Seal Hunt: Russell Condemns EU Action and Conservative Inaction

OTTAWA, May 6, 2009 — Labrador MP Todd Russell last night used an emergency debate on the seal hunt to relay his constituents’ concerns about the European Union seal product ban.

“My colleagues and I have been warning the Conservatives about the impending EU action for months. The fact that the European Parliament vote was so lopsided shows how ineffective the Conservative government has been in presenting the Canadian case and standing up for our sealing industry and those who depend on it.”

Russell was disappointed that the European legislation has only extremely limited exceptions.

“The EU directive pays lip-service to Inuit hunters, while at the same time killing their industry, and that of all other legitimate sealers, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, in Canada,” Russell said. “The depth of ignorance and misinformation is staggering, yet Members of the European Parliament bowed to special interest groups.”

Russell is urging the Conservative government to expedite its World Trade Agreement action, which could still take years. He is also calling for immediate financial assistance for sealers whose income and industry have been unfairly targeted.

A copy of Russell’s remarks to the House of Commons follows.

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Todd Russell, MP

Labrador

(613) 996-4630

Mr. Todd Russell (Labrador, Lib.): Mr. Chair, my colleague from Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte is doing a tremendous job in terms of representing our party on fishing issues. Certainly he has been vocal and is very knowledgeable on the seal hunt and the devastating impact this European seal ban will have on our communities. I want to thank my caucus colleagues, many of whom are here tonight, for their support.

This issue affects me personally. I come from a small community on the coast of Labrador, a little place called Williams Harbour. Right now there are only 45 people living there and there were not a lot more than that at its height. It has depended on the seal hunt. It is a part of our livelihood. Just like so many communities along the coast of Labrador, or in northern Canada, or around the coast of Newfoundland, they live on the land and they live on the sea. The seal hunt has always been a part of our tradition. It has always been a part of who we are.

Williams Harbour is also an aboriginal community, an Inuit Métis community. We know the importance of the seal hunt not just over a few decades or even a few centuries. It is something that goes deep into our being; it is something that forms a part of our identity.

When I hear of a ban and some kind of exemption for Inuit or aboriginal people, I categorically reject that ban. That is just trying to save face. It is trying to emphasize to other stakeholders that they are being sensitive. They have no idea how we live in those communities. They have no idea what it means to a family in terms of food and clothing, and in terms of supplementary industries. Many people in our communities depend on seal byproducts for the craft industry which helps the tourism industry.

I know so many families from communities like Black Tickle or other places in Labrador where a family's annual income is $15,000 to $20,000. When $3,000 or $4,000 is earned in the springtime, that means something to that family. That means paying a few bills, buying a bit of food, maybe helping their kid go to university or college. It is so easy for politicians in other parts of the world not to understand this, or try to understand it, and that includes some politicians and activists here in our own country.

This is a humane hunt. It is a sustainable hunt. It is a legal hunt. It is a hunt that is built on the principles of conservation. My hon. colleague from Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte talked about the fact that there is an exemption in the legislation that allows certain countries within the European Union to cull animals for conservation purposes.

We harvest animals here on a conservation ethic. We try to find that balance too, because there are many within our communities who know the impact that an overpopulated seal herd can have on other fish species. As one of our former premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador said, the seals are in the water and they are not eating turnips. They are eating other fish and there is no doubt about that.

My hon. colleague also said in 2005 we had a vibrant seal harvest. Over 340,000 animals were taken and marketed. They were worth something like $70 million. People were asking for these products. That was three short years ago and now the government is saying it is going to take all kinds of action now that the ban is in place. People in our communities will ask what the government has been doing for the last three years to stand up for the sealers. What has the ambassador for fish conservation, the patronage appointment who was sent to Europe, been doing for the last three years to protect our sealers?