Peter Stoffer

[Species at Risk, May 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, since SARA, the Species at Risk Act, was introduced, not one fish species has ever been listed under SARA. In fact, off Canada's west coast, the great basking shark, which is Canada's largest fish, is down to about 95% of eradication.

My question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. With regard to the great basking shark or any other fish species which is severely in danger of being lost to this country forever, why are none of those species listed under SARA?

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, in fairness, the minister is new and I understand she has been very well briefed on this issue. With all the files on her desk, this is a very difficult one because it does not just involve the fisheries minister. It also involves the trade minister. I would like to see the Prime Minister get personally involved as well. He is in Europe now and I am hoping he will, not just privately but publicly, say something in very strong terms. I know my colleagues obviously cannot speak for what may or may not be said by the Prime Minister.

However, I will give the fisheries minister credit. I believe she is very serious about this issue. Hopefully, she will take the recommendation of an all party committee very quickly. However, one minister cannot do it on her own. She needs the support of the entire House.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, I do not think there has been a member of Parliament in the history of this House who wants to see any animal completely destroyed and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. If we can harvest and utilize the entire animal, that is what we should be doing.

My colleague from Tobique—Mactaquac is absolutely correct when he says that two things will need to happen. Either the seals will naturally die out due to a disease of some sort because there are too many of them or we will need cull them.

My hon. colleague from Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte was also absolutely correct. As many Europeans fish off the nose and tail of the Flemish Cap, if they suddenly realize that the seals are destroying their livelihood when it comes to the fishery, they will ask us to do something about the seals. That is the irony and hypocrisy of this. They may eventually move another resolution that we need to cull three million or four million seals because they are affecting their livelihood.

I do not think that the EU made a very sound decision. What it made today was a political decision. It had nothing to do with science and it had nothing to do with facts. The unfortunate part is that when a decision is made based solely on politics, it ends up screwing up the lives of thousands of people and their families.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Foie gras, exactly. I wonder if they have actually seen how that is prepared, or the muskrats of France, or the pheasants, or the boar, or the deer, or the chickens. It goes on and on.

To be completely frank, when humans take an animal out of the wild for consumption, it is never a pretty sight, but this is not about the semantics of how a seal is killed. This is about the livelihood of people who have a right to earn a living. They have a right to feed their families. They have the right to take a sustainable resource which is in no way in danger, not even close to being in danger.

My hon. colleague from South Shore—St. Margaret's was absolutely correct when he talked about the explosion of grey seals on Sable Island. Two things could happen with those grey seals. There will either be a natural massive die-off from a disease among themselves, or we are going to have to cull them, which means they sink to the bottom of the ocean and become lobster bait or crab bait. There are no market systems at all. There is no opportunity to earn a livelihood or to utilize the entire animal, just an out and out cull, an out and out slaughter. It is insane, but this is exactly what is going to happen if we allow the EU to do this.

The hon. parliamentary secretary asked for some recommendations. I would ask him to ask the minister to immediately convene an all-party committee, as soon as humanly possible, to go to Europe and to press upon the EU and the ambassadors that this has the unanimous support of the House of Commons. I will not get into what a member of the Senate has done. That is just fighting among ourselves.

The reality is we should immediately send to Europe an all-party committee with members of industry as well and explain to the Europeans the consequences of their actions. I know it has been done before. I have been here since 1997, and my hon. colleague has been as well. From former minister Anderson right to the current minister have all been supportive of the seal harvest, whether they be Liberal or Conservative. As a member of the NDP I have watched both parties fully support the seal harvest. There has been no difference in that.

I know Loyola Sullivan. He has worked very hard on this issue. David Bevan, the ADM of fisheries, has worked very hard on this issue. It is the number one issue on the files of the current minister. I understand that. Unfortunately, all these efforts have not been successful. The old adage is to never allow facts to get in the way of a good story, and this is what has happened here.

The unfortunate part is that it is too bad Canadians could not see what happened here tonight. Literally every member from the east coast and Quebec was here tonight, including the minister and the parliamentary secretary. Members from the five provinces and Nunavut were here tonight to talk about this very serious issue.

I have watched take note debates, as has my colleague from South Shore—St. Margaret's, for over 12 years. I do not think we have seen this type of representation on an issue as important as this one for a long time, in an effort where we all collaborate and work together. This is how Parliament should be working when we have an issue that affects us all. I tell all Canadians, if they think the east coast is just about Newfoundland and Labrador, well they are next.

A former Liberal member, Murray Calder, is a chicken farmer. There was a complaint about the de-beaking of chickens. I remember that very well. What is next: de-beaking chickens, branding cattle, a hook and release of fish? What is next? They will not stop. If it is seals today, it will be regular fishing practices tomorrow. It will be regular poultry products, pork, cattle and everything else the next day until, in the end, we will all be eating lima beans and tofu. There is nothing wrong with lima beans and tofu. They give me gas, but that is okay.

Historically, this is a vitally important industry to our country. Imagine anyone in the world saying that there will be an exemption for Inuit and northern products of seals to the EU. Imagine walking around Amsterdam or Brussels wearing a seal vest and seal gloves. We would say that they are okay because they were caught by a native hunter. Oh sure, that will work. We could have a big sign on the back that says the pelts were aboriginally caught and harvested. It does not work that way.

This will do exactly what the 1982 ban on the leghold trap did when I lived in the Yukon. It will literally destroy the lives of people. People have been living on that sustainable industry for hundreds of years. I lived in the Yukon when that happened. It was devastating to those people, because that is what they did for a living. Their forefathers did it, their fathers did it and they did it, but all of a sudden someone over in Europe with no connection to them at all took away their livelihood literally overnight. What was the cost of that? It cost the territorial government an awful lot of money.

If the government is not successful in getting this decision turned around, we will be telling the government that those people will require compensation. That means the average Canadian taxpayer will have to get into their pockets to support these people who, by the way, were supporting themselves. That is the tragedy of all of this. These people are earning a livelihood, and may I add that it is not the safest livelihood in the world. Every time they get on the boats or on the ice, they are risking their lives. Why would they do it? Why would they participate in this very dangerous activity to provide for their families? Because that is what they know. That is what they do. They are proud of their heritage. They are proud of their traditions.

I have seen a tremendous amount of sealers over the years. I have worked with members of Parliament on all sides to promote this activity in a sustainable manner and a humane manner.

We were on the coast guard vessel with the committee a couple of years ago. We were with veterinarians. The veterinarians told us exactly what happens with a hakapik or a rifle when a seal is shot or clubbed.

No sealer, in my opinion, wants to see an animal suffer, but this is their traditional industry. They have a right to this industry. I can assure the House and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the minister and my colleagues in the House that they will have our support in defending the interests of the good people of eastern Canada.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank all of my colleagues for their comments tonight regarding a very important industry on the east coast. I once saw a bumper sticker in Nunavut that read, “Eat seals, 1,000 polar bears can't be wrong”. The reality is the polar bears are absolutely correct. Seal meat is 58% protein. The gelatins, the skins, the pelts, the animal is total utilized. It is harvested humanely, correctly, sustainably and market driven from the waters off our east coast.

Congratulations to Rebecca Aldworth and Paul Watson. They have just destroyed the livelihood of thousands of Atlantic and northern Canadians. I hope they sleep well tonight after they have their pâté. I hope they sleep well tonight after they have their caviar, or their champagne. I hope they sleep well tonight. I hope they have the courage to go to the small outports of Newfoundland and Labrador, to the small communities on the Quebec shore, to Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I hope they go into the homes of those sealers and tell them what they just did, and take food out of the fridge, bread off the table, gas out of the truck, because that is exactly what they have accomplished.

I told the fisheries committee that I was in Washington D.C. and I walked by a store called the Luxe Store. There was a huge poster on the window with the picture of a white coat seal on it. The caption read, “Stop Canada's killing slaughter of seals”. There were cards for people to sign and send off to the Prime Minister of Canada. I brought one of the cards back to the committee. I give the chair of our committee, the hon. member for Saint John, kudos for writing a letter immediately to the company telling it that this was false, that it was wrong and deliberately misleading. I am not sure that he got a response back from the company.

This is what we are arguing against. We have an open air abattoir. How many Europeans have actually gone into an abattoir where veal is being prepared? How many Europeans have gone into an abattoir where, and I forget the name, pâté comes from?

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Chair, my hon. colleague from Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor spoke very passionately, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do on very critical issues.

He knows of a movie, which was done many years ago, called The Viking in which we saw sealers jumping from one ice floe to another. If a guy fell in, they kept going because they could not stop due to the speed they had to travel in order to make the minimum salary to be able to feed their families.

This is the history about which my hon. colleague talks. What the European Union has done is ripped that history out of the very heart and soul of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Could he comment further on the psychological effect this will have on people, especially on the outport people of that fabulous province?

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Chair, my hon. colleague from Kings—Hants knows very well there are discussions about the ongoing Canada-EU general trade talks. Would he support a freeze or hold on those talks until this seal harvest issue has been dealt with?

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Chair, I understand that this is not one particular government's concern. It is a House of Commons' concern and our Senate's concern regarding what is happening on this, I think, irresponsible decision by the EU to put a ban on sealing products here in Canada.

I used to live in the Yukon and in 1982, when when there was a proposal to ban the leghold trap, many first nations people lost their livelihood literally overnight when the Hudson's Bay Company was no longer buying furs caught by that method. Was the leghold trap a humane way of killing? Probably not. Were there alternatives? Yes. Could it have been done overnight? No. It had to take a gradual process in order to make that happen.

The sealing industry has moved many miles in terms of its humaneness of the kill. As we know, we no longer kill the white coats and that has been the case for many years. We know we have allies in Scandinavia, Russia and other countries of that nature.

However, the one thing that the European Union tends to forget, which I believe the hon. member was the chair of our committee when he heard this debate, is that the EU would exempt Inuit or first nations seal products.

The member did give a bit of a lesson on seals walking down the Champs-Élysées, but how can any European determine whether a seal coat, or pelt, or whatever, was caught by a non-aboriginal hunter or an aboriginal hunter? The reality is that it will successfully destroy a traditional way of life in Canada's north.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, I first want to thank the government for having three ministers here and two parliamentary secretaries. I know the government is taking this issue very seriously.

As the official critic for the federal NDP in this country, I pledge my whole support in whatever we can do to assist her and her government in getting this issue rectified as soon as possible.

There is no question that it is very difficult to go over the media concerns of an open air abattoir. However, we know what was done with veal and other animals in Europe. My colleague from South Shore and I have been together on this file for many years and it is one of the few issues that we absolutely agree on, which is that it is actually a harvest. I do not necessarily call it a hunt. When I lived in Yukon I used to hunt. The sealers are harvesters and they are taking a animal out of the ocean for the benefit of themselves to earn a livelihood.

For 20-some years, the United States has had what is called the marine mammal protection act which does not allow us to sell seal products to the lower 48, even though the Alaskan Inuit have the right to do so. We have yet to be successful from both Conservative and Liberal governments to get the United States to change its mind on that.

I have two questions for the minister. First, has she called or has the Prime Minister called the ambassadors in from the various countries to tell them our serious concerns? Second, does she have any other partners, Russia, Norway, the Scandinavian countries, that would assist us in this argument in dealing with the EU ban on our seal products?

I thank the hon.Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for her eloquent defence of seal harvest.

[Resignation of Member, April 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness and gratefulness that I am able to stand in the House today on behalf of the federal New Democratic Party to offer our best wishes to our hon. colleague, the great member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, and his family. May he have a long career, not just in representing his province but in whatever he chooses.

The hon. member and I share a distinction. In 2004, our ridings were redistributed. At that time, I had the pleasure of representing Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore. In 2004, it changed and the first thing the hon. member did was change the name of his riding from Cumberland—Colchester to Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley.

I could not believe it. In the 2000 election, there were a lot of orange signs along the Musquodoboit Valley. In 2004, there were a lot of blue signs along the Musquodoboit Valley. It showed the tremendous respect that the people, not just in the Musquodoboit Valley but in his entire riding, had for who was known at that time as “Highway Bill”.

I want to congratulate and personally thank the Premier of the Province of Nova Scotia, Mr. Rodney MacDonald, for his great choice in choosing who I thought was a fabulous candidate to represent the entire province and all politicians in the House and Senate in bringing forward the concerns and issues that face our beautiful province from day to day. However, he did make one little mistake in his presentation. He told us to come to his office for a taste of Nova Scotia. I should inform the House that he forgot to mention that the world's greatest lobster also come from the province of Nova Scotia.

That is without question, even though my colleagues from New Brunswick, P.E.I., the Gaspé and Newfoundland and Labrador may offer a slight difference of opinion. In a committee hearing in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia two weeks ago, it was said on the record that the world's finest lobsters come from the province of Nova Scotia and, if I may be more specific, from the eastern shore. However, that is something that I am sure the hon. member will be able to promote in his years of doing a great job as a sort of ambassador of Nova Scotia in this regard.

He gave a very poignant story of what it means to look at our responsibilities as members of Parliament and then to look after our own health needs. Many of us were so proud of the hon. member, Chuck Cadman's wife, for what she did in honour of her great husband, who, in many ways, also showed the same example of courage, determination, forthright honour and dignity. In many ways, the member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley is almost like a twin brother to the late Chuck Cadman because they were both of the same ilk. They were very dignified gentlemen who handled adversity, no matter what came their way, in a very respectful manner.

We will have many times in the future to say hello to our good friend, to his great riding association and to all the people he has met over the years. He has taught me a few things. He being six foot three and I being five foot seven, I can say that I always liked to look up to my hon. colleague.

On behalf of our leader, all the New Democrats from coast to coast to coast and, I am sure, on behalf of all my colleagues in the House of Commons, I thank my hon. colleague for his service to his country. I thank his wife and family for lending him to us so that he could do the great job of all parliamentarians. May he have a blessed future and may God bless him and his family. We thank him very much for his service to his country.