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S'enregistrer au Flux RSS Le Sénat du Canada

Post under ‘European Union’ tag

The Senate of Canada recognizes the right of coastal communities to earn a living from the use of animal resources

16 December 2021 at 10h30

a sealer's sign by trulygreenfish.

OTTAWA, December 16th, 2009 - Honourable senators, I am caught up in the enthusiasm for uniting everyone and giving the gift of hope to our citizens on the east or Atlantic coast, whether on the Magdalen Islands or Newfoundland, and to our friends in Nunavut and all those involved in the seal hunt.”, said Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette in response to the Senate’s unanimous adoption of her motion on the Protection of Animals and Ecosystems.

 

“I would also like to thank Daniel Shewchuk, Nunavut Minister of the Environment, Quebec Minister Claude Béchard and Mr. Tom Henderson, former fisheries minister with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, who all supported me in preparing this motion,” continued  Senator Hervieux-Payette.

 

The adoption of this motion by the Senate of Canada sends a clear message to vegetarian groups who manipulate public opinion to finance their ideology. The Senate renews its commitment to preserving the balance of the ecosystem, promoting animal welfare and protecting human communities. Humans have a right to utilize natural resources such as animals when done in an ethical and sustainable manner. “We are talking about people who deny that in the order of things human beings are authorized to use what the land provides, which in this case is essential revenue for our people living in the North and also on the coast,” added the Senator.

 

The Senator emphasized the importance of the ethical harvest of animals by clarifying the definition of the term “ethical”: “this provision was included in response to professional standards developed by the veterinarians, anthropologists and other experts who have worked with me toward the goal of having all countries ratify the Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals,” emphasized Senator Hervieux-Payette.

 

The Senator lead a panel of experts to create a Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals (www.sealsonline.org) which has been officially supported by the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador, Québec and the IWMC World Conservation Trust.

 

Motion Protection of Animals and Ecosystems

Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette seeks $ 15.4 million per year in funding to ensure a minimum income for sealers

10 December 2021 at 10h49

North Canada Village

OTTAWA, December 10th, 2009 - “We must not add contempt to cynicism,” said Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette to summarize her demand to the Conservative government to intervene on behalf of sealers, who face a cynical and unfair European boycott of seal products.


In a study published in April 2009, Professor of Economics John Livernois estimated the revenues of sealers to be 15.4 million for 2005 hunting season. 2005 was a good year but was not exceptional and was the last year before vegetarian groups led their final offensive in Europe. “I believe that as long as we have to fight against this unjust boycott, the income sealers received in 2005 from the hunt should be insured by the Government of Canada,” said Senator Hervieux-Payette who thinks that aid in developing new markets for seal products would decrease funding.


The Senator is also concerned about the Inuit, “the price of sealskins in Nunavut has dropped dramatically in the last year from $ 70 to $ 25 which proves that the exemption of Inuit consumption products from the European boycott
is an additional aberration.”

 

Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette urges all governments to promote and study the application of the Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals (www.sealsonline.com) written by a panel of experts and scientists from Canada and the United States. To this day, the government of Québec, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the international organization for animal conservation IWMC World Conservation Trust based in Switzerland have officially supported the Declaration.

Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette applauds Québec’s decision to support the Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals

7 December 2021 at 16h32

declaration-signet

“I applaud the decision of the government of Québec to support the Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals (www.sealsonline.org), said Senator Hervieux-Payette who lead the project, and am delighted by Québec’s strong implication in the negotiations between Canada and the European Union on a free trade agreement.”

Written by a team of seven experts and scientists from six Canadian provinces and territories and the United States, the Universal Declaration will be a starting point for new discussions between North Americans and Europeans on the topic of marine mammal welfare, including the seal.

The Declaration aims to establish common ethical principles for all seal-hunting countries by promoting a three-way balance between ensuring animal welfare, ensuring the well being of human communities and protecting species and ecosystems.

“This declaration fits perfectly with the vision of the government of Quebec in promoting a seal hunt that is sustainable and free of cruelty,” wrote the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mr. Claude Béchard in his letter written to the Senator on the 3rd of December 2009. “The government of Québec has been collaborating for many years with the industry and other governments to ensure that the hunt is carried out by respecting the highest international standards,emphasized the Minister.

The Declaration has also received the support of the government of Newfoundland and Labrador along with the international organization for animal conservation IWMC World Conservation Trust based in Switzerland.

Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette urges all governments and concerned organizations to promote and study the application of the Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals written by a panel of experts.

 

 

 

Seal hunters: the conservative government is still refusing a financial assistance

9 October 2021 at 15h05

senate_lrg

DECLARATION IN THE SENATE CHAMBER

Extract [...] I am pleased that Minister Shea and Minister Stockwell Day are contesting the European decision before the WTO. I urge them to take the appropriate action as quickly as possible.

But this decision is far from being enough. It will leave our hunters in disarray while they wait out some obscure procedures without any guarantee of a positive outcome.

I am therefore formally asking Minister Shea to reconsider her position and to ask the Prime Minister to provide annual financial assistance, while the proceedings are before the WTO. After all, seal hunters are worth just as much as automobile workers [...].

— The Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette, PC, Senator

 aa-bulle 

 

 

Letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

31 July 2021 at 10h35

Canada

Dear Minister,

The growing threat to the future of our seal hunters originates with powerful lobby groups that claim they want to protect seals but actually want to impose vegetarianism on the entire society.

The European Union’s decision of Monday, July 27, to boycott seal products is so cynical that it ignores all scientific arguments, proposes not a single measure in favour of animal welfare and violates international free trade rules.

I therefore unreservedly support your initiative of appealing the EU decision to the World Trade Organization.  However, I believe that more needs to be done.

Recently Prime Minister Stephen Harper approved $3 billion worth of assistance for General Motors and $1 billion for Chrysler.  Seal hunters have just as much right to government protection of their jobs as automobile workers do.

I therefore urge you to approach the Prime Minister about swift financial compensation for our seal hunters, threatened as they are by ideologues and a European decision that is highly questionable both legally and morally.

This financial compensation for loss of income should continue until the WTO hands down its final decision and/or the dispute with the EU has been settled.

In 2006, the seal hunt generated over $55 million for the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador and $1 million for the Aboriginal populations of Nunavut.  The hunt provides jobs for more than 6,000 seasonal workers in the province of Newfoundland alone.

These economic spinoffs will increase once the threat from the vegetarian lobby groups disappears, since companies will then be able to invest without fear of harassment in research and development of seal-derived products (collagen, omega-3, heart valves, and so on).  This will maximize the use made of each animal harvested, which is the sign of a steadily “greener” hunt.

To ensure the long-term survival of the hunt, I am convinced that an international consensus on seal hunting practices must be reached.  That is why last April I released the Universal Declaration on the Ethical Harvest of Seals (www.sealsonline.org).  Ultimately the Declaration will have to be tabled to the United Nations.

I appeal to you to consider supporting this approach, as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has already done, so that Canada can assume world leadership in the protection of communities that live from the seal hunt, guarantee the promotion of hunting practices that respect animal welfare and the environment, and adopt the means needed to combat lobby groups that are as dangerous as they are powerful.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette, PC
Senator

 

Read the letter (PDF format)PDF format

 

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