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Jokes On Epidemic Turn Canadian Vote Tense

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The New York Times

Published: September 20, 2008

OTTAWA - An attempt at levity by a Canadian Cabinet minister over a tainted food epidemic that killed 17 people has turned the health crisis into an unexpected issue in Canada's election campaign.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper continued on Friday to resist calls from some relatives of the dead and all of his political opponents to fire Gary Ritz, the agriculture minister, because of remarks he made during a conference call about an outbreak of listeriosis linked to lunch meats.

"This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts?," Ritz said during a conference call on Aug. 30.

Later, when someone on the call indicated that there may be a case in Prince Edward Island, Ritz said: "Please tell me it's Wayne Easter." Easter, a member of Parliament from that province, is the agriculture critic for the opposition Liberal Party.

Ritz, whose department is responsible for food safety, had been the government's public face during the outbreak of listeriosis, a bacterial disease that can be fatal to the elderly or the infirm. The outbreak prompted a nationwide recall of products produced by Maple Leaf Foods.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal published an editorial Tuesday that said, in part, "government policy errors helped bring about this epidemic."

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