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rfmcdonaldOn to a less weighty Canadian affair, this time relating to cafeteria food.
Am I alone in fearing that the Canadian government will fetishize seal meat, in so doing making its consumption an important component of Canadian identity, in the same way that Japan has fetishized whale meat?
Seal meat is about to join beef tenderloin and baked salmon on the haute-cuisine menu for MPs and senators in the parliamentary restaurant.
MPs say Parliament is taking a cue from Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, who triggered a global controversy last May by eating seal meat while on a visit to Nunavut in a show of support for Inuit culture.
[. . .]
Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat MPs say the addition of seal meat to the menu in the exclusive parliamentary restaurant will also be a significant boost for sealers battling a European Union ban on their products.
"The sealers will be able to say, 'This is legal in Canada. We follow the legal process. Parliament Hill serves seal meat, and members of Parliament and senators eat seal meat'," said Liberal MP Marcel Proulx, a member of the powerful all-party board that oversees Commons budgets and bylaws.
The head of a lobby group in Newfoundland and Labrador welcomed the move with enthusiasm.
"I think it's a wonderful gesture," said Frank Pinhorn, executive director of the Canadian Sealers' Association.
"I commend the federal government or whoever is involved in it. I think it's a real demonstration of support for Canadian culture, and I think it's long overdue."
Am I alone in fearing that the Canadian government will fetishize seal meat, in so doing making its consumption an important component of Canadian identity, in the same way that Japan has fetishized whale meat?
