Just when we thought that Canada's international reputation couldn't suffer anymore, we have discovered that we have also become the topic of conversation, because of our abuse of animals and our government's attack on animal protection agencies.
Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People, published in Clinton, Wash., is writing about the federal government’s denial of free speech to animal welfare charities in Canada. And he’s in touch with animal rights activists in China. He knows what they think.
"On February 5, 2011," writes Clifton, the Canada Revenue Agency published "draft regulations governing animal charities which would ensure that any animal charity speaking out against anything that is not already illegal would lose nonprofit status."
One specific example: the regulations make it clear that a Canadian animal charity would lose its charitable status if it opposed vivisection, which is the practice of operating on living animals in order to gain knowledge of pathological or physiological processes. A charity could suffer the same fate if it opposed the fur industry or the seal hunt.
The ASPCA already derided Canada for the slaughter of 560 whales trapped in the ice. The order given by fisheries minister Gail Shea, came after the American humane society offered to send in ice breakers to rescue them. She instead sent in the rifles.
A growing body of opinion now holds that we will not achieve our human potential — or even survive — unless we develop a respectful, ethical relationship with the rest of nature. The coyote, the cod and the chestnut have a right to live and flourish, and advocating on their behalf — with or without a benefit to humans — is a deeply moral activity and a legitimate charitable purpose.
And as the American journalist says: "Canada is heading toward becoming an authoritarian state to an extent that surprises observers even in China."
In a normal situation, when cabinet ministers are chosen, the selection is based on who has the right education and experience, to best carry out their mandate.
Therefore, you might expect that someone chosen to head up fisheries and oceans, would at least have a scientific background, so that they can speak the language and understand the concerns of stakeholders.
But Gail Shea has none of these qualifications nor does she appear to have much interest. Her primary function is to attend trade shows and entertain lobbyists, who have been working to tear down Canadian safeguards to protect our waterways and marine life.
In 2008, she ordered the slaughter of 560 Narwhal whales who had been trapped in the ice around Baffin Island. The American humane society had hired Inuit to keep the blowholes open, while they arranged to have an icebreaker rescue the whales.
But before they could do that, Shea insteadordered that they all be shot. These are not the actions of someone who takes her job of protecting these sea mammals seriously. It was one of the worst acts of brutality in the history of our country, and she offered no apologies. Instead she launched a personal attack on the sea captain who tried in vain to rescue them, attempting to have him fired.
"A government that refuses to abide by democratic principles and closes the door of Parliament rather than to submit to the rule of the majority is hardly in a position to demand my resignation. The Canadian government has no power or authority over us and we have no cause to respect any demands from the Canadian government, especially the ridiculous Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Gail Shea remains Minister only because the honourable members of Parliament have been denied the floor from which to fire her," said Captain Paul Watson.
Shea is also promoting the shrimp farming industry, which erodes coastlines and is damaging to the eco system. And instead of addressing the concerns of marine biologists troubled by the devastating results of salmon farming, she was in Norway schmoozing with the people who are causing the destruction.
And under her watch mining companies are being allowed to dump toxic waste into our lakes and rivers.
Canada is a beautiful country, and we have always taken pride in our shorelines, clean water and wildlife. When salmon become infected, they are not only unfit for human consumption, but also for other animals in the food chain, like the grizzly.
And when waterways become toxic, complete eco systems are destroyed.
Shea defends her actions by suggesting that she is protecting and creating jobs. But shrimp and salmon farming is mostly seasonal work, often performed by migrant workers. And green jobs could be created without harming the environment, but protecting it.
If Shea wants to work for multinationals, she should do so. But not when she's on our payroll.
My anger over this government's decision to do absolutely nothing for the environment, or to address climate change, escalated when I came across this little skit performed by two MPs; one a cabinet minister for heaven sake.
First off, those are our coastguard ships and we would expect nothing less than having them react to this disaster. Did Shea go out personally and give them a push offshore? I rather doubt it. In fact the decision was probably made by the coastguard themselves.
It's hardly anything warranting this kind of ridiculous display. But then reading lines is about all a Harper caucus member is allowed to do.
Last month Tilly-O'Neill urged everyone to get involved World Environment Day, saying that "Under the theme 'Many Species. One Planet. One Future', this year’s event will celebrate the incredible diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity."
But how does her government treat these "many species"? With 1600 dead ducks in the tar sand tailing ponds?
Or how about your co-star in this little performance, Gail Shea. Shea is so concerned with these 'many species' that she authorized the senseless slaughter of 500 Narwhal whales. And she's trading away our fishing rights to the benefit of multinationals who care nothing about the stock or the eroding shoreline.
Is that how your government protects our 'species'?
So instead of silly skits, how about urging your government to do something for the environment? Then we might all have something to actually celebrate.
A young lady, Alishia Fox sent me links to two videos that she has made about Department of Fisheries and Oceans Minister, Gail Shea.
Alishia is frustrated with Shea, not only for her incompetence, but also her blatant disregard for protecting our oceans and their species.
She reminds us that Shea has no qualifications for this job, having worked in administration, with no background in science.
This is actually a tactic used by the neoconservative movement. Since their main goal is selling us off to multi-nationals, if they placed experienced people in cabinet posts, they may protest their actions.
Things like the selling of fish plants, slaughtering of Narwhals, salmon and shrimp farming that are destroying our shorelines; would go against the grain of someone who actually studied marine biology, environmental science, or in fact came from any scientific field.
But Gail Shea was just so tickled pink that she'd get a huge salary and perks, like a limo and driver; she'll let them do what they want.
I am always so inspired when I see young people getting involved. This land and it's future belongs to them, and we need to pay attention.
Alishia has set up a Facebook group: Please Fire Gail Shea, and plans to create more videos, which I will share. So please help her out.
Junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis has issued an apology for her rude behaviour at the Charlottetown airport, where she allegedly threw a tantrum and screamed obscenities at staff who asked her to take her boots off for security screening.
Guergis "slammed her boots into the bin" provided by security personnel and then, according to the account, said to one of the airport staff: "Happy f---ing birthday to me. I guess I'm stuck on this hellhole.
This girl is such a ditz, but Harper holds onto her for some reason. Maybe by giving her the Status of Women portfolio, he can use it to claim that women should not be in politics, and Guergis is his proof of that.
Women should very much be in politics. Just not this woman.
She recently claimed that date rape was the result of the hyper sexuality of young girls, and voted in favour of scrapping the gun registry, then had the nerve to show up at the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.
Her husband was charged with drunk driving and cocaine possession and at the airport people who witnessed her meltdown said she looked intoxicated.
Harper's God Squad can't be too pleased. And yet a spokesperson for the prime minister claims that she apologized so the matter is settled. I can assure you that the people of PEI will not think her apology means much.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS HELENA GUERGIS REALLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR SIMCOE GREY?
The seal hunt in Canada is a very contentious issue, especially when it comes to the pups.
Protest groups are growing and since the industry only provides a portion of the annual income of fishermen, could there not be an alternative to something that is continuing to tarnish our reputation?
I'm all for protecting culture and livelihood, but where do you draw the line?
Early in 2009, Liberal Senator Mac Harb drew up a private member's bill which would have effectively ended the commercial seal hunt on Canada's east coast. The bill never made it to the Senate floor because it was not seconded.
Now remember, this was for the end of the 'commercial' seal hunt, and had nothing to do with the culture of the Inuit people.
So as fisheries minister, did Gail Shea sit down and maybe offer an alternative to the seal hunt, or find out what inspired the bill? Of course not.
Like a true Reformer she saw a way to turn it into a partisan issue, so on DFO letterhead, and with OUR money, she fired off an attack ad, not just on the Liberal senator, but on the entire party; claiming they had a 'hidden agenda'.
Then if that wasn't enough, Conservative Senator Fabian Manning (Preston Manning's cousin), who had just lost his bid for re-election, and was given a patronage appointment by King Stephen, did the same. If you're going to waste OUR money you might as well tag team.
The U.S. Humane Society says this of the seal hunt.
It is important to note that each killing method is demonstrably cruel. Because sealers shoot at seals from moving boats, the pups are often only wounded. The main sealskin processing plant in Canada deducts $2 from the price they pay for the skins for each bullet hole they find—therefore sealers are loath to shoot seals more than once. As a result, wounded seals are often left to suffer in agony—many slip beneath the surface of the water where they die slowly and are never recovered.
Europe moved today to halt the clubbing to death of hundreds of thousands of seals every year, when MEPs voted overwhelmingly to ban trading in seal products, hoping that the collapse of the market will drastically reduce the massacre. The decision to outlaw virtually all trade in seal products was directed mainly at Canada, where the yearly cull kills around 300,000 seals, a practice condemned by many as barbaric.
So by now you would assume that there would be some serious discussion on the viablity of the industry, right? Nope. Gail was determined to flog this stuff somewhere, so off to China she went.
Canada's fisheries minister courted Chinese officials in a bid to secure new markets for the country's controversial seal industry as other nations shut their doors on the maligned products. Gail Shea and several Canadian sealing companies paraded a collection of sealskin fashions, seal oils and medical uses for seal organs at the International Leather and Fur Show in Beijing on Tuesday.
If only she'd put half this much effort into protecting wild salmon, maybe Canada's fisheries would have a chance.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS GAIL SHEA REALLY THE BEST OPTION FOR PEI-EGMONT?
Gail Shea won the riding of PEI-Egmont, by a mere 62 votes, and that was mainly because the Liberal incumbent, angry over the carbon tax, decided not to run.
As promised to the island, Stephen Harper gave this rookie MP a cabinet post, putting her in charge of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Since then she has made one mistake after another, and has proven that she is simply not up to the job.
But even before making a mess of the portfolio, and shaming our country, she did not get off to a good start.
Not long after the election I read in her local paper that some of her constituents were upset with what they referred to as 'travel-gate'. Apparently, she was flying friends to Ottawa (at our expense) to conduct business that should have been conducted at home.
She did recently take a tofu pie in the face, and was able to laugh it off, so I'm sure she's a decent person, but she's in the wrong party. It's that simple.
In her position as fisheries minister, she has consistently sided with corporations and has done nothing to protect the Canadian industry, instead just promoting a neoconservative agenda.
So her riding is one that I will be working on, in an attempt to get our country back; and hopefully get a DFO minister, who actually cares.
This page is a work in progress, so I will share strategies soon.
Our minister of destroying our fisheries and oceans, Gail Shea; is talking tough these days.
In her ongoing war against Denmark over shrimp quotas, she has now closed our harbour to the Danes who refused to comply with her demands.
The over fishing of shrimp is damaging the ecosystem and Gail will have none of that.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ... Sorry, but that's just too funny.
Suggesting that Shea cares about our ecosystem is like saying that Stephen Harper cares about women and children. We're not buying it.
So what is this really about? Two words: Shrimp Farms.
Once you understand neoconservatism, you start to look at government decisions through the neocon lens. Since multinationals are always given first priority, and citizens are not even on the radar, you go to who will benefit from cutting out smaller companies or nations from the industry.
And you don't have to look too far to find a winner. In the same way that salmon farms in B.C. are destroying salmon fishing, it would appear that our shrimp industry may be about to take a huge hit.
A Taiwanese company has already been granted a licence to operate a closed-system tropical shrimp farm in B.C. ' ... and plans to expand its aquaculture business in the province and beyond'.
Alberta is also in the process of developing shrimp farms and the Government of Canada has given a grant of $124,536 to Clear Flow Consulting Inc. to assist.
Its technologies help to remove metals, sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen, and ammonia contamination from ponds, streams and rivers. The firm is also developing technologies for treatment of wastewater from fish and shrimp farms before the water is discharged into the ocean.
But it's another company jumping into the shrimp farming business that gives me concern. Compass Group USA. They have the contract to supply food and cleaning services to Fort McMurray of the tar sands, and were charged recently with dumping under treated waste water into the Athabasca River.
Oilsands giant Suncor and two of its contractors each faced dozens of charges in early 2008 in connection with allegations of dumping undertreated waste water into the Athabasca River and providing false or misleading information to the province about it ... The charges, which were laid in February 2008 under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, related to the monitoring of waste water from a Suncor-owned work camp that houses up to 3,500 people at the company's operations north of Fort McMurray, Alta.
The treatment plant operator, Rodney McCabe, and his company, R&D McCabe Ltd., were each charged with 90 counts, while Suncor and Compass Group were each charged with 43 counts.
So when Compass Group USA announces that they will be implementing a new control system for purchasing farm-raised shrimp to 'harness the power of the marketplace to create real change that translates into healthy oceansfish...', I'm not overly convinced. Harnessing the power of the marketplace, yes? Concern for protection of the waterways, not so much.
Any escalation of a shrimp farming industry will be devastating to the environment and our beautiful coastlines.
And since Denmark shrimp catches only account for about 1% of what is currently being brought out of the ocean, why all the hubbub? The Danes won't fish less, they'll just take their catches elsewhere.
So maybe it's not about Denmark at all, but about eliminating the domestic competition:
Canada's decision to close its ports to Faroese and Greenland shrimp vessels in retaliation for overfishing hasn't been well-received in two eastern Newfoundland communities. People in the towns of Bay Roberts and Harbour Grace, where Faroese fishermen have unloaded their catches and resupplied their vessels for close to 50 years, say closing their harbours will do nothing but hurt the local economy. "That's tonnage we won't have available to our workers. Our suppliers of fuel, suppliers of packaging, all suppliers, taxi drivers, everything," said David Moores, who operates Harbour International, a company that services Faroese boats when they call into Bay Roberts.
Create devastation in local economies, then bring in the multi-nationals to save the day.
I guess we'll have to wait and see how this plays out, and with a government that likes to work in absolute secrecy, we'll have to dig for answers. But look for news that Gail Shea is attending a shrimp farm trade show in Taiwan. Just keep her away from the coastlines.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS GAIL SHEA REALLY THE BEST OPTION FOR PEI-EGMONT?
The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" Jeremy Bentham
In November 2008, there was a very distressing story emerging from the Baffin Islands where more than 500 Narwhal whales were trapped in the ice.
But instead of bringing in an ice breaker to free them, Gail Shea's office gave the order to simply shoot them.
The reaction was immediate, not only from humane societies and animal rights groups, but from ordinary citizens, who saw this as a vile and horrendous decision.
A quick fix to a problem from a fisheries minister who had no obvious fondness for anything to do with fish, our oceans or the humane treatment of any living thing.
So in true neoconservative, Reform Party tradition, the government went into damage control, making the whole sordid affair about attacking our Inuit community.
They even went so far as to suggest that what they did was the most humane solution. Though everyone, including the United States, had suggested that icebreakers should be brought in to free the frightened mammals, Shea's office stated that the noise of the icebreaker would "stress" the whales.
Apparently having hunters shoot at them was far less stressful. As Captain Paul Watson explains with disgust:
The slaughter of these Narwhals did not need to take place. The Humane Society offered to employ Inuit to keep the breathing holes open until a Canadian government icebreaker could arrive to break them out. The Canadian government refused to dispatch an icebreaker stating that the noise of the icebreaker would "stress" the whales.
There was nothing humane about the slaughter that followed as Inuit riflemen opened fire on the frightened whales. The "stress" of an icebreaker would have been minimal compared to the horrific trauma of having family members torn apart by bullets around them. There is no humane way to shoot a whale. For the DFO to describe this slaughter as "humane" is ludicrous ...
Gail Shea fired off a letter to Sea Shepherd, who employs Paul Watson (join his Facebook fan group. He is a true Canadian hero), accusing him of attacking the Inuit people, making sure to have Leona Aglukkaq sign it. What the health minister has to do with the slaughter of whales is anyone's guess, unless this was some kind of racial profiling.
The Inuit people are closely connected to their environment and have been for centuries, and will continue to practice their great culture. Inuit strongly believe animals should be respected and should never suffer as in this case. Mr. Watson's comments demonstrate a deep ignorance of Inuit society, and seek to demonize their culture and traditions. His extreme comments discredit the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which he represents. These comments are deeply offensive to Inuit, and to all Canadians.
Of course this had nothing to do with the Inuit, who were offered a chance to hunt above their usual quota, but it didn't stop the corporate media from getting involved. 'Inuit dismayed by protests over narwhal cull', they cried; but again Mr. Watson says it best:
I said nothing hateful about Inuit culture. My criticism was for the behavior of those individuals who slaughtered 560 Narwhals when it was possible to rescue them. I maintain that the slaughter was barbaric, cruel and unnecessary. I make no apologies for that. I could not care less what race or culture these men belonged to - it was their behaviour that I condemned and I maintain that it was a viciously cruel way to execute the orders of the government of Canada.
Our clients are whales and other marine wildlife. We represent their interests and not the interests of people of any culture, of any race, of any belief. We do not discriminate on our criticisms of human culture. The defense of life, diversity and the ecological health of this planet takes precedence over any culture. I am frankly sickened by the continued use of culture to justify everything from bullfights to fox hunts, to polar bear hunting to whaling to cutting down the rainforest. My empathy is for hellish horrific pain, suffering and loss borne by the Narwhals ...
There is something quite defining when comparing the media's account of the story to that of the grieving sea captain. They don't capitalize Narwhal.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS GAIL SHEA REALLY THE BEST OPTION FOR PEI-EGMONT?
In many ways if you want to try to figure out Stephen Harper and why he does things; you only have to look at Mike Harris, the former premier of Ontario.
Harris had a rather radical style of governing that had not been seen in Ontario before, so the press and the pundits were often left scratching their heads.
But as author and political scientist Brooke Jeffrey claims; 'His theory was unique, but understandable if one considers his neoconservative perspective.' (Hard Right Turn, Harper-Collins, 1999)
This is the mistake that most of the media is making when covering Stephen Harper. He doesn't answer questions, so they try to answer them for him, but sadly they usually get it completely wrong.
A neoconservative has no interest in governing responsibly, balancing budgets or dealing with people. They have one goal and one goal only. To dismantle the government and pave the way for top-down commercialism.
So when you look at cabinet positions, and wonder why someone with little or no experience, education or interest in their portfolio, would be chosen to head it up; you have to look at it through the neocon's eye.
If you choose a cabinet minister who has worked in the industry and has knowledge of how it operates, that minister might start developing some empathy for what they dub 'special interest' groups.
For instance an agriculture minister might start to speak up on behalf of farmers, or a health minister might want to protect public health care. But that is not their job. They are not supposed to care about who is effected by government decisions, but only that the decisions of the leader and his inner circle get carried out.
In this way Gail Shea was a perfect choice to head up the Fisheries and Oceans. I don't know what her education is, since nothing is listed in her profile, but she definitely had no experience with this file. She was a rookie MP, something else neocons like, since they believe they will be ever so grateful, they'll never oppose the person who put so much faith in them. So when that leader and his inner circle, made up of mostly unelected lawyers, corporate insiders and communications experts, turned their backs on the B.C. Salmon Fisheries, in favour of Norwegian multinational salmon farms, what did Gail Shea do?
Se went to a trade show in Norway run by the multinationals she should be protecting Canadians from.
Of the eight to ten million wild sockeye salmon predicted by Oceans and Fisheries Canada to return to the Fraser River this year, only about 7% are returning, leading to the closure of all sockeye fishing on the river for the third year in a row.
“Maybe the salmon will return a year later,” What?
To suggest salmon might be a year late returning shows a lack of knowledge, said Donaldson. “That’s absolutely asinine,” he said. “It flies in the face of how the migration cycle works with sockeye.” The fish have always returned on a four-year-cycle and are not likely to suddenly change, he said. “Evolution just doesn’t quite work that way.”
You would think that if the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans didn't know that, they would at least try to learn something about it before making such a ridiculous comment.
But then, that's not her job.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS GAIL SHEA REALLY THE BEST OPTION FOR PEI-EGMONT?
And newcomer Gail Shea distributed a newsletter condemning the Liberals, from THE FISHERIES DEPARTMENT! A department SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE RUNNING!
However, last election it was the pamphlet sent out by Rob Merrifield that garnered so much media attention, as an example of wrong doing.
Tory mailout seen as 'unacceptable' Half those polled say MP's taxpayer-funded leaflet is campaign-style literature, breaking the rules Sep 01, 2008 Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa Bureau Chief Toronto Star
OTTAWA–A mailing blitz by Conservative MPs risks raising the hackles of Canadians, who say a new leaflet sent out by a Tory MP at taxpayer expense is campaign literature, a new poll shows. Half of those surveyed say a flyer from Tory MP Rob Merrifield(Yellowhead) pushing the Tories' law and order agenda is "unacceptable," according to a Toronto Star/Angus Reid poll.
The flyer boasts how a Conservative government will "punish drug pushers," "keep junkies in rehab" and "crack down on cross-border drug smuggling."
At the bottom, it shows a picture of a smiling Prime Minister Stephen Harper and asks: "Who do you think is on the right track on crime?"
MPs are allowed to print and mail leaflets at taxpayer expense to inform the public about parliamentary issues. But under the rules, those leaflets can't be campaign-style literature meant to woo voters.
Even some Conservatives aren't sold on their own party's tactics – 36 per cent of those who said they support the Tories thought the flyer was inadmissible; 47 per cent said it was admissible. Not surprisingly, 71 per cent of Liberal supporters found it inadmissible.
The Liberals have already filed a formal complaint with Commons Speaker Peter Milliken about the volume of literature being sent out by the Conservatives. (So did the NDP. I read it on their website at the time and they were correct in complaining)
In July, Liberal MP Mark Holland wrote Milliken arguing that the recent Tory mailings to people in his riding were campaign literature. Holland wants the Conservatives to reimburse the Commons for the mailings, which he argues are thinly veiled attempts to win voters. Angus Reid Strategies conducted the poll for the Star Wednesday and Thursday. It conducted an online survey of 1,012 adult Canadians. Results from a survey that size are considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
Just when we thought that Canada's international reputation couldn't suffer anymore, we have discovered that we have also become the topic of conversation, because of our abuse of animals and our government's attack on animal protection agencies.
