Fisheries Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2017

Evidence of meeting #49 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was animals.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Bill S-208

Committee Business

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Céline Hervieux-Payette As an Individual

February 23rd, 2017 / 10 a.m.

Conservative

Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here in support of this bill today.

My colleague, Mr. Doherty, briefly touched on this, and I'd like to further the issue a little more. It's about who you choose to stand beside you in announcements or in support of things. I've witnessed this in my former role in a volunteer organization protecting hunters' and anglers' rights, and so on, with signing onto letters of support or in position of one thing. I found out that it only gave credibility to an organization that, on the next move, would be opposing your activities or trying to curtail your activities as a hunter and angler. I would encourage the government members here, as witnesses, to be very careful about who you have stand beside you on things such as the MPAs. We have concerns over the recent Pacific north coast integrated management area, PNCIMA, announcement.

I agree with Ms. Jones' statements that anti-use groups, as you call them, do have some purpose, but be very cautious about giving them credibility by having them stand beside you on issues you think you can agree on. They will only turn around to bite you, you know where, the next time you want to protect hunting, harvesting rights, angling rights, and so on.

The reason I bring this up is that I come from British Columbia, and we've had major opposition against bear hunts in B.C. I'd like to ask the members, Mr. Simms, Ms. Jones, and Mr. Tootoo, if you would be willing to stand beside our B.C. members who might be supporting our bear hunt in B.C. in the same way we are supporting your traditional seal hunt?

10 a.m.

Liberal

Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL

Let's break it down for a moment.

First of all, I can't comment on the bear issue to be quite honest with you. I don't feel I know enough about the issue, but if it goes against some cultural rights, I'd have great concerns about it—or what we feel would be cultural rights. We know we have many on the east coast, and therefore we always like to support them where we can.

Where it runs up against curtailing a hunt, it's probably more to do with conservation. That's where I get into that, which is why the seal harvesting issue is a frustrating one because it has nothing to do with the conservation of the species in a critical way, as it does in, for instance, the recreational cod fishery or the food fishery, as we like to call it. There are limitations on it, but those limitations have nothing to do with cruelty or anything of that matter. It's just a matter of conserving the species.

There are certain groups that I do not appear with. I'm going to be quite honest with you. The International Fund for Animal Welfare may say something that I agree with on occasion, but I will not pose with them because of the way they described the practice of what we believe is historically and culturally referenced as an act of barbarism. PETA, I don't know if I'd ever want to come within 50 feet of PETA because of the absolutely ridiculous methods by which they get the word out there. Dealing with fraud is what the Honourable Mr. Tootoo pointed out.

There are some groups, however, that I've had discussions about seal harvesting with. The World Wildlife Fund, I've had some good conversations with them. Greenpeace, there are some issues that we agree upon, such as the conservation of fish species that are at a critical stage, but I certainly wouldn't want to be a member of Greenpeace, given their history of what they've said and done regarding my region.