Canada will launch a formal protest with the World Trade Organization over a ban on the import of seal products approved by the European Union, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day announced Monday. The ban, which was approved Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, would be implemented in all 27 EU member countries over the next nine months, in time for Canada’s next seal hunt. The ban applies to products and processed goods that come from seals, including their skins, meat, blubber, organs and oil.

At an Ottawa news conference, Day and Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said they were disappointed with Monday’s vote, which they said violates WTO guidelines. “Associations of veterinarians and others have determined that Canada’s hunt is indeed humanitarian, scientific and follows environmental rules of sustainability,” Day said.

“And it is our view inappropriate that a trade decision is taken which is not based on the science. And for that reason we are announcing that we’ll be pursuing an appeal of this vote today. We want it made very clear that there should be a clause which reflects any country that is following the humanitarian, scientific and environmental guidelines established by the EU themselves, should in fact be exempted from this particular ban.”

Denmark and Romania abstained from supporting the ban during the vote, as did Austria, which wants even stronger measures against seal products. But then, I think it’s Romania that itself is facing an outraged EU about it’s consumption of door mice…..

David Barry of the Fur Institute of Canada, (who works at a FUR institute?) said the ban’s approval was “not unexpected.” “We feel it’s certainly irresponsible, completely counter-productive in terms of looking at seal practice and how to do it well, and it’s simply a political move on the part of EU decision-makers,” Barry said Monday morning on CTV News Channel.

In a statement, the foreign ministers said the ban was a response to concerns about the animal welfare aspects of seal hunting practices.

Many of the EU’s 27 member countries charge that Canada’s seal hunt, the largest in the world, is inhumane. The EU objects to the large number of animals killed during the annual hunt, which can be as high as 300,000, and the methods used, such as clubs and rifles.

Both Day and Shea said experts have deemed Canada’s seal hunt to be humane, something that animal rights groups say is not true. Rebecca Aldworth, director of the Humane Society International Canada, said government reports show that 97 per cent of seals killed during the hunt are less than three months of age. What about Veal and Lamb – as I remember those are baby cows and baby sheep – is that inhumane as well? Wheres the outrage? Is nothing said regarding this practice because the Veal and Lamb industry worth approximately $5 billion in North America Alone?

Ban will affect ‘many Canadian livelihoods’

The federal government has always said that a ban unfairly targets Canada’s Northern communities. The views of Canada’s Inuit have not been considered by the EU. They have made themselves quite clear that an exemption will not help them, yet European officials persist in pretending that it will. The ban does exempt products that stem from traditional seal hunts carried out by the Inuit, as well as traditional hunts in Greenland, Alaska and Russia. Products from traditional hunts can be exported to the EU, but only on a “not-for-profit” basis.

Last year, Canada exported about $3.5 million worth of seal products to the EU. The federal government estimates the ban could cost some 6,000 sealers in Canada up to 35 per cent of their earnings. The sealing industry is crucial to many small coastal communities and to Northern aboriginal people, where few economic opportunities exist. In caving to pressure from NGOs for a seal product ban, European Union has taken short-sighted and irresponsible actions that will affect many Canadian livelihoods.

The ban will not compromise the main seal product markets. Russia and China are developing markets for seal skin and oil, (where their bad press?) while markets for meat are found in Northern communities and Newfoundland.

But the ban puts a negative label on the 12,000 Canadians who have commercial sealing license., It more so affects them in a labelling sort of way in the sense that we have 27 Western nations who have now arbitrarily decided that a commercial seal hunt is somehow inherently inhumane.

And again, I want to stress that I am a animal lover and a VERY non-violent person. Just ask hubby – I have not smacked him in weeks.

Til later

Rising fuel-efficiency standards, changing consumer habits and growing use of ethanol in the United States played a big role in the cancellation of an $8-billion proposed refinery in New Brunswick.

Irving teamed up 18 months ago to study the feasibility of building a second 300,000 b/d refinery in Saint John to boost gasoline supplies in the U. S. Northeast. Construction was slated to start in 2011 or 2012.But they scrapped those plans yesterday after spending nearly $80-million on technical and commercial feasibility studies. Kevin Scott, director of refining growth for Irving, said gasoline demand has declined in the past two years, after growing steadily by 1% to 2% for years, and those declines appear permanent.

The move marks the third cancellation or delay of refining projects in Atlantic Canada in the past year. Harvest Energy Trust has deferred a $2-billion expansion of its Come-by-Chance plant in Newfoundland, and plans by Newfoundland and Labrador Refining Corp. for a new facility were stalled by the credit crunch. The refinery project was already on a slow track. Late last year, Irving changed the project’s timing to a maximum eight years from three or four. At the time, the company said it was concerned about labour shortages, financing costs and the economic slump. The new refinery would have sourced oil from Canada’s East Coast offshore projects, the North Sea, West Africa and South America.

The cancellation means the company will not need, for now, to try to repatriate thousands of tradesmen that moved to Alberta from Atlantic Canada in recent years to work in the oil sands.

The cancellation deals a major blow to New Brunswick’s vision of a building a major energy hub in the Saint John area to serve Eastern Canada and the U.S. Northeast. The new initiatives would have been anchored by the expanded Irving refinery capacity, which would have doubled in size. The refinery expansion would have contributed about $7-billion of the $15-billion to $20-billion in new capital investment touted for the region.

The hub idea, heavily endorsed by Irving Oil and the provincial government, is to use Saint John’s location and deep harbours to become a key delivery and transmission point for the U.S. Northeast.

Much was riding on these proposals because of Saint John’s recent history of economic decline, given the loss of a sugar refinery, of ship-building operations, and the difficulties facing the provincial forestry industry. At its peak, the project was expected to create several thousand construction jobs.

Scores of energy projects were cancelled or put on hold in the oil sands last fall, but some are being re-considered with the economy recovering and oil prices rebounding. While the recession played a role in depressing gasoline demand, the proposed refinery is one of the first in North America to be scrapped because of expectations of lower consumption over the longer term.

Til later

Canada is now creeping in and taking over the American psyche ever so subtlely … with none other than Tim Hortons coffee. Yes the dark brew, containing secret Columbian ingredients, blended and ground in a undisclosed bunker (apparently somewhere in the basement of Parliment Hill) which wakes up most of the Canadian population each and every morning, now will be controlling the minds (or rather cranial cavities) of New Yorkers rushing thru Times Square.

Ever so quietly, like the British sneaking up the Potomac, over the weekend, 12 Dunkin Donuts locations were converted to none other than Tim Hortons. Overnight the DD signs came down and warm fuzzy Timmy’s signs went up. They never new what hit them.

This has all been a well orchestrated, carefully planned infiltration, literally years in the making. In 1998 the New York Post ran a photograph of a mouse (special CSIS agent known as “Little Grey”) eating a doughnut at one of the DD locations, and then it was agreed upon that “several prime locations” would be shut down by the end of July this year and replaced with Timmys.

In an interview in the New York Magazine, the CEO of Riese Organization said he hoped to make more money (American greenbacks – not Canadian Tire money, I am assuming) with Tim Hortons because it has a broader product line that includes lunch and dinner items – in addition to coffee and doughnuts. (yeah! just wait until they taste the Chilli!!) The idea was to unveil three co-branded stores with Cold Stone Creamery, an ice cream outlet, in Times Square.

Actually the opening of Tim Hortons received extensive coverage in the city’s papers this week. The New York Times explained who Tim Horton was and quoted a food industry analyst who called the organization “the number one coffee chain in Canada.”

The Daily News explained what a “double double” is and The New York Post said some people hold Tim Hortons “partly responsible for the overburdening (Canada) socialized health care system. Yeesh!! always gotta be sooo dramatic these Americans!

Tim Hortons, which has more than 2,900 stores in Canada, already has about 500 outlets across the United States, this is probably why Obama was elected to the Whitehouse…

One retail analyst said in a note Friday that “time will tell” if Tim Hortons expansion into New York City will work. “A tourist mecca like New York offers the opportunity to build brand awareness but it also offers high rents and plenty of completion.”

Ha! what does he know…we Canadians still don’t know what they put in the coffee and why we can’t stop drinking it….this is a done deal!

Canadian tourists and immigrants like Jaye Landon, who said “Wow” when she heard the news, may be the surest customers for the Tim Hortons. “It’s hard to be a Canadian and not love Tim’s,” said Ms. Landon, an Ottawa native who has lived in New York for 20 years but still has a Tim Hortons coffee mug in her kitchen. “When you’re crossing the prairie and going through bear-infested territory, Tim’s is your friend.”

o.k. see this is how we get a bad reputation….”Bear Infested??” Mosquito maybe…

Anyways next,….Americans will be wondering why they don’t have multi-coloured money too! Ooohahahah!!!

Til later

I squealed in delight!!! Quickly grabbing cat no. 1 as it sauntered past the coffee table, got it in a two arm hug and clapped it’s little paws together – it was clapping with delight – o.k. I was helping it.

“Why is that good?” demanded hubby

“Well…now when we travel back to Alberta for a visit, we can bring the “boys” (that’s what I call them – my maternal hormones still going strong).

“Why the hell would we do that?” he asked . (cat no. 2 now has paw over mouth in shock!) “One spends all day in the tub, and the other one never leaves the closet – why would we take them anywhere?”

Good question.

The airline announced Wednesday that travelers can bring their cats or small dogs on the plane with them starting July 1 for a fee of $100 for domestic return flights and $200 for an overseas trip. A small price to pay I THINK….for my peace of mind. God only knows what shenanigans they would get up to while we were gone!!

I think what is really happening is that Air Canada has just found a new marketing and pricing technique. Don’t raise airfare but play on the heartstrings of crazy pet people by dangling the “Fido can Fly with me” carrot. Most people hate to travel on an airline with a pet – because giving them human qualities and sensibilities, most people are horrified at the thought of putting fluffy in a crate in the cargo hold.

Heck if I got a discount I’d put hubby there – he just sleeps through the flight anyways.

Air Canada has been struggling because of increasingly cut-throat competition from other airlines like WestJet, known as a pet-friendly airline, as well as the recession..It’s part of their strategy to gain market share back that they lost to WestJet when they implemented all those policies, not necessarily only with the pets, but also other things, like call-centre fees and charging for pillows and blankets.

Does anyone remember the days when they actually served you on real china, and gave a choice of red or white wine?

The company has changed its policies on pets several times. In September 2006, the airline said it would no longer allow pets in the cabin due to allergy concerns. Nine months later, the company said it wouldn’t accept pets in the cargo hold either due to the need for more space for luggage. “Like all businesses we constantly review and update our policies, and that’s what’s happened here,” an Air Canada spokeperson said. “It’s all part of a general strategy that we have here to improve our relationships with our customers.” (I’ll say – try feeding them)

While the concept of cats and dogs in such close proximity to travelers may raise concerns among allergy sufferers, the company says it rarely hears complaints from customers.

“We don’t get a lot of feedback on that, surprisingly,” they say. “If we do, what we try to do is we try to separate the two, the person with the animal and the person with the allergy. We put them as far apart as we possibly can.” (I suppose non-pet owners could ride in cargo area?) “It’s something that we get a lot of positive feedback on. People really appreciate the fact that they can bring their pets on board.”

People with SEVERE allergies shouldn’t be traveling anyways I say – they are too sick!

Well, out of earshot of hubby, I discussed this with the boys. (I think they talk back – but then maybe I just spend too much time alone on this blog) Anyways they love the idea! They are perusing over the travel mags as I am writing this. Both are big on the Caribbean – what with all the sand and everything.

Til later