Seals vs. celebrities

While the Newfoundland and Labrador seal hunt may be over for another year, the debate over the hunt lingers on.

Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss a number of issues, one of them being the seal hunt. Harper was reported to have asked the French leader to fight a European Union ban on seal products.

Later in the week, Canadian officials were among the attendees at the 13th North Atlantic Fisheries Ministers Conference, which was held in Malta.

Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn released a statement saying the European Union ban on seal products was a "hot topic of discussion" at the conference.

Minister Hearn also said he was pleased to have "very vocal support from Norway, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and the Russian Federation."

Closer to home, many people found in their mailboxes last week a black and white flyer from Mike Allen, a New Brunswick member of Parliament.

The flyer had a composite picture of Paris Hilton, Paul McCartney and Brigitte Bardot on the front, with the heading, "Message to celebrites ... Back Off our Seal Hunt."

The writing on the inside on the flyer goes on to say how celebrities and "radical special interest groups" don't care about sealers or the sealing industry. It goes on to say, "Only Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government have the courage to stand up to the celebrities and special interest groups."

Then there's a sort of Elementary school-style pair of boxes, urging one to pick "Who's on your side?" - the prime minister or the celebrities -and then mail the response back to Mr. Allen.

This certainly piqued the interest of the Georgian. Why would a New Brunswick MP be mailing out such an amateur-looking flyer about another province's sealing industry? An e-mail was sent off, and was promptly replied.

"It is pretty simple really," wrote Mr. Allen in his reply. " I am a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and while not a longstanding member of that committee, I participated in a few meetings last year when the committee was finishing up its report on the Seal Hunt."

Mr. Allen went on to write that he has tremendous respect for sealers and that the sealing industry contributes significantly to the livelihood of many Atlantic Canadian families and communities and he thought it was important to show his support.

Fair enough, one supposes. Although there is nothing on Mr. Allen's website as evidence of his interest in the seal hunt. The Georgian even checked various national news databases for anything that would relate Mr. Allen to the pro-sealing campaign. Nothing.

Maybe if Mr. Allen had been a little more boisterous during the actual seal hunt this year, he would have a little more validity to back up his verve. But one guesses he has to start somewhere if he really does care about sealers in this province.

Then again, patting the prime minister on the back might also be a way to get into his good graces. The Georgian wouldn't know for sure.

Speaking of seal hunting, the Georgian would like to momentarily stroll down memory lane. A few weeks ago, an editorial was published that raised some questions about the seal hunt, the accompanying media coverage, and the pro- and anti-sealing movements.

It really didn't take any sides in the whole debate, leaving it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. But that didn't stop some irate letter writers to scribe a few lines to the editor.

One letter writer was "shocked and offended" at the editorial, describing the seal hunt as a "bloodbath." But that writer, like many others, did not sign their letters and/or include their contact information (both of which are required before a letter can be considered for publishing in the Georgian).

Oh well. But the Georgian still wants to know what you think. Do you support the hunt? Why or why not? Did you respond to MP Mike Allen's flyer and check off which group of cutie-patooties you liked more? Are you just sick of the whole debate? We want to know.

Send us a letter. Our contact information appears at the bottom of this page. Just don't forget to include your name and contact information.