures to
reduce exposure to the BSE agent as ridiculous
overkill. (Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 14, 2001, p.A4).
With respect to beef and animal products, Health
Canada has taken a blind approach denying, together
with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the
existence of the infectious agent in Canada. But there
are not the inspections, testing, surveillance or
enforcement needed to substantiate such a claim.
In fact, Canada imported 2.8 million kilograms of
blood meal, meat scraps, bone meal and waste meat
between 1996 and 2000 from European countries since
shown to have mad cow disease outbreaks (Source:
Statistics Canada, International Trade Division).
Canada also imported 15.5 million kilograms of animal
waste meat for feed from the United States last year
alone. Recent inspections in the United States
revealed that of 9,500 feed mills visited, only 2,700
were abiding by feed regulations to protect against
the BSE agent (Toronto Star, January 20, 2001).
Even in the absence of BSE, chronic wasting disease is
present in Canada and yet we continue to feed rendered
animal protein, including elk and deer from road kill,
to animals for human consumption.
With respect to plasma products and vaccines, Health
Canada demonstrated poor judgment in failing to act to
exclude contaminated British source plasma more than a
year after a British ban was imposed. This lengthy
delay permitted contaminated plasma to enter Canada
without restrictions during that year. As other
jurisdictions move to raise standards, Health
Canada consults with industry and delays. We remind
you of your statutory duty to take precautionary
measures to protect lives.
Justice Krever concluded that Health Canada must not
wait for scientific certainty about the spread of a
transfusion-associated disease and the effectiveness
of particular risk-reduction measures before they act
to reduce risks. (Commission of Inquiry on the Blood
System in Canada, Final Report, p. 994). Justice
Krever also concluded that Health Canada must not
delegate their functions to others, nor rely on
consensus decision making as a substitute for
independent judgment. (Final Report, p.996). What is
true for the blood supply is true for the food supply.
Your duty as Minister of Health includes: the
promotion and preservation of the health of the people
of Canada and the protection of the people of Canada
against risks to health and the spreading of diseases
Department of Health Act, 1996, s.4 (1) and s.4 (2) b.
This legislation places upon you as Minister the
statutory duty to uphold the
Food & Drugs Act. The intent of this Act is : to
protect the public from health hazards and fraud in
the sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics and medical
devices.
The willful blindness that characterized your
departments approach to the hazard of blood
contamination in the past is being repeated today with
mad cow disease and vCJD. Your officials were quoted
on Saturday, January 27, 2001 as saying Health Canada
has set up a committee to review the situation and
added: Were not worried (National Post, 27.01.01,
p.A 15).
In so far as your duty as Minister involves the
protection of life from a fatal hazard, dereliction of
that duty may constitute criminal negligence. If your
officials are not worried, you should be.
At a minimum, the precautionary measures urged by the
World Health Organization, including a total ban on
the feeding of animal protein back to animals and a
ban on the dangerous use of plasma containing bovine
materials in drug products and vaccines, must be
implemented immediately.
You, Mr. Minister, will be at risk if this dereliction
of duty continues.
Sincerely yours,
Kathleen Connors, RN
Chairperson
Canadian Health Coalition
cc:
Rt. Hon. Jean Chritien, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Lyle Vanclief, Minister of Agriculture
Rt. Hon Joe Clark, Leader of the Progressive
Conservatives
Hon. Stockwell Day, Leader of the Opposition
Hon. Gilles Duceppe, Chef, Bloc Quibicois
Hon. Alexa McDonough, Leader, New Democratic Party
