For Immediate Release September 7, 2006 Liberals Decry Fisheries Minister’s Irresponsible Response to EU Seal Hunt Declaration Liberal Fisheries and Oceans critic Bill Matthews, Liberal MP Scott Simms and Liberal Senator Lorna Milne called Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn to task for failing to appropriately respond to a European Union call for a ban on the sale of Canadian seal products. “The Minister’s cavalier attitude to the livelihood of thousands of citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador is absolutely unacceptable,” said Matthews. “Over half of the members of the European Parliament have signed this declaration. If that’s not worthy of an aggressive response from the Government of Canada, I can’t fathom what is.” The declaration comes only one week after Minister Hearn met with European Parliamentarians in Brussels to discuss the seal hunt. His stated purpose at those meetings was to address the issues raised in this declaration and convince the parliament not to adopt the declaration. Having failed in his mission, Mr. Hearn has chosen to dismiss the EU declaration as “unimportant, inaccurate and a long way from reality. “ "For the last two years I have regularly briefed my European colleagues on this issue and they have consistently rebuked those who have promoted a ban on Canadian seal products,” said Senator Milne, who also serves as President of the Canada Europe Parliamentary Association. “It’s obvious that the Minister didn’t properly explain the realities of the Canadian seal hunt to EU parliamentarians. If he can’t understand how important this declaration is he doesn’t understand his job.”
The Fisheries Advisory Committee will be comprised of fishing industry individuals representing all fleet sectors and plant workers. The committee will meet with me twice a year in an advisory capacity to discuss fisheries issues that are important to the fishing industry and determine how I can best represent these issues. Letters of interest will go out to potential members in December. The Marina Advisory Committee is now in place and consists of members from the various yachting clubs and other community groups that have an interest in the development of a marina strategy for Central Newfoundland. ACOA is in the process of conducting a study on marinas and this committee will be part of that study.
"Once people understand the facts, support for a ban on seal products drops dramatically in Europe” said Matthews. “This EU measure is being introduced without any consideration whatsoever of the realities of the seal hunt. The Canadian Veterinary Association and the World Wildlife Fund have both studied the hunt at great length and found that Canadian sealing practices are humane and reasonable. If he couldn’t communicate these simple facts why did he bother to fly to Brussels?" There is significant doubt about whether the EU Parliament actually received accurate information about the seal hunt before taking this step. It has been the practice of groups opposed to the hunt to use outdated and out of context images of the seal hunt to distort European views of the hunt. Distorted and even doctored images of the seal hunt are among the most effective tools for fundraising by many extreme animal rights groups. “Calling this EU action unimportant is scandalous,” said Simms. “By failing to stop this declaration the Minister has failed Canada. Thousands of my constituents rely on the seal hunt as a major part of their income and it would appear this Minister simply does not care. This failure can not be ignored.” For more information on the seal hunt, and the myths surrounding this debate, go to the website of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/myth_e.htm
Hitching a ride with members of the Whiffen Family—Bonavista -4-
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