Bogus or Partisan? Oral Questions
June 23, 2004

Minister, last Wednesday you finally made an announcement that $7 million dollars from the Mature Animal Abattoir Fund would go to four abattoirs in the province.

Front line farmers still reeling from the effects of a closed border went without funding so you could invest in slaughter capacity for surplus mature animals.

At that time, at least one of the four abattoirs awarded funding was licensed to slaughter export animals—not mature animals.

Minister, were you aware at the time of the announcement the money you awarded was going to a facility that didn’t qualify, or did your staff keep you in the dark about this fact?

Supplementary

Minister, from what I understand your Ministry knew this facility could not slaughter mature animals and continue to export.

As a matter of fact—when I spoke with a representative from the abattoir after the announcement—the facility didn’t even want the contract because they would lose the license to slaughter animals for export they presently had.

Yet, your news release says that you had, “signed agreements with four abattoirs valued at just under $5 million.”

Surely you wouldn’t give taxpayers money to a facility not qualified to fulfill the contract.

So, Minister, did you give a bogus award to an unqualified facility or was this a partisan decision that needs to have details fixed to truly qualify?

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