Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette Proposes National Seal Products and Seafood Day

Ottawa, October 30, 2014 – Today Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette introduced her bill to establish a national seal products and seafood day.

“If this bill passes, on May 20 of each year Canadians will be encouraged to celebrate our coastal communities, pay tribute to their hard work and partake in high-quality ‘Made in Canada’ products,” said Senator Hervieux-Payette.

The seal hunt takes places generally from late March to mid-May, so May 20 will mark the conclusion of the hunting season, serving as an ideal time to celebrate products from the fishery.

This day will also serve as an opportunity to honour the work of seal hunters, fishers, processors, craftspeople, chefs and Inuit people.

May 20 is also the day chosen by Europeans to celebrate their Maritime Day.

At a difficult time for our coastal communities, with the European Union calling into question the legitimacy of our seal hunt and its humane, cruelty-free practices, I feel it is important to celebrate, at the same time they do, our shared maritime way of life and these fragile natural resources that sustain so many communities on both continents,” said the Senator.

The first seal products and seafood day could be celebrated on May 20, 2015.

Official Press release is here: