Mr. Speaker, I stand before you with a request to hold an emergency debate.
I am sure all members of the House are very much aware of the actions taken by the European parliament to ban all products that are generated from the Canadian seal hunt. I cannot state emphatically enough the devastating impact this is going to have on rural communities throughout eastern Quebec, Newfoundland, Cape Breton, in fact, throughout all of the Atlantic provinces.
This is an international affront to Canada. We cannot sit back as a Parliament and stand for this. We have to stand together as a Parliament and make sure that all persons in the European parliament understand what is being undertaken in that house.
The seal hunt for many is the only opportunity they have to generate any household revenue throughout the course of the winter months. It may seem meagre to some, but when someone is trying to feed a family and pay the bills of an average household in a remote or rural area, in an outport or in a coastal community, it is significant.
What the European parliament has undertaken puts a great number of Canadians at risk, a great number of Canadian households at risk.
I hope that all parliamentarians will show courage. I hope that you, Mr. Speaker, will see the merit and the wisdom in hosting this debate to make sure that this issue gets a fulsome debate to show how Canadians are going to be hurt. I ask that you entertain this important issue and this request.