FOPO Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des pêches et des océans |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
FISHERIES AND OCEANS COMMITTEE STRONGLY CONDEMNS THE EUROPEAN BAN OF SEAL PRODUCTS
Ottawa, May 07, 2009 -
Mr. Rodney Weston, Chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, tabled yesterday in the House of Commons a unanimous report in which the Committee fully endorses the Canadian seal hunt. The Committee considers the harvesting methods as currently regulated in Canada to be fully acceptable by international standards and is convinced that the Canadian harp seal harvest is humane, responsible, and sustainable and should continue for generations to come.
The Committee is also deeply disappointed about the recent decision of the European Parliament to ban the trade of seal products in Europe. The Committee has vigorously defended the hunt in recent years. “The evidence in support of the sustainability, the humaneness and the value of the seal hunt for coastal communities in the Magdalen Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Canada’s North is overwhelming,” said Mr. Weston. “This decision of the members of the European Parliament was made despite this evidence,” he added. This ban clearly violates Europe’s obligations under the WTO agreement.
The adoption of this report of the House Committee on Fisheries and Oceans was unanimous, all members standing united in their support for the Canadian commercial seal hunt.
The Committee’s report is available on the Parliament of Canada’s web site at: www.parl.gc.ca/fopo. Copies can be obtained by contacting the Clerk of the Standing Committee.
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Members of the Committee: Mike Allen (Tobique—Mactaquac, NB, Cons.); Scott Andrews (Avalon, NL, Lib.); Raynald Blais (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC, BQ); Gerry Byrne (Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL, Lib.); Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, AB, Cons.); Randy Kamp (Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC, Cons.); Yvon Lévesque (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC, BQ); Lawrence MacAulay (Cardigan, PEI, Lib.); Peter Stoffer (Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS, NDP); Dave Van Kesteren (Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON, Cons.); John Weston (West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC, Cons.), Rodney Weston (Saint John, NB, Cons.).
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