The Greens have long called on the federal government to put an end to the industrial-scale kill by buying out sealing licenses and helping affected workers transition into sustainable seal eco-tourism initiatives.

“The sealing industry had been dying for years,” said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. “It’s time to stop providing life support to this disappearing industry by ending the massive government subsidies. Taxpayers’ money is better spent creating sustainable economic opportunities in coastal communities.”

Markets for seal products have disappeared because countries around the world–including the US, EU and recently Russia–have banned seal product imports.The Greens are the only party in Parliament that would end the seal hunt to protect Canada’s reputation, the environment, the economic well-being of the sealers, and the seals themselves.

“Federal and provincial governments have injected millions of dollars to attempt to revive the sealing industry, with zero success but a great deal of bad publicity for Canada,” said Georges Laraque, Green Party Deputy Leader and animal welfare advocate. “It is now clearer than ever before that these subsidies are embarrassing and wasteful political spending. We should transition workers out of an industry that is rapidly imploding. Developing marine energy and tourism would let communities benefit from the natural beauty and riches of their coastal lands.”

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Sealers have been meeting with federal and provincial governments demanding millions of dollars in taxpayer funded subsidies to keep the dying sealing industry alive in the hopes a growing stockpile of seal skins could be sold off in the future if the industry were ever to find new markets for seal fur products.

“Reports of a stockpile of harp seal skins in an excess of hundreds of thousands calls into question the subsidies taxpayers spend each and every year keeping the sealing industry afloat,” said Ms. May. “Many rural communities in Newfoundland don’t have access to high-speed internet, and yet the Provincial Government is once again considering pouring large subsidies into this industry. Investments in marine ecotourism and training and education would be money much more wisely spent.”

“The sealing industry has essentially collapsed, and many sealers will again be left out in the melting ice this year,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada. “The Government should be engaging in a constructive dialogue with sealers and their communities to examine the potential for buying out sealing licenses and investing in economic alternatives for these hard hit communities.”

Recently, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus introduced bans on the trade of harp seal fur and Canada’s two largest trading partners, the United States and the 27-nation European Union, ended their trade in seal products a number of years ago. Prime Minister Harper has yet to even mention the Government’s long touted deal with the Chinese Government to import seal meat since his return from China this past month.

Meanwhile, Environment Canada is predicting another year of bad ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the coast of Newfoundland, which could spell another disastrous year for harp seals.

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They then resumed the meeting in public at 4:13pm pursuant to the Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the Committee on October 18th, 2011 to resume the study of closed containment salmon aquaculture.

Witnesses from Port McNeill and the Regional District of Mount Waddington made statements and answered questions. As well, Fin Donnelly (MP for New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody) motioned the following:

”That, because fleet separation and owner operator policy is critical to coastal communities and protecting independent fishers in the inshore fishery, the Committee reaffirms its support for fleet separation and owner operator vessels in the inshore fishery and oppose any move to eliminate this policy”.

On February 27^th the Committee featured a witness brought in using video satellite from British Columbia to discuss closed containment aquaculture and regulation within BC. Dr. Roth, the witness, is the aquaculture industry specialist for the BC Ministry of Agriculture and provided the committee with detailed information on the current state of aquaculture legislation in BC and its relationship with DFO. He further provided recommendations on how to best move the aquaculture industry forward, and reiterated comments from previous witnesses regarding the financial hurdles facing closed containment systems.

The committee also debated and passed a motion to release a statement from the committee supporting the sealing industry in Canada. The motion also urges the federal government to continue its efforts to open more international markets for the industry, and the motion requires the statement be read in the House of Commons for potential discussion by other Members of Parliament.

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