From the "When will our so-called government learn dept":

Recalls, lax inspection, increasing food contamination - the food inspectors union urges Canadians to show their concern by contacting their local MP and urging them to "vote for a food safety plan which calls for the Prime Minister to take these actions in the upcoming federal budget:

• Double the number of Canadian Food Inspection Agency food inspectors in the upcoming budget.
• Place an immediate moratorium on industry self-policing policies that have given food companies too much control when it comes to food safety.
• Restore the system of public audit reports which were canceled under pressure from the meat industry to ensure consumers have the information they need to make informed choices."
  

Lest Canadians think issues like the E. Coli contamination found at Huntington Meat Packing Inc. and subsequent recall of 4.9 MILLION pounds of meat could have no baring on the Canadian market.. think again.. US meat comes our way too - and does not necessarily get inspected:

"PHANTOM TRUCKS SHOW NEW MEAT INSPECTION REGIME NOT WORKING: New Democrats Masse and Allen say safety of Canada’s food at risk"

Of course there's the argument that if the meat is just cooked enough the E. coli won't be an issue. With up to 13 million cases of food-borne illness in Canada each year, I'd rather not leave it to chance thank you. And cooking the meat doesn't do a thing for the contamination in the soil, groundwater, run-off, lettuce, tomatoes, drinking water, etc.