Thank you, Madam Chair.
Seal hunting is ingrained in the DNA, and in the traditions and culture of the people of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Right now, in Quebec, there is demand for seal products, but supply is insufficient.
There's also an interesting project in Haute-Gaspésie to develop the seal industry. We're seeing that there are regulatory issues making seal hunting more complicated than it should be. That's why I'm proposing that the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans support the following study motion.
I propose that:
(a) the committee undertake a study on the development of the seal industry in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Maritimes; (b) the study specifically address: (i) the modernization of regulations, (ii) measures to foster the emergence of a new generation of hunters, (iii) initiatives to improve social acceptability, (iv) measures to be implemented to develop the seal hunting industry; (c) the committee invite representatives from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, seal hunters' associations, hunters, representatives of coastal and Indigenous communities, and marine biologists to appear; (d) the committee devote a minimum of three meetings to this study; (e) the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and (f) pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to its report.