Siobhan Coady

[Committees of the House, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague raises an issue that is very well known. The Prime Minister has been in Prague, and he has had discussions on setting up the framework and parameters around the EU talks. We heard earlier from the Minister of International Trade that it has been raised with the EU.

I think we have to go further. How can we have an open discussion with the European Union on open and fair trade when they are moving counter to what the WTO has done? This is an illegal ban.

We have to implore the Prime Minister and the Minister of International Trade to intervene now to tell them it is not acceptable to move in this direction of protectionism for these animals without knowing the full impact they are having in the European Union.

We have to implore the Prime Minister to make this a most serious issue with regard to the talks with the European Union. I think it is incredibly essential that they make this their number one priority. I think it is essential for the sealers of Newfoundland and Labrador, indeed all hunters in this province, and all of us in this country, that he take this important step.

[Committees of the House, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the question, because there are detractors. There are people who are misinformed about the seal hunt. As many colleagues around this chamber have said, any time an animal is killed in an open abattoir, when there is blood on the ice, and when there are scenes shown on television of baby seals being killed, it is difficult for people to understand that it is done humanely.

However, that is part of what we need to do in this country. We have to make sure people understand that it is a humane hunt.

Yes, I do know many, many sealers. I know many families of sealers. This is not done, in any way, in malice. This is done very humanely. They have a deep care and concern for the ecology of the oceans, for the safety of their families and for the animals as well.

I think it is important that this House, as well as all of us, as Canadians, tell people that the hunt is humane.

[Committees of the House, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly honoured to stand this evening to speak to this very important issue.

I want to thank my colleague from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo for adding to the discussion and bringing a different perspective, from the interior of British Columbia, on behalf of the sealers of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec and other sealers across the country. I thank her for her encouragement and support and for her continued deliberation on this very important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Labrador.

Tonight I would like to talk a bit about the 250-year-long tradition of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians utilizing the seal hunt to sustain their families. Coming from a very cold and harsh winter, they take to the ice floes in the late winter and early spring, to sustain their families, to catch seals for money, food and clothing after a very tough winter. They use the money to sustain their families for food. They use the money to repair their boats and nets to get ready for the summer fishery.

Today I am standing to discuss the seal hunt that has been severely challenged by this ban on seal products by the European Union. We took part in a debate in this very chamber last week on the seal hunt. We talked about how misinformation has been brought to the European Union, brought to the world, if I may say so, on behalf of the anti-seal hunt protesters. It is misinformation on the humaneness and conservation issues around this very hunt.

I know a lot of sealers. I know a lot of families who have sealed. There are 6,000 sealers in Newfoundland and Labrador alone, who raise between 25% and 35% of their annual income from this very fishery.

We have heard from the government. We know that there are approximately seven million seals around the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador. Certainly this is not a conservation issue. Certainly this is not a concern that there are too few seals. In fact, there are too many seals. We now know that about 700,000 tonnes of fish a year are consumed by these seals. An unbelievable amount of fish is being taken from the waters off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador by this overabundance of seals.

We know it is not a humane issue. We have heard from the World Wildlife Fund. We have heard from an international array of veterinarians that they are not concerned in any way, shape or form about the way the seal hunt is executed. They know it is done humanely. Therefore, those two issues can be put aside.

This is a humane hunt. There are no conservation concerns, so what is the concern here? It seems that there is a lot of marketing and a lot of hype. We have heard the minister talk about the pictures of the beautiful baby seals. Perhaps because we have a challenge with cod, we need to make cod prettier to ensure we get the attention that is needed to rebuild those stocks.

We have a serious problem of foreign overfishing off the nose and tail of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador. Fish such as turbot and American plaice, which my hon. colleague mentioned earlier, are in serious jeopardy. Certainly the seals are in jeopardy, but there are a lot of fish stocks that are in serious trouble.

The seal hunt is valued at up to $60 million annually. In 2006, about $30 million was contributed to the income of the sealers. That is a tremendous amount of money.

We have talked again and again about the trade issues with Europe. We have to stress with our government, with the Minister of International Trade and with the Prime Minister how important it is that in talks on trade with the European Union they reiterate that the seal hunt is humane, that it is not an issue of conservation. Stocks are plentiful; they are almost overabundant.

It is a shame we keep talking about the fact that we may have to have a cull and the European Union is completely okay with having a cull of the seals.

We have heard that when the Newfoundland and Labrador sealers go to the hunt, they are utilizing the entire animal. They utilize the fur. The seal protein is exceptionally good. They utilize the oils of the seal for lifesaving nutraceutical products. Now we are even hearing that there are uses of the animal for other potential medical opportunities.

However, we have to move the debate. We have to start the action that is required. The Pateys, the Heddersons, the Doyles and the Murphys, who take to the ice pans in March of every year, are looking to this House today. They are looking at their parliamentarians and they are asking how we are going to help them and whether we are going to do anything in this regard. That is why I am pleading with the Prime Minister and with the minister to make sure that when they are talking trade with the European Union that this is first and foremost on their minds.

We also have to continue to pursue every avenue possible under the World Trade Organization. This is an illegal ban. This is counter to the World Trade Organization. We should continue to pursue that, and I look forward to our doing so.

The sealers of Newfoundland and Labrador, the sealers of Quebec and the sealers of the Magdalen Islands are watching this debate. They are listening, and they are asking for our support, our help.

We also have to aggressively deal with the misinformation and promote new potential markets for the seal hunt. The fur and the leather of the seal are of utmost quality. We should be promoting those products, and again, promoting nutraceuticals. Here is an opportunity for science and technology to utilize the products of the seal for the goodness of mankind.

We also need to support the sealers. This is their time of need. They need to sustain their income. They need to turn to government. There has to be some assistance for the sealers who have lost income.

They are getting ready to do different types of fishing around the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. The crab fishery has already started. Some are about to go out for the shrimp, when the ice goes. But they have lost income. They have lost the income of the seal hunt. We have to assist them. We have to implore government to offer some assistance. While we are exploring new products, more opportunities and new markets, we have to assist the sealers.

We also have to make sure we are getting out there globally, that we are telling people that Canada has a very humane seal hunt, that we have an overabundance of seals and that there is no concern on the sustainability of the hunt.

I rise to say that the efforts of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans are very important, to thank the members for the opportunity to again rise in this House in support of the seal hunt and to implore government to continue the actions that are needed to make this hunt successful.

[Science and Technology, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, President Obama remarked last week on the global outbreak of the flu:

[I]f there was ever a day that reminded us of our...stake in science and research, it's today.

While President Obama recognizes the value of the American scientific community, the Conservatives cut operational funding. Two thousand Canadian scientists have written that the cuts are detrimental.

President Obama understands the value of science and research. The Liberals understand. The scientists understand.

How come everyone understands except the Prime Minister?

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, I have simple questions for the hon. member.

One, would he support assisting sealers through this very difficult time? They are going through a very challenging time and a lot of uncertainty.

Two, would he also have his Prime Minister, his government, during free trade talks with the European Union, raise this very important issue?

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

My apologies, Madam Chair. I am new in this House, and as I said, very frustrated about this occurrence today.

It is very important. Many of our colleagues around the debate this evening have talked about solidarity within the House of Commons on this very important issue.

The European Union has moved against the World Trade Organization. It has moved unilaterally on this issue and has imposed a ban on our seal products. This is very serious.

I ask the member to understand how important this is to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, how important this is to the sealers, how important it is that they stand by the sealers of Canada right now to ensure they have the available resources to get them through the next little while, to work very diligently on ensuring the resolution of this trade dispute and to raise it when the Prime Minister is in Prague this week on trade talks.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

He does not know either.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Chair, I thank the hon. member for that unusual question.

I thought we were here to talk about the seal hunt. You are talking about a colleague breaking ranks. I am not quite sure to what you are referring.

I think this is a very important--

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for that very important question.

Indeed, the sealers of our country, the sealers of my particular province of Newfoundland and Labrador, absolutely must have compensation. That is without a doubt, without discussion. I implore the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and I implore the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to act very rapidly.

This is an illegal trade action, as my colleague pointed out, not dissimilar to what occurred in British Columbia. We have to take decisive action right now to help these people.

It is very critical to their livelihood. This is an absolute must for this time of year especially, as a bridge from having a very cold, difficult winter and not having enough money to get them through to the summer harvest of fish.

[Seal Hunt, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor.

Tonight I stand to speak to the issue of the European ban on the seal hunt. I am frustrated, as are the 6,000 sealers who usually take to the ice floes during March and April every year. I am frustrated that misinformation and deliberate mistruths would cause the European Union to impose a ban on the import of seal products.

Years ago, I remember going to the waterfront in downtown St. John's for the blessing of the fleet. We had fleets going to the ice floes at that point in time, sealers taking to the ice for needed food and to earn much-needed money after a long, hard, cold winter.

Even today, we still see that happening. Unfortunately we do not necessarily have the blessing of the fleets in downtown St. John's any more because fewer and fewer people are going to the front. Today there are some 6,000 people heading to the ice each year, 6,000 people earning a living. Twenty-five per cent to thirty per cent of their income comes from the seal hunt. In 2006, for example, $30 million was contributed in income to harvesters from the seal industry, nearly $55 million to the provincial economy.

It is truly nearsighted, unfortunate and concerning that the European Union would take this action at this point in time, without having the full, robust debate with Canada on this very important issue.

For the people watching tonight, for the animal rights activists, I want to ensure they understand that the sealers of Canada are committed to a sustainable harvest based on humane harvesting methods, supported by solid science and sound principles. Seals are not an endangered species. White coats are no longer taken from the ice floes of our country.

We have had close to 6 million seals around my province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is at a point now where we can see seals going up the salmon rivers after salmon because they have pretty much shelled out all the cod around Newfoundland and Labrador. It is truly very severe and scientifically unsound that we would have that many seals doing this much damage and nothing about it.

I stand here today because campaigns by animal rights welfare activists to ban the seal hunt are based on misinformation of cruelty in the harvesting practices. It is truly unfortunate that we continue to allow this to happen. As an hon. colleague pointed out, this kind of misinformation earns them a lot of money and it earns them a lot of opportunity to earn more money and raises their profile.

Unfortunately, they should be putting their actions to other cruelties in this world, rather than on the seal hunt because the seal hunt is humane. It is a very conservation-oriented practice.

While we have the representatives of the European parliament allowed to make this decision based on this misinformation, we need a balanced review of the industry in our country.

The implementation of this ban represents a loss to the Canadian people and to the sealing industry of $2.4 million. It is truly a failure on behalf of the government of our country that we are now in this situation. I call on the Prime Minister, who will be in talks very soon with the European Union, to take action now. The government must challenge this decision with the World Trade Organization, as has been said.

The Prime Minister has a duty to express his government's opposition. He has a responsibility to our sealers and to Canadians to talk to the European Union officials when he speaks with them during the European trade talks. The ban on seal products has detrimental effects not only to the sealers, but to our ecology, especially around the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Prime Minister has to address these trade issues with the European Union and all of our trading partners. Opportunities to correct the information spread by the animal rights extremists have already been forfeited by the government. We must not allow that to continue. It would be unconscionable not to correct this record when he meets with EU officials, and I ask him to do so.