Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS the International Fund for Animal Welfare is the largest animal welfare organization in the world, with an annual budget of $20 million;
AND WHEREAS the activities of the International Fund for Animal Welfare have threatened the viability of the fur industry in Canada and particularly in the Northwest Territories;
AND WHEREAS the International Fund for Animal Welfare has recently organized an emotional $1 million campaign on Canadian television and in Canadian newsprint, principally targeted against the harvesting of seals;
AND WHEREAS seal hunting is a traditional source of food and clothing and has provided an independent source of income for Inuit of Canada and the Northwest Territories;
AND WHEREAS Indigenous Survival International was established by aboriginal organizations from Greenland, Alaska and Canada in 1984, and has been effective in responding to the threat of animal rights movement to hunting, trapping lifestyles and economies;
AND WHEREAS animal rights groups are well funded and active in lobbying the European parliament to take further measures to erode the fur industry in Canada including measures to have wild fur species declared endangered species when they are not, as well as promoting legislation which will prohibit the harvest of any marine mammals;
AND WHEREAS, Indigenous Survival International is a strong defender of the Canadian fur industry and has worked effectively with the European Bureau for Conservation and Development, the only non-profit organization that is a lobby for sustainable development and the harvesting of renewable resources in the European Parliament;
AND WHEREAS, the fur industry defence program of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has provided a critical source of funding for Indigenous Survival International for the past five years, but the program was terminated in March, 1992 and core funding from the federal government to Indigenous Survival International is due to be cut in March, 1993;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for North Slave, that this Legislative Assembly express its outrage at the campaign and tactics of the International Fund for Animal Welfare and other animal welfare organizations and the potentially devastating effects of this campaign on northern peoples, their economy and way of life;
AND FURTHER, that this Legislative Assembly urge the Government of Canada to restore full funding to the fur industry defence program and from it continue to support Indigenous Survival International so that the defence of the Canadian fur industry in Europe and elsewhere may be supported and continued. Thank you.