Mr. Chair, I stand today to proudly indicate our Conservative government's support for the seal hunting industry. Tonight I will inform the hon. members of this House of the actions taken by the Government of Canada to combat the threat to the sealing industry posed by the European actions to ban the trade of seal products in Europe and the threat posed by radical animal rights activists, along with Senator Mac Harb, right here at home.
I can tell the hon. members that we have been working very hard at many levels to counter this threat to a historic Canadian industry. Our government has organized delegations to Europe, a public relations campaign, and bilateral diplomacy with European governments.
The Prime Minister has taken a firm position on the seal hunt and has raised this issue with his European counterparts. In my opinion, our Prime Minister has been the most vocal and supportive of sealers and their families in a long time.
Other ministers have raised the issue with their European counterparts, in face-to-face meetings, by letter, and by telephone.
The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has been a key supporter of this industry, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade have played roles in working at the international level to advocate for Canadian sealers.
The Prime Minister also took the step of nominating Loyola Sullivan as ambassador for fisheries conservation. The ambassador is very well versed in the sealing industry and has been tireless in his efforts to bring the Canadian message to the European audience.
The ambassador has held countless meetings with officials in the EU capital of Brussels and in national capitals. Most recently he addressed a committee of the Italian Senate on this issue.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has also been working extremely hard, both in supporting the ambassador and in their advocacy efforts in European capitals.
Our government took the early lead on defending the seal hunt from radical animal rights activists' baseless accusations and misinformation. In working with industry and European interests, officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans worked hard to bring about changes to the marine mammal regulations and licence conditions that govern the seal hunt.
They have consulted with sealers and industry representatives to ensure that the changes are comprehensible and workable. Officials are consulting with scientific personnel to ensure that proposed courses of action are consistent with good conservation and animal welfare principles. Fisheries officers and representatives of the Canadian Coast Guard are collaborating to enhance the monitoring and enforcement aspects of the hunt.
Earlier this year these regulations were further amended to enhance the humaneness of the hunt. The amendments are based on recommendations published by the international independent veterinarians working group and the European Food Safety Authority.
The seal hunt is older than Canada itself. The coastal peoples of Canada have survived for hundreds of years on what nature provides, and sealing is an essential part of that way of life. These marine mammals are valuable sources of food, fuel, shelter, clothing and other products.
There was a time when hunting wild animals was essential to all human survival. Today, many Canadians still rely on hunting and fishing to feed their families. Most societies harvest farm animals and some wildlife. Each country regulates its own practices in this regard and ensures that those practices are sustainable, well-managed and humane. I do not believe that the peoples of Europe would welcome interference from Canada in what is so clearly an internal matter.
By way of comparison, I can tell the hon. members that over 30 million pelts of fur-bearing animals are harvested annually by the fur industry in Europe. There is the hypocrisy. It is easy for a European parliamentarian to vote against the seal hunt when it will not affect his jurisdiction. Yet if the radical animal rights activists were to focus on a primary industry in Europe, they would not get their foot in the door. This is what makes the issue such an unfortunate reality for many on the east coast of Canada.
The legislation adopted by the EU is based on emotional reactions to publicity campaigns organized by anti-sealing groups. There is no scientific basis for concerns about sustainability of the harp seal population. There is no justification for concerns about animal welfare. Canada has made and will continue to make every effort to ensure the hunt conforms to the highest standards of animal welfare.
I can tell members, from visiting the EU, that there is a campaign of misinformation that certainly has been very effective. Pictures of white seal pups, baby pups that have not been hunted in Canada for over 20 years, are still being circulated in the population. Europeans are being told that if the Canadian hunt were allowed to go ahead, the seal population would become extinct. Quite the opposite.
There is a strong doubt as well about the legal basis for this proposal, and even stronger doubt about its compatibility with the European Union's obligations to the World Trade Organization. If passed in its current form, this legislation has a potential to harm Canadians and others involved in the sealing industry.
Adopting broad regulations to ban seal products is an attempt to regulate a perceived moral issue through a trade measure. Such actions are inappropriate and may lead to unforeseen circumstances for the hunting of wild animals in Europe or elsewhere.
Canada supports the concept of developing international standards to ensure the humane killing of seals. Certification is consistent with the international approach to fisheries and the use of wildlife, and Canada has always been willing to work with partners and organizations to develop appropriate standards for animal welfare.
We have suggested this repeatedly to the Europeans, but our suggestions have fallen on deaf ears. I have heard first-hand from the Europeans, who privately will say that this issue of banning of Canadian seal products for them is a political issue. They will say it is not based on fact. They understand it is based on misinformation, but their voters are just so bent on banning the Canadian seal hunt, which has been driven by the non-government organizations that have been so very busy in Europe.
We do believe the development of acceptable international standards should be done through dialogue among sealing nations and appropriate experts rather than being imposed unilaterally through legislation. In order to be effective, the standards must be technically feasible and they must be affordable.
The question remains, what is the Government of Canada going to do now in the face of this legislation? First, we are going to continue to oppose the dissemination of false information. We are going to continue to inform the European process with factual material about the Canadian seal hunt. We are going to draw attention to the fact that this legislation puts all trade in wildlife products, including the big game hunting that is so popular in Europe, at risk.
We are going to study the final details of the exact wording of the legislation that was voted on today to determine how it may affect Canada's sealing industry, and we are going to consider all available options when it comes to defending the legitimate economic interests of Canada's sealers, including trade challenges should these be necessary.
I ask hon. members for their continued support of the seal hunt and counteracting this threat to the Canadian sealing industry.
