Going Ahead as Planned

It seems after the European Union's own legal court put a hault on the ban of seal products, the EU will disregard the ruling and go ahead with the ban as of today. Prime Minister Harper is quite upset with the fact that the EU would not respect their own court system. His message however remains consistant, "They [Canadian sealers] should not be targetted like this, and the government of Canada will continue to speak out in their defence."

There are however a few exemptions from the EU's ban, which include groups who have already filed with the court on the issue. The ban also originally called for an exemption on seal products sold by aboriginal groups. However, the ban itself kills the maketability of the product and will ultimeatley hurt sales, as it has the potential to become a cultural taboo over time.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

In Miramichi, New Brunswick where the Prime Minster was announcing a new payroll centre which would create about 550 new jobs for the town, it seems another problem lured its head. In a move that would supply much needed jobs to a town who lost so many due to the loss of the gun registry. It seems now, Harper could have more unemployed Canadians on his hands if the European Union's (EU) ban on seal products goes ahead as they have signed the motion.

The European Union delivered the ban on all seal products which has many Canadian politicians fuming at the notion. Notably, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quite dissatisfied with the decision as it threatens many Canadian jobs. Harper believes this travesty is a harsh critique of the sealers in Canada, "This is flagrant discrimination against the Canadian seal industry, against Canadian sealers ... people who are doing animal husbandry, no differently than many other industries." He went on to say, "It is a disgrace that they're treated this way in some countries based on no rational facts or information whatsoever. We strongly object to the decision. We will continue to defend our sealers."


However, Canada has seemed to bought itself a little bit of time. The ban on the seal products that was scheduled to go into effect on Friday has been halted for the time being. The European General Court, based out of Luxembourg, was forced to delay the ban because an Inuit group filed an application to delay the motion. Now government lawyers from Canada now have time to review the decision by the court in an attempt to launch an appeal. 


With this ban looming, it really hurts an industry that is already been hurting since the recession. This ban is really the equivalent to kicking an industry while it is down. Who knows how long the sealers can muster to stay in this fight? If the EU ban passes, it just might be the knockout blow which will leave the Canadian sealers down for the count. 

Today is the day!

Today is the Great Canadian Census Debate, to use a name coined by a role model of mine, Kady O'Malley. The Industry committee will meet today to debate and hear from a long list of witnesses. I obviously won't be there, because I am not nearly that lucky. However, Kady O'Malley of the CBC will be liveblogging it, and CPAC will be carrying it live.

View Kady's live blog here, or on CBC Poltics.



View the live stream here or on CPAC [link removed].

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UPDATED: Slow day?

Well I don't want to say it is going to be a slow day today, because I've said that before and was clearly proven wrong. From my vantage point however, it certainly seems like not a lot will be going on.

The Industry committee will be meeting to discuss the controversial long form census, but the powers that be have deemed it "in camera." Which means no media coverage. I am assuming the Kady O'Malley of the CBC will be making the trip to the Hill just in case of the unlikely event that they change their minds. I will be following her closely and if the "in camera" status changes, I will be sure to post it here.

Apart from that, the Liberal Express is in Quebec still, and is actually holding an interactive townhall. However, due to the fact that is in Montreal, it will probably be french which means little or no coverage from me as I regrettably am not fluent in our other official language.

UPDATE: The committee meeting today was a very short, in camera meeting. Committee members aren't saying who is invited, however it is fairly safe to assume that Industry Minister Tony Clement and the former chief statistician will be invited. Also, a short correction notice: Kady O'Malley of the CBC is off today, so therefore wasn't able to bring us updates. Karina Roman filled in luckily.

Industry meeting a success!

The Industry committee meeting today was a success. Yes all three of them! They were in camera unfortunately, meaning we don't know exactly went on. But we do know that the committee will reconvene next Tuesday, one week from today, to discuss the long form census. No word on the witness list yet, but we can probably assume that Industry Minister Tony Clement will be on it.

Industry Committee

The House committee on Industry is currently meeting in Ottawa, however little to no updates on what is happening inside is available, on account of it being "in-camera," meaning closed to media. The meeting was originally called to discuss the closure of the Shell refinery in East Montreal, however it is widely believed that a motion to debate the long form census will take place as well.

According to the latest updates from Kady O'Malley, they will be hearing from witnesses about the Shell refinery until about 2:30 this afternoon. At this time, someone could introduce a motion to debate the long form census. In order to actually debate it however, the committee would need unanimous consent from the members. If you recall, the Conservatives recently prevented the Public Safety committee from debating an inquiry into the G8 and G20 security measures by introducing what the opposition refer to as useless motions. Then, before the opposition could table the motion, a motion to adjourn the committee was introduced and passes, thus ending the meeting.

Let us hope that the Industry meeting goes better than that for the opposition. How, after all, is the opposition to do their job if they can't even debate the policy changes that the government plans to make?

Anyways, Kady O'Malley of the CBC is on the Hill today, just hoping that the meeting returns from "in-camera" sessions. A liveblog has been set up in the hopeful event that it will. I will of course be posting updates as they are made available.