Good afternoon, and welcome to the Magdalen Islands. We are honoured to have your here.
It's a great honour to have the committee sitting here with us today.
We are very pleased to see that the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans finds it important to listen to the people of the Magdalen Islands who, throughout the debate on the seal hunt, have too often felt isolated, marginalized and attacked on all fronts. They were left alone to defend themselves against demagogic accusations of barbarism and other comments that I do not wish to repeat here, because that would grant them some credibility.
The industry representatives who are here today will best be able to testify to this. The hunters and members of the industry will be able to bring you all the arguments you will need to join us in defending this hunt which is part of our tradition and reflects our identity. It is also an issue of pride and heritage, as Mr. Blais was saying earlier on. I would also like to thank him for the fight he has been leading over the last few months, which allows us to express our feelings on the issue today.
The management of the resources is not being compromised. It is important for a people like ours, isolated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to be able to optimize and capitalize on the exploitation of the renewable resources that surround us. This is precisely the direction of government policies over the last few years, whether they be provincial or federal. They want people to take charge, to diversify their economy and take control of it.
If there is any aspect of economic diversification that cannot be ignored, it is indeed the seal hunt on the Magdalen Islands. This is a significant economic issue, more than just a question of tradition and of identity. The key aspect of the fight that Mr. Blais was alluding to is to obtain, from the elected officials here today and from the Canadian Parliament, unconditional support for the hunters, the industry, the hunting practices and the ways in which the herd has been managed over the years.
We have to have the courage of our convictions and respect the dignity of the people who do this job in conditions that are often extremely difficult. If there is one message that must be understood today, it is that the people here want to get clear support, from every forum available, from the members of Parliament and Parliament itself. This is the key element that we need in order to pursue this fight ourselves on the ground, and we will certainly see a commitment to giving us that support today.
Obviously, within the parameters of the hunt and the management of the herd, Quebec, and particularly the Magdalen Islands sector, must have its fair share. Recent decisions have led us to believe that the hunters and fishermen of the Magdalen Islands may not have been given their traditional share.
I was asked to be brief, and I will give the floor to the people from the industry who have been carrying the torch for years already, and who are committed to doing so once again today. They need the support of the Government of Canada.