Gail Shea Has Failed to Perform Her Duties. She Must Step Down.

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.

The Eurpean Union agreed and placed a ban on all trade of seal products:

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 and the Horrible Slaughter of the Narwhals

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?