Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and our study on the Canadian seal hunt, we invite our witnesses and members to the table.
Welcome, gentlemen. We have quite a group of guys here. From the Sealing Committee for the Fur Institute of Canada we have Jim Winter. As individuals we have Lewis Troake, John Gillett, Hedley Butler, Larry Peddle, Rick Kean, and Doyle Brown. It's nice to have you here.
As you know, we've been doing a study on the seal hunt. The committee has studied the seal hunt in the past, and I expect we'll probably be studying it in the future. With the rise of the anti-sealing industry again in Europe, we thought it was pertinent to look at this issue one more time. I will tell you that in the past--and I'm not going to speak for the committee today--we've been able to reach unanimous decisions. With an all-party group that's difficult sometimes. The committee has certainly been supportive of the seal industry in the past.
If you have presentations I'll ask you to keep them to ten minutes each, if at all possible. The less time on presentations the more time we have for questions. But at the same time I know a number of you have issues and points you want to raise and get across.
Mr. Winter, please.