It was with shock and dismay that I read Bruce Wark’s “Sealed and
delivered” (Editorial, November 12). I have been a supporter of the NDP
all my life, but no more. They have let us down and betrayed us in
their quest to be like the other parties. For Sterling Belliveau to get
up in the legislature and use the same lies and deceit that the federal
Tories use to justify their support for the slaughter for seals on Hay
Island is an abomination.
Seals have been hunting codfish off the coast of Newfoundland and
Nova Scotia for thousands of years, before the first white man set foot
here. Now they blame the victims for the crime, when everyone knows
that it’s European and Russian overfishing and their dragging the ocean
floor that has destroyed the cod stocks and the environment. This was
going on as the gutless politicians sat in Ottawa and did nothing.
We who supported the NDP know who should be environment minister,
and it is not Sterling Belliveau. But in Darrell Dexter’s rush to be
premier he wanted to show the people in Nova Scotia that they are just
one of the good old parties.
Unfortunately we have three parties in Nova Scotia. The
Conservatives, the Liberals and the Pretend Liberals. If I wanted the
Liberals or Conservatives, I would’ve voted for them. We wanted some
new thinking, a party that can think outside the box. We didn’t get it,
either with Sterling Beliveau or Darrell Dexter.
But maybe, Mr. Belliveau, someday the Liberals or Conservatives will
need a new environment minister and you will have the experience to fit
into their parties.—Tom Burns, Halifax
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2009.
I fail to see a problem.
The seal fur harvest isn’t endangering the seals in any way.
IT does (or it did) allow those who work in this industry to make a decent wage, you know work…instead of welfare ! I personally have no problem with the use of the beaches of Hay Island for this short period of time in the dead of winter. Lets not forget that. It isn’t the entire island, it’s just the calving grounds, & that’s the beach areas.
What part of ‘protected wilderness area’ is so difficult to wrap your head around? Sealers should no more be in there ‘harvesting’ seals than a forestry corporation should be in there cutting lumber, or hunters tromping around and shooting deer. It was set aside to be PROTECTED, not plundered, leave it the hell alone.
I’ve never had much faith in politicians, but the NDP are a bigger disappointment to this province than I had even expected. Shamelessly selling us out and raping the environment, just like the rest of them. Despicable.
MeOw, I disagree.
Seals are on the beach, not in the forest, not swimmming in the rivers,streams & lakes. There’s no comparison to deer, & other wildlife that live on the island, nor does it have anything to do with the forest.This is no different than having people come in to dispose of a whale carcass. You can’t compare a temporary visitor to a beach that isn’t endangered, or even slightly threatened. Nothing is being ‘damaged’ by the hunters. The rape of our forests by clear cutting is IMO 500 times worse than harvesting a couple hundred seals out of a herd,that numbers over 5 million !
There are real enviromental concerns in this Province…& killing a few seals isn’t one of them !
Trying to explain how and why the seal hunt is barbaric and inhumane to most of the eastcoasters is like trying to teach an intellectually challanged person quantum mechanics. They just lack the mental capacity to understand. Maybe it isn’t their fault, therefore we have to end the seal hunt without their consent and understanding whether they like it or not.
What about the WAY the seals are slaughtered and the unreasonable quantities?Jobs are important but at what cost?We, as “rulers” of the planet should be far more compassionate towards other “inferior” creatures .We should all make the government find better ways to create more jobs and not take the easy way out!