Montreal, Quebec, May 8, 2008 - On November 29, 2007, at the Rimouski courthouse, Distributions Paul-Émile Dubé Ltée entered guilty pleas and was found guilty on three counts of having contravened the Meat Inspection Act.
The Court of Quebec ordered the company to pay $11,000 in fines.
Two offences, which occurred between July 25 and August 19, 2005, involved having sent or conveyed meat products from Quebec to New Brunswick without having prepared or stored the products in a registered establishment, in contravention of paragraph 8(a) of the Meat Inspection Act.
The court ordered a $5,000 fine for each of these counts.
Another offence, which occurred between December 14, 2006, and February 20, 2007, involved packaging products for sale using rolls of bags bearing the federal meat inspection legend without regulatory authorization, in contravention of paragraph 5(a) of the Meat Inspection Act.
The court ordered a $1,000 fine for this offence.
The CFIA is responsible for enforcing a variety of federal legislation, including the Meat Inspection Act and Regulations. The Meat Inspection Act governs the import and export of and interprovincial trade in meat products, the registration of establishments, the inspection of animals and meat products in registered establishments and the standards for those establishments and for animals slaughtered and meat products prepared in those establishments.
Under its mandate, CFIA provides Canadian businesses and consumers with inspection and related services that contribute to improving the overall integrity of the food safety, animal health and plant protection systems.
CFIA prosecution bulletins report on legal proceedings in which a conviction has been obtained. In publishing them, we are seeking to increase awareness of the Agency's role in enforcing the acts and regulations for which it is responsible.
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Information:
Jean François Bolduc
Communications, Quebec Area
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Telephone: 514-283-3815, ext 4253
E-mail: bolducjf@inspection.gc.ca
