TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Animal Protection Party of Canada calls for Prime Minister Trudeau to remove Diane Lebouthillier from her role as Fisheries Minister. “Canadians deserve ministers more committed to integrity and respect for science than political expediency,” says Party Leader, Liz White.
White is reacting to a September 10th report by Radio-Canada’s Patrick Butler about a briefing note clearly explaining that staff with the Department of Fisheries recommended that the Minister keep the moratorium on northern cod in order to prevent a further decline in the population of fish. They also recommended that the current quota be maintained and not increased, and that she keep in place the 'stewardship fishery' meaning that fishing should be prioritized for inshore and Indigenous fishers and not for offshore and international fleets.
Disturbingly, the Minister’s staff instead recommended increasing the cod quota for the commercial fishery in order to score a 'political victory’. Contrary to past claims from the current Liberal government that they value science and environmental sustainability, the Fisheries Minister chose political pandering at the risk of further damage to the cod fish population, in dire decline caused by decades of over-fishing.
"We condemn this crass willingness to allow further damage to the cod population, and the entire north Atlantic eco-system, in a blatant attempt to get a political win,” says White. "The lack of integrity and responsibility for short-term political gain is so extreme that the Fisheries Minister must be removed from cabinet and replaced with an MP who has a deeper commitment to environmental responsibility. We urge all Atlantic region MPs to place a greater value on the eco-system of their region and environmental responsibility for our children and our children’s children.”
Prime Minister Trudeau has tried to position his government as leaders in climate change action, apparently valuing science over political expediency. Yet, his Fisheries Minister has taken an action at clear odds with that principle. The Prime Minister has taken action on a number of animal issues, including a ban on cosmetic animal testing in Canada. The Animal Protection Party urges him to take a stand on this critical issue and protect the already diminished cod population from further commercial exploitation.
Barry MacKay, Animal Protection Party General Manager and conservationist adds, “When something creates a catastrophic situation, a person wise enough to be a Minister of the Crown ought not to do it again. But that is exactly what Minister Lebouthillier has done. By raising the quota on cod in the north Atlantic, against scientific advice and that of many fishers, she is dragging Canada back to the very thing that caused one of the great environmental and economic calamities of the 20th century for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Lebouthillier has to go.”
Barry Kent MacKay, General Manager
barry@animalprotectionparty.ca | 905-472-9731
