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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080901.DISEASE01/TPStory/National
INFECTIOUS DISEASES: BORDER SCREENING
Poor training raises outbreak risk, agency says
CFIA warns of potentially 'devastating' economic effects if dangerous goods allowed to enter Canada in travellers' luggage
CARLY WEEKS
September 1, 2008
Canadian border guards may lack the necessary training to keep dangerous goods out of Canada that may be carrying mad cow, foot-and-mouth disease, and even avian flu, leading to potential outbreaks that could damage the country's tourism and agricultural industries.
An internal risk assessment conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also warns that border officials are too busy to properly screen international travellers entering the country for food, animal and plant materials that could contain pathogens that may infect Canada's animal population.
It's a significant issue that could have serious consequences for the agriculture industry and lead to problems that would have a ripple effect, as was demonstrated in the mad-cow crisis of 2003 or the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain in 2001.
"Economically, the impact of a disease outbreak can be huge," said Ann Allain, senior staff veterinarian in the animal health and production division of the CFIA's imports department. "It can be devastating."
The CFIA used to be responsible for screening international travellers entering Canada who may be carrying risky material, but that authority was transferred to Canada Border Services Agency several years ago. Border guards are supposed to be on the lookout for any foreign food, plants, animals or related products that international travellers may bring into the country.
Although travellers are supposed to declare any foreign materials so officials can determine if they represent a potential risk, there are many cases where people try to bring in goods undetected.
A Richmond, B.C., woman was fined $10,000 earlier this month after border officials detected 70 undeclared live Shanghai hairy crabs in her luggage. The crabs are invasive and can destroy ecosystems and drive out native species. Earlier this year, a traveller was fined $500 after a sniffer dog detected undeclared duck, pork and deer meat in his luggage.
Although officials caught those goods before they made it into the country, the government document, obtained under the Access to Information Act by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin, casts doubt on whether border officials are given adequate time and resources to do the job properly.
The document warns that the responsibility for safeguarding against dangerous materials "is considerably diluted within other responsibilities of the [Canada Border Services Agency]."
"Concerns are also raised that insufficient staff and training is allocated to animal health controls at the border," says the report, which was prepared last fall.
The report also questions whether the border agency is fulfilling its responsibility to ensure international garbage coming into Canada is handled properly to avoid a disease outbreak.
Under federal rules, international waste that comes into Canada from ships and airplanes must be incinerated, buried, or otherwise safely disposed of to keep animals from being exposed to the materials in landfills and catching an infectious disease. Border officials are supposed to ensure international waste is transported safely to avoid the possibility of an outbreak, but the document suggests that may not be happening since the border agency assumed that responsibility from the CFIA.
"Rules are in place to make sure that international waste is transported in a safe manner, but it is not clear how effectively these are being enforced," the document states.
"From our observations, it seems that a minimal supervision by CBSA is being applied on this aspect of international waste disposal."
CBSA spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said the agency is not willing to comment on a report prepared by another department, but that it takes the responsibility for screening for risky material very seriously.
"We would like to highlight that CBSA officers thoroughly screen all travellers and goods coming into Canada and examine more closely those that may pose a threat, including a risk to our food, plants and animals," Ms. LeBlanc wrote in an e-mail.
"The agency has developed sophisticated automated risk-assessment systems to screen all incoming shipments, including food, plant and animal commodities."
INFECTIOUS DISEASES: BORDER SCREENING
Poor training raises outbreak risk, agency says
CFIA warns of potentially 'devastating' economic effects if dangerous goods allowed to enter Canada in travellers' luggage
CARLY WEEKS
September 1, 2008
Canadian border guards may lack the necessary training to keep dangerous goods out of Canada that may be carrying mad cow, foot-and-mouth disease, and even avian flu, leading to potential outbreaks that could damage the country's tourism and agricultural industries.
An internal risk assessment conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also warns that border officials are too busy to properly screen international travellers entering the country for food, animal and plant materials that could contain pathogens that may infect Canada's animal population.
It's a significant issue that could have serious consequences for the agriculture industry and lead to problems that would have a ripple effect, as was demonstrated in the mad-cow crisis of 2003 or the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain in 2001.
"Economically, the impact of a disease outbreak can be huge," said Ann Allain, senior staff veterinarian in the animal health and production division of the CFIA's imports department. "It can be devastating."
The CFIA used to be responsible for screening international travellers entering Canada who may be carrying risky material, but that authority was transferred to Canada Border Services Agency several years ago. Border guards are supposed to be on the lookout for any foreign food, plants, animals or related products that international travellers may bring into the country.
Although travellers are supposed to declare any foreign materials so officials can determine if they represent a potential risk, there are many cases where people try to bring in goods undetected.
A Richmond, B.C., woman was fined $10,000 earlier this month after border officials detected 70 undeclared live Shanghai hairy crabs in her luggage. The crabs are invasive and can destroy ecosystems and drive out native species. Earlier this year, a traveller was fined $500 after a sniffer dog detected undeclared duck, pork and deer meat in his luggage.
Although officials caught those goods before they made it into the country, the government document, obtained under the Access to Information Act by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin, casts doubt on whether border officials are given adequate time and resources to do the job properly.
The document warns that the responsibility for safeguarding against dangerous materials "is considerably diluted within other responsibilities of the [Canada Border Services Agency]."
"Concerns are also raised that insufficient staff and training is allocated to animal health controls at the border," says the report, which was prepared last fall.
The report also questions whether the border agency is fulfilling its responsibility to ensure international garbage coming into Canada is handled properly to avoid a disease outbreak.
Under federal rules, international waste that comes into Canada from ships and airplanes must be incinerated, buried, or otherwise safely disposed of to keep animals from being exposed to the materials in landfills and catching an infectious disease. Border officials are supposed to ensure international waste is transported safely to avoid the possibility of an outbreak, but the document suggests that may not be happening since the border agency assumed that responsibility from the CFIA.
"Rules are in place to make sure that international waste is transported in a safe manner, but it is not clear how effectively these are being enforced," the document states.
"From our observations, it seems that a minimal supervision by CBSA is being applied on this aspect of international waste disposal."
CBSA spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said the agency is not willing to comment on a report prepared by another department, but that it takes the responsibility for screening for risky material very seriously.
"We would like to highlight that CBSA officers thoroughly screen all travellers and goods coming into Canada and examine more closely those that may pose a threat, including a risk to our food, plants and animals," Ms. LeBlanc wrote in an e-mail.
"The agency has developed sophisticated automated risk-assessment systems to screen all incoming shipments, including food, plant and animal commodities."