Even though the seal ban was aimed only at stopping the harvest of harp seal pups off Newfoundland, the end result was the destruction of the entire seal fur trade in the Arctic countries. This killed the seal industry for the Inuit harvesters in the Canadian Arctic.
Some animal welfare and animal rights groups who do not understand our situation, would like to stop all fur trade. On behalf of all our trappers and hunters, in fact, of our life-style that has existed for thousands of years, it is important that European politicians and bureaucrats hear our side of the story, at least until we have markets for our furs also established in other parts of the world.
The Department of Renewable Resources has done work assisting trappers to use humane traps. A lot of money has been spent by this government in trapper research, trapper education, trap exchange and public education. All of this investment, as well as our people's life-style, will be lost if we do not protect existing markets, re-establish old ones, or find new markets.
While in Brussels, I explained to the conference why our fur industry is important to us in the north. We have few other alternatives for most of our people, and we have made good progress in changing our way of trapping. Our harvests are more humane, than the current practices that exist in other parts of the world, such as cattle feed lot operations, pig farms, egg farms and slaughter houses. Our trapping methods are more humane than those.
I explained how our people have lived in harmony with their environment for thousands of years and continue to manage their renewable resources. Our presentation explained to them about our people and our land. I believe the European politicians have a better understanding of our situation and the need to support what we are doing.
As well as attending the conference, I met with individual Members of the European Parliament, their staff, scientists, non-governmental organizations that support the fur trade and those who are against the killing of all animals. All three days in Brussels were full, from morning to evening. It was a very busy schedule. Indications are that the fur trade, including seal pelts, is making a come back around the world. It is important that we position ourselves to take full advantage of this opportunity. In my mind, we can best do this by marketing our furs, exclusive furs from the north. For example, calling it Arctic Furs, an exclusive product.
For too long, our furs have not been marketed to their best advantage. We have to establish ourselves as producers of a unique, high quality product, such as the Russians did long ago with their sable, which is a cousin of our martin.
Animal rights activists are responding to the upturn in the fur trade, by redoubling their efforts to have the proposed 1995 humane trapping legislation made so demanding that we will kill the fur trade.
On January 1, 1995, the European council regulations to ban the import of furs caught in leg hold traps, will come into effect. While other jurisdictions in Canada might have some difficulty, we in the Northwest Territories, can meet the target date because of the efforts of the trappers and the Department of Renewable Resources.
Animal rights groups are now lobbying European Parliaments to change the rules so that every fur producing country has to fully ban leg hold traps. Before anyone can sell wild fur, they want to review and revise international standards for humane traps, to make them even more stringent than they are now, and to put into place more regulations and tests so that it will be impossible to trap wild fur. They are desperate and will do anything they possibly can to influence their politicians.
While we do have allies in Brussels, such as the International Fur Trade Federation and the European Bureau on Conservation Development, unless we personally influence the Members of the European Parliament, I'm convinced that they will be swayed by well organized, well-funded, animal welfare and animal rights groups.
We are at a critical time, Mr. Speaker. The fur trade is making a come back. The European trapping regulations are coming into effect in one year, and in two months, the International Standards Organization or ISO, meets to finalize trap standards. How those standards are defined is critical. If they are too rigid, we will not be able to meet them, and our European markets for wild fur will be gone.
We, as elected MLAs and as aboriginal northerners, have to make at least one more trip to Brussels and to Strasbourg, to influence our European Parliament counterparts. If not, I'm afraid that between now and the ISO meeting in February, animal rights groups will get their way and win.
While supporting organizations and officials can have some influence, it is only as elected representatives that we can talk on an equal basis with the European elected representatives. Those are the ones who will vote on the trap standards and regulations next year.
Going to Europe may seem, to some of you, a bit of a holiday, but it is not. It is a necessity, on behalf of our constituents who are trappers and hunters. The message is clear, our trapping industry is now on the line. Next, it will be our forest industry, which we are just developing.
In some instances, Europeans would like to make us into a living museum of what they have lost. We can not let that happen, for the sake of our lifestyle and our future generations. All the Europeans have been our main fur market for the past 500 years, this may be changing. Yet, we can not alienate or ignore them yet. For at least a few more years, we have to continue to work with Europeans, while establishing other markets for our renewable resource products, perhaps in Asia, North America, South America, as well as in Canada. If we do not, we will close the door on the current markets and see the fur prices fall and the end of the fur industry as we have known it.
I think it is time to be alert, as our global economy unfolds.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but be amazed at how small our world is. As I walked down a street of apartment blocks and houses in Brussels, on my way to the European Parliament to talk about trapping in the Northwest Territories...In some ways, it is a long way from europe to a trapper's cabin. Other ways, such as technology, global markets, jets that travel at a thousand kilometres per hour, make our world very small. Landing in pollution-covered Amsterdam and Brussels, also brought home to me how much we have to lobby the rest of the western world to get their environmental problems under control.
---Applause
If they do not, we will not have anything to trap or hunt in the future. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
