The
Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette, P.C.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
FOR
IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
Notes
for a speech by the Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Demonstration
by supporters of sustainable harvesting of seals
National Press Theatre, 150 Wellington Street
March 15, 2007
Dear
friends,
Today, Canadians from Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec
and Nunavut have come here, to the nation’s capital,
to say proudly to all Canadians and to the world, that sustainable
seal harvesting is respectful of the environment, respectful
of the species and respectful of the seal.
Who will dare say that barbarians lurk behind the bright
faces of these Acadians, Inuit and Magdalen Island residents?
I say, with resolve, that we will no longer accept the spread
of disinformation and lies, because they humiliate men and
women, mothers and fathers, who are eminently respectable.
We will no longer accept the spread of disinformation and
lies, which throws a shadow of shame on Canada, our country,
a shame we do not deserve.
I appeal also to Canadian and foreign parliamentarians to
ensure that their decisions are not based on speeches from
manipulative and profit-driven lobbyists.
Canada has ratified the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity. As such, it has agreed to protect all living
species – and you, and we, are all actors in this process.
I remind you that Article 3 of the Convention recognizes
the sovereign right of states to exploit their own resources
according to their own environmental policies.
Accordingly, I am putting organizations that refuse to tell
the truth on notice: they should stop using pictures of
whitecoats, as they often do in their publications and on
their Web sites, because Canada has banned hunting baby
seals since 1987.
Pictures of whitecoats have become weapons of mass disinformation—journalists
and Canadians know this to be true.
They should be careful not to talk about animal cruelty,
because our culling techniques have been certified by the
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
They should be careful not to talk about endangering the
species, because the seal population, under scientific control,
has tripled in 30 years.
They should be careful not to talk about animal genocide,
because revenues derived from sustainable seal harvesting
allow seal hunters to raise children in decent surroundings.
And as far as I know, this has never been a crime against
humanity.
I appeal further to Canadian and foreign parliamentarians
to ensure that their decisions are not based on rhetoric
from manipulative and profit-driven lobby groups.
And I do mean profit-oriented. These lobby groups use the
noble cause of animal protection to raise funds and to try
to impose on others their idea of society—a society
where man no longer has a place in nature. A society where
biodiversity experts have names like Paul McCartney, Pamela
Anderson and Brigitte Bardot!
European countries that are currently studying the possibility
of boycotting seal-derived products, in violation of the
European Commission's ruling in favour of Canada, should
be asked: do we have to raise seals like Europeans raise
deer, ostrich and wild boar, before it becomes more acceptable?
Or should we be asking for international supervision of
your herds and an examination of the butchering techniques
you use in your slaughterhouses? After all, people who want
to preach must practise what they preach. That is the least
we are entitled to.
Dear friends, be proud of the demanding and dangerous job
you do. No other hunt in the world would accept the conditions
you work in.
Be proud of our country and the human values our ancestors
passed down to us and that we have so far been able to preserve.
Canadians have the same concern for the environment as do
all peoples who have been able to integrate finite natural
resources into their development.
This is why our Canadian scientists alerted the world to
the risk that virtually every species of fish and shellfish
in the world will have disappeared by 2050 if industrial
fishing continues at current rates.
Dear friends, you have not travelled to Ottawa in vain:
we want to give you all the respect and dignity your difficult
jobs deserve, and we will stand up with you against dishonest
foreign lobby groups.
