Canadian parliament to dine on seal meat tomorrow

Apparently back from their two-month hiatus, the Canadian parliament is sending Europe a message on Wednesday by serving seal meat in the parliamentary restaurant:  Canada’s Conservative government says it will fight the EU ban, which was imposed last July on the grounds that the annual seal hunt off the east coast was cruel and inhumane. ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
572618_seal5.jpg
572618_seal5.jpg
This April 3, 2009 photo shows seal meat with a cocoa sauce served at The Islands restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Seal meat is becoming more popular in Canadian restaurants, its taste described as something between duck and calf's liver. The flesh is fat free and is rich in iron and Omega 3. AFP PHOTO/ Clement SABOURIN (Photo credit should read Clement Sabourin/AFP/Getty Images)

Apparently back from their two-month hiatus, the Canadian parliament is sending Europe a message on Wednesday by serving seal meat in the parliamentary restaurant: 

Apparently back from their two-month hiatus, the Canadian parliament is sending Europe a message on Wednesday by serving seal meat in the parliamentary restaurant: 

Canada’s Conservative government says it will fight the EU ban, which was imposed last July on the grounds that the annual seal hunt off the east coast was cruel and inhumane.

A dish of double-smoked bacon-wrapped seal loin in a port reduction will be on the menu on Wednesday, the office of Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette said on Monday.

"All political parties will have the opportunity to demonstrate to the international community the solidarity of the Canadian Parliament behind those who earn a living from the seal hunt," she said in a statement.

Ottawa says the hunt — which takes place in March and April — provides valuable income for Atlantic fishing communities. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik.

As provocations go, this kind of puts "freedom fries" to shame. Canada’s Governor General Michaelle Jean raised some eyebrows by dining on raw seal heart at a visit to an Inuit community last year and seal meat is becoming an increasingly popular delicacy in Montreal. 

 

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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