DEREGULATION, RIGHT WING IDEOLOGY & THE TRUE COSTS TO THE PUBLIC

Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carrys the following story from Thomas Walkom: "The real costs associated with cutting red tape". While the current backdrop has to be the XL Foods tainted meat scandal, Mr.Walkom also advises us of damage done to the public via deregulation of new drugs at Health Canada. Essentially our federal governments have been shifting costs and responsibilities to both drug and meat packing plants and expecting them to do more self-regulation. Apparently our politicians are too stupid to remember that checks and balances are required.

These are for profit businesses and cost cutting is but one of the nasty ways they accomplish that. If the self-regulated industry can even appear to be complying, perhaps to the letter of the regulations if not the spirit, then how do they justify greater than minimum expenditures to their shareholders? According to Mr. Walkom, XL Foods "...hadn't been following elementary safety and cleanliness rules." What do you want to bet that until they were caught, they were making money? What do you want to bet that they are back making money? What do you want to bet that if their corporate culture hasn't fired everybody involved; that they will again take safety shortcuts if they can get away with it?

Deregulation is industry donating to political parties, getting paid back by those same parties once in power. As usual it's the public who suffer from the incestuous government/industry relationships.