Toronto, ON and St. John’s, NL – Two groups of Canadians who are opposed to sealing will take to the streets on November 4th and November 6th, in advance of the Seal Summit hosted by Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray on November 8th and 9th in St. John’s, NL. These groups of Canadians will meet outside MP Chrystia Freeland’s constituency office building, at 344 Bloor Street West on November 6 and outside the Delta hotel, at 120 New Gower Street, the site of the Summit, on November 6, to express their opposition to sealing and educate the public about the issues.
Fishermen are demanding higher and higher fishing quotas, including high quotas for fish that still have not recovered from decades of over-fishing, like the North Atlantic cod. Fishermen blame seals and sea lions for fish population declines and collapses that are caused by over-fishing. Canadians are gathering to call for an end to the DFO’s yielding to fishing industry demands for reckless fishing quotas and for increased seal killing. They are demanding that the DFO reduce the influence of the fishing industry in decisions that should be based on science and the Precautionary Principle. The DFO must restore ocean ecosystems, which requires less fishing and more prevention and clean up of all kinds of pollution, including the ghost gear that nearly killed a right whale recently.
Canadians are also demanding an end to sealing and sea lion killing on both coasts. Harp seals, grey seals, harbor seals, and sea lions are important members of ocean ecosystems and are not overpopulated. Seal products have been rejected around the world. Sealing is cruel and unnecessary and must be banned once and for all. Hard working Canadians do not want the money that they remit to the government in taxes to be squandered on seal killing subsidies.
These Canadians believe that it is high time that Canada ban sealing, fifty years on from ending whaling. The ban on whaling led to the whale watching industry that is worth many times more than the whaling industry ever was.
Moreover, these Canadians believe that a Marine Mammal Protection Act, modeled after the law passed in the United States 50 years ago, is long overdue in Canada. They urge their MP’s to initiate the process to pass such a bill in Parliament.
Event Dates: Toronto: November 4, 2022. St. John’s: November 6, 2022
Event Times: Toronto: 3:15 – 4:15 pm. St. John’s: 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Local Contacts: Toronto: Jenny McQueen, (647) 230-1924. St. John’s: Mike Peach, (709) 763-8959
SOURCE Harpseals.org
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