Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last night several Members of this Legislative Assembly joined me at a meeting with members of the Italian Fur Trade Association and the Italian media. Today the Italians are visiting a trap line in the Fort Simpson area and will return to eastern Canada and Italy on the weekend.
I am pleased with the interest the Italian Fur Trade Association and the media are showing in northern Canadian wildlife fur. They are making efforts to ensure the Italian public is fully aware of the extent to which fur-bearing animals are carefully managed by the hunters and trappers and the Department of Renewable Resources. The fur trade representatives tell us that Italians, living in a very small crowded country with no wildlife at all, place a high value on fur garments. In fact, one out of every three Italian women owns at least one fur coat. Yet, in their country many people believe all wild animals are endangered. Animal rights and anti-trapping groups prey on this misunderstanding.
The Italian Fur Trade Association is doing what it can to support our fur industry and advises us that we should do more in two areas.
First, it strongly recommends that our political leaders maintain contacts with members of the European Parliament. European politicians are under tremendous pressure to pass anti-trapping and anti-fur legislation and frequently do so without accurate information on the situation in northern Canada. The Fur Trade Association believes northern politicians meeting with European politicians can be most effective.
Second, the Italian Fur Trade representatives and media people are offering to work with our government and the federal government to organize and present exhibits in Italy which accurately display life in northern Canada. The fur trade and people's inter-relationships with the land and water and what it offers would of course be a central theme to any exhibit.
Mr. Speaker, it is important that our government take steps to counter the actions of all animal rights groups. Ads like those placed in the Toronto Globe and Mail and on C.B.C. recently by the International Fund for Animal Welfare can be very misleading to people who do not understand our lifestyle. We cannot win by attacking the animal rights groups directly but through cooperation with European politicians, media and fur trade representatives, we can do much to present accurate information. This support is critical to our hunters and trappers who represent the backbone of our economic and cultural foundation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.