The Editor,
It seems that some people just feel they need to flaunt the societal norms of their community to attain status. MP Alice Wong and David Chung are setting the stage for publicity and self-promotion.
Ms Wong's argument (that banning shark fin products is a federal responsibility and not that of a city) is still being dealt with and her action shows an unhealthy disrespect for the feelings of the local community.
As an official of one of the two parties in an argument of this type, she should have refrained from such a move of showmanship. Whether she is expressing the Conservative Party line or her own, this was an ill-timed action.
Her argument of who should be responsible for making a law concerning such a ban is actually a moot point and makes this all the more uncomfortable for me.
Canada has rules and regulations concerning the handling and slaughter of chickens, pigs and cattle to ensure the animals do not suffer and are humanely handled. As yet, there is no such rule in place for sharks.
For enough fins to be available for restaurants to serve shark fin soup, there is only the practice of "finning" which would never meet "humane" standards. This does not even address the imbalance that the collection practice creates in the overall numbers of sharks surviving in the oceans and what that will mean to the ocean's ecosystem.
Scientists are concerned that we are reaching a tipping point and until more answers are available, suspension to preserve would be the answer of choice.
John Sexton Richmond
