Mr. Speaker, the European Union recently adopted new regulations that ban seal products in the EU marketplace. The Canadian seal hunt is humane and it is sustainable, and it adheres to rigorous international standards, a fact that has been upheld by independent veterinarians.
It is obvious that any ban on Canadian seal products was not based on science or facts. This ban does not just go against science; it represents a violation of the EU's trade obligations. When the EU Parliament voted for this ban, the Minister of International Trade said that our government would launch a WTO challenge if the ban did not include an acceptable exemption.
Could the minister--