The Federal Government is putting more money into the CFIA to support food inspection services.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu announced $20 million dollars on Tuesday to ensure Canadians have continued access to safe, high-quality food to feed their families. 

Bibeau says with these additional resources, and thanks to the valued collaboration between inspectors, business leaders and the provinces, the CFIA is ensuring their critical services are available to the food sector.

The investment will allow the CFIA to hire, train and equip additional staff, including recently retired CFIA inspectors and veterinarians. 

In a recent interview, Bibeau noted that the CFIA had started providing extra training for Alberta's Provincial Inspectors.

"We are offering Provincial inspectors special training from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, so we can share resources and be more flexible to accommodate the industry and all the plants."

A protocol has also been developed with Alberta to guide the safe resumption of operations in meat processing facilities after the detection of COVID-19.