[Witness spoke in Inuktitut]
[English]
First of all, I'd like to say thank you, Chairman, for having me here.
My name is Ruben Komangapik. I'm from Pond Inlet, Nunavut. The first time I ever killed a seal, I was three years old, and it was a baby, too—a whitecoat. My father brought it back to teach me how to see the animal whole.
For the past three years I have been living in Ottawa and working to feed my relatives in the city. With Yoanis, we founded Reconseal to address the problem of constant access to seal meat while living in the cities.
It's time to take care and protect nature by hunting seals. By not just taking the seals, we're actually feeding the oceans too. It goes right back to the very small creatures. We need the government to help us change the image of the seal hunt, and reconcile with all of the different seal hunting cultures in this country. We need to educate Canadians through electronic billboards or commercials to show Canadians that the seal is not a bad thing. It's a great resource that we can utilize.
Effects on the body and the mind are renewed in abundance when you are fed with the right nutrition. We must regain our nourishment and economic freedom by hunting seals. Food insecurity is really a problem, both in the south and in the north, so do not rely on science alone. You should rely on Inuit and aboriginals—I don't know what you call us these days—and the fishermen out there who are doing the actual work in front of what's going on around them.