Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think it's very straightforward. I appreciate that my friend the parliamentary secretary understands that anything I do in this place would be honourable. This is a legitimate attempt to improve legislation that is already overreaching, may violate the charter, and at the least, it shouldn't criminalize people.
I look to the evidence in the testimonial that we just received from the Seals and Sealing Network that the 2012 ice conditions brought seals and the Newfoundland seal hunt closer to shore than in normal years. It's very possible that it brought it within one nautical mile, which would mean that the people who lived in and around Herring Neck, Newfoundland and Labrador might find themselves even when just going back and forth to the post office within one nautical mile of the seal hunt, thus violating this law. It doesn't make sense to have it be so restrictive that you're exempted only if you actually reside within one nautical mile of the seal hunt; your activity is exempted from being criminalized by this act.
I just think it's a very modest amendment. You're quite right, Parliamentary Secretary, my amendment doesn't go to the extent of our concerns about the hunt, but it is a legitimate.... This is the purpose of parliamentary committees, to fix laws that have been put forward without adequate study, and to avoid unintended consequences such as criminalizing people who accidentally, through their normal day-to-day activities, find themselves within one nautical mile of a seal hunt.