Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to second this motion. It is something which I believe in. Mr. Speaker, northern aboriginal people have had to contend for far too long with the lies, propaganda and the self-serving campaigns of groups that we have referred to as animal rights activists. Perhaps we are being too kind when we use this term to refer to them. That term makes them sound more notable than they are. It makes them sound too caring and too knowledgeable. I know that you will most likely rule that it is unparliamentary language. Mr. Speaker, in a couple of minutes I will talk a little bit more about what these people are like, about what they do, and about what they believe in. I want to make a couple of comments about some of the background to this motion.
I have listened carefully to the comments made by the honourable Member for Iqaluit. When he rose from his seat to deliver a passionate rebuttal to the campaign that has been launched against us, his remarks hit home. They reminded me of how these ill-advised groups have worked deliberately against the aboriginal people of northern Canada for too long. They reminded me of the frustration and anger that Mr. Ernerk and I felt when we went right to the source and confronted these groups at a conference where these lies were being spread. They reminded me of the feelings that were expressed in this House about the behaviour of the Mayor of Edmonton when she made ridiculous statements about the fur trade. They reminded me of the way Mr. Jim Bourque, Cindy Gilday, my colleague, Mr. Ningark and so many others from the Northwest Territories, have worked very hard to combat the misleading statements and outright lies that have been spread about our people and our heritage. They reminded me of the economic devastation that has been experienced within too
many of our northern communities since these groups turned their selfish gaze on our traditional way of life.
We cannot sit by year after year and tolerate these things. I wanted to say something about the International Fund for Animal Welfare. This group is one of the most short-sighted and poorly informed. Its decision to launch a million-dollar campaign against the harvesting of seals is only one example of this. For years, these people have carried out an assault on the fur industries and the aboriginal people who benefit from it. They brag about that, Mr. Speaker. They take credit for the decision of the European community to resist the import of harvesting products. They make statements to use public awareness and legislation as tools, and I quote their brochure, "to abolish all cruelties done to animals by humans." Mr. Speaker, I do not need to talk in this House about the fact that aboriginal people do not treat their animals with cruelty. The idea is ridiculous. Everyone in this House knows that.
What I do want to talk about is the way organizations like the I.F.A.W. conduct their business. Let me quote some comments made by a Canadian author, Pierre Burton, who is a proud northerner. In an address he made to the Ontario Fur Trade Association on May 4, 1990, Mr. Burton quite correctly made the following remarks, "We are not really talking about animal rights at all. That is a cover. We are talking about big business. We are talking about fund raising. We are talking about people who exploit cute little pets that you and I own in order to raise funds to perpetuate themselves and increase their own bureaucracy and pay the people who go out and tell lies on television, radio and in the newspapers. That is why they use pussycats, monkeys, and cute little seals." Mr. Burton was right.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare promotes itself as a kind, caring organization that devotes its heart and soul to caring for animals. Listen to this: 13 per cent of all funds raised by this organization goes towards administration. It goes towards paying the strange collection of hangers-on that are on salary within the administrative offices of the organization. An additional 15 per cent of their revenue goes to pay for more fund-raising activities. Frequently, that takes the form of commissions or contract funding paid to the professional fund-raisers and advertising men that they use to shake down the public at large with their fund-raising campaigns. That means, out of every dollar the organization gets in its hands, only 72 per cent of it goes to its so-called programs. The rest goes to organizations, their staff and their slick public affairs department.
I wonder if the people who are actually donating this money to groups like I.F.A.W. realize this. I do not think so. It is not compassion, it is big business. It is aimed in the wrong direction. It is aimed at us. It is outrageous. That is the reason why I am seconding this particular motion.
Let us contrast the state of affairs within the I.F.A.W. with Indigenous Survival International. Mr. Patterson, as the sponsor of the bill, has commented on the unfortunate decision of the federal government to strip this hard-working and effective organization of its financial lifeblood. The honourable Members may know that the founding meeting for I.S.I. was held here in Yellowknife in August, 1984. Those who attended the meeting represented native peoples from the Arctic areas of Alaska, Canada and Greenland. The purpose was to establish a united organization with ability to respond for challenges to their way of life. Since then, the focus of I.S.I. has expanded to include attention to many issues of concern to indigenous people who rely directly upon the land and its bounty for their spiritual, cultural and physical existence. This issue encompasses the conservation of sustainable resources, protection of the environment and advocacy on behalf of their subsistence use of fish and game.
Mr. Speaker, I.S.I. has been particularly effective in taking the message of Canadian aboriginal people to the European community. It has combatted the misleading information campaign that has been launched in Europe. It has been a highly effective ally in our struggle to maintain our way of life. In March of this year, the Fur Industry Defence Program within Indian and Northern Affairs was cancelled, as indicated also by my colleague, Mr. Patterson. In March, 1993, core funding to I.S.I. will be cut unless we do something. I believe this motion will be a start, Mr. Speaker.
I wish to compliment my colleague from Iqaluit for bringing this motion forward. It has been good working with him on it. I look forward to doing more of the same in the future. I would close my remarks by urging all the Members to support this particular motion. Mahsi.
---Applause