The Canadian Sealers Association has lost one of its major figures with the death of past president Mark Small.
To show respect for Mark’s contributions to the CSA, our home province, and the sealing communities of Canada Jim Winter founding president, Eldred Woodford current president, and Albert Newhook an earlier president were present for the celebration of Mark’s life.
For decades Mark was a major figure in the association’s efforts to counter the propaganda of the animal rights corporations and remove the politically motivated bans on Canadian seal products in many countries.
Mark cared. More importantly, he acted on his caring. What more can you ask of a person? Caring is one thing but taking action is a much harder thing to do. For decades Mark took action. He took action on behalf of all sealers throughout Canada.His presence made a difference. His presence at events was the presence of the people, in addition to the various Canadian governments and bureaucrats. In fact, often his presence was to spur those entities into taking concrete positive steps to resolve the issues that plague the Canadian sealing industry. These also plague rural coastal communities like his beloved Baie Verte Peninsula on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland.
Mark saw the sealing industry not only as a 400 year old tradition throughout coastal communities in Atlantic Canada, but also as an important contributor today to the continued existence of those rural communities dependent on the mosaic of incomes that provide a living for their citizens.
Sealing, fishing, hunting, farming, being a “jack of all trades”, etc, are the pieces in the financial mosaic that rural coastal communities depend on for survival. Mark spoke our facts, our realities, in Canada and to foreign politicians and media. He did so clearly and concisely.
Mark was a man of great caring and that caring was rooted in his faith as a pastor in the Pentecostal church. His faith infused everything he did. It made him the man he was.
He was not only an activist for the sealing industry, he was equally active in the fishery and in his community.
Despite the challenges of all those activities his prime focus was always on his wife Patricia and their three sons. As time passed he became a loving grandfather, uncle. and great uncle.
Mark…. As you set sail on this new voyage may you have fair winds, full holds and bloody decks. … R.I.P
Video of Mark from a past episode of Land & Sea (CBC TV)