I don't know if I'll take that much time.

First of all, thank you, Chair.

There's not much I can add to the eloquent words of Ms. Hervieux-Payette. If you recall, I think we started this around the mid-2000s, 2004 or 2005, when I first came here. I was sent to Europe to combat what was then a Europe-wide ban on seal products. It was the Council of Europe; it wasn't the European Union at the time. Senator Hervieux-Payette was also involved in that, plus we had many discussions.

I want to acknowledge the people who fought that battle way back then, including the Honourable Loyola Hearn. He was a big part of that. We also had Raynald Blais, who was a Bloc MP from les Îles-de-la-Madeleine. He was a fabulous speaker on this, and of course, Senator, as you mentioned, Senator Prud'homme. God love him. He just passed away. God rest his soul. He had such a wonderful way of expression and a wonderful way of arguing. He stood in the Council of Europe in the chambers in Strasbourg, France, and basically lambasted everybody in the room who was against seal hunting and harvesting, because prior to that we had all sat down to a big meal and were eating foie gras.

Senator Prud'homme stood up in the chambers and started to describe how foie gras is made. I won't go into detail, to spare everybody, because lunch is approaching, but if you know anything about it, it's not really a particularly fun scene. Because of the way he described it, everybody there was in shock and horror about what they had just eaten. There was a great deal of irony, but this was something that we were frustrated with over time, and still. Unfortunately, that initiative came to fruition in the European Union.

Around that same time, I introduced a motion in the House to ban products from Germany. Let me explain. When the motion came to the legislature in France.... This was before the EU vote. They had wanted to ban all seal products. By doing that, it then went to Germany, and when Germany decided to go through with it, we had had enough and decided to play along and try to give back what was given to us.

You can understand a ban on products that are close to being extinct, but at the time, the harp seal population—and this is what they had focused on—was nowhere near extinct. It was a flourishing population, to the point where it had become a nuisance species, for lack of a better term, as part of the ecosystem. They put a ban in place based on the practice of harvesting the animal, which was the seal on the ice. It didn't look good. You get the idea. We've been through this before.

We decided to put a ban on German deer and boar products. By way of explanation, in Germany they harvest deer and boar for lederhosen, but it's an unregulated hunt. It's not as regulated as the seal hunt is in this country. Anyway, we put a motion in the House. The government of the day did not accept it. Foreign Affairs, I'm assuming, just went berserk over what we were doing, but we got our point across.

But that's not why I'm here today. I just thought I would give you that bit of background, because in the same spirit that May 20 is European Maritime Day, we're saying that we're celebrating the same principles as European Maritime Day, but with something that has been banned by the European Union, just to point that out once again.

I know, Senator Hervieux-Payette, we had great discussions, not just about seal products but about the harvesting of animals, period. I don't have an argument with someone who does not eat or wear animals. What can we argue about? They just do not believe in the killing of animals for consumption or for wearing, and so on. The irony is when someone complains about the cruel act of killing seals for consumption, and then turns around and goes through the drive-through at McDonald's and chews on a cow carcass. How did that animal die? That's what it comes down to.

I wanted to start with that because I wanted to illustrate the frustrations. This is where it comes from and that's what May 20 is about. But there's also history here. I'll go to my colleagues from the first nations, especially the Inuit, about how important it is to them. I want to also acknowledge my two colleagues here, especially Yvonne Jones, as we team up for the Newfoundland and Labrador component of this. Her family has a far greater history than mine but we certainly have a history.

As a reminder, one of the first reasons seals were harvested hundreds of years ago was to supply oil to the lamps in the streets of London, England. It's a true story. The irony of it is that they were one of the first places in the world to condemn the seal hunt. I'll leave it at that.

In Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, there's a huge memorial to sealers. If you ever get a chance, you can google the Sealers Memorial statue. John Crosbie was a big part of that and also a great warrior for this cause.

There's a statue there of Reuben Crewe and his son, Albert Crewe. I congratulate Morgan MacDonald who created the statue. There's a young man and his father is surrounding him with a blanket, trying to keep him warm. These were two sealers from the SS Newfoundland who were caught offshore. There were two boats, the Newfoundland and the Southern Cross. One was stranded in the fog and couldn't get back.

Many of these sealers froze to death. When the weather cleared and they finally got out there, they found Mr. Crewe trying to keep his son warm and that's how they died. They perished right there. There is a statue there in their honour. It gives you an idea of what it means to our province.

We are next to what's called the front. There are two main areas for seal harvesting. The front has been there for hundreds of years. It's been a part of our tradition, not just for first nations and indigenous people but for the entire province. It's been a huge part of our history for so long that it's ingrained in us as a society, and it's a big part of our school.

Thank you for hearing us out. Thank you to Senator Hervieux-Payette for starting this, and for supporting us. Like her, I am not a sealer. I've been out there when sealing was done. I was too young for them to let me be involved because most of it is firearms now. They're much bigger than me. I'm not too efficient with firearms when it comes to hunting, so I let the experts deal with it.

I'll leave it at that and hear from my colleagues.

Thank you very much.

Scott Simms

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