Re: Ontario Judge Overturns Shark Fin Ban In Toronto

[EU]

Broccoli leaves are edible and very healthy, just like broccoli itself.

Ya their called collards...white folk got the top of the plant and the slaves got the collards and ground up husks of corn after the kernels were removed...listen this is not the only thing illegal to eat in Canada...go out in a boat, get some abalone, transport it in your car and then admit it to the DFO...lose your car and boat for a while to be sure and a frickin hefty fine...Bear paws...nope can't legally chow down on those either unless you got the guts to go out there yourself...but I'd advise some shooting tips with Sonny before the hunt, that way when the bear paw hunter steps out of a Lexus to hunt bear, maybe he won't just wound the bear and make him really fckin mad. Nothing worse than a wounded bear.

[Vancouver]

Levant sure nails the lefty councils across Canada that are jumping on the anti-shark fin bandwagon.

Last Friday , Justice James Spence of the Ontario Superior Court struck down Toronto's Chinese head tax as illegal.

 

Of course, Toronto didn't call it a Chinese head tax. They called it a ban on shark fin soup, a delicacy eaten pretty much only by Chinese people. So, same thing.

 

Banning shark fin soup is the latest rage amongst left-wing city councillors across Canada.

 When a city decides to ban shark fin soup, it's a good bet it's trying to distract from its failures on things it's supposed to be working on.

 

Take Calgary, where city hall just voted to increase city taxes by 5.5%. Banning shark fin soup is a cheap stunt to distract attention from the financial incompetence of a city council that can't balance the books in Canada's richest city.



This sort of self-righteousness by minor-league politicians isn't new.

 

In the 1980s, declaring a town a "nuclear-weapons free zone" was all the rage.

Shark fins are the modern version, but instead of scapegoating those evil Americans, it targets Chinese-Canadians, especially new immigrants who still keep their traditional culinary customs.

 

Toronto's disgraceful version of the law sets out fines as high as $100,000 for people caught selling shark fins — or even just possessing them. So the restaurant would be put out of business.

 

Many cultures have unusual food, but only the Chinese have been targeted through this bigoted law.

 

Jews have their kosher slaughter and Muslims have their halal. Like all slaughters, they're not pretty to watch.

 

But no city council in Canada would dare take on those two politically protected ethnic groups.

 

You don't have to get that exotic, of course. Some of the same people backing the shark fin bans are behind PETA, the animal rights extremist group that not only wants to ban meat, fur and leather, but even milk and eggs.

 

Shark fins are their precedent, from which they'll ratchet up other bans. Do you really want to let showboating politicians consider whether you can eat veal parmigiana?

 

Horse meat is a delicacy in Quebec. Rabbit and deer meat is very chic. And, of course, some cultures eat dog.

 

Why are those exotic foods OK, but only a Chinese cuisine is banned — with a fine designed to destroy a family's life savings?

 

It's not because sharks are endangered. They're not. It's not because finning a shark — the practice of cutting off a shark's fin while it's alive — is cruel.

 

Canada has a modern shark harvesting industry, monitored by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to ensure conservation.

 

By comparison, we boil lobsters alive in the classiest restaurants in Canada. But that's not even the point.

 

These busybody laws don't discriminate between shark fins harvested humanely and those cut off the fish alive. It's all banned.

 

Sorry, that's not about being humane. That's about being punitive.

 

Justice Spence threw out Toronto's law, pointing out that it just wasn't Toronto's city business, it wasn't based on any scientific evidence and the justification — Toronto's health and safety — was a laugh.

 

Those are all good reasons, and his ruling should be a template for other anti-racism activists across Canada to follow.

 

The Chinese were picked because traditionally they don't make a political fuss. But anyone else who wants the freedom to choose what they eat or drink ought to stand with them. Your food is next — and your leather and fur too.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/03/food-for-thought-judges-shark-fin-ruling-a-template-for-other-anti-racism-activists-to-follow">http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/03/fo ... -to-follow">http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/03/food-for-thought-judges-shark-fin-ruling-a-template-for-other-anti-racism-activists-to-follow

Vey thoughtful article and statements. Unfortunately many refuse to know or see truth and make judgements based on their Potato and cheeseburger head.

[EU]

Comparing it to a head tax...ya real thoughtful but as the article states Canada does harvests Shark humanely, it's the rest of the world that is hard to monitor...there have also been other bans and moratoriums on harvesting other sea food in the US and Canada get over it. If this is such a big issue, in a democratic world you would look to change the law through a change in Government...is it that the majority are ok with this decision? It would seem so.

[Anonymous]

If shark fin soup is on the menu I will not be attending.

[Leopardsocks]

We barbecue shark fillets here. They are very popular, but for some reason are called "flake".



Shark flesh has no bones. Unfortunately, because shark is the apex predator of the ocean, the heavy metals that WE pump into the sea eventually concentrates at the top of the food chain, and shark is thus very high in mercury levels.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish">//http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish

[EU]

I had shark steaks...better than sole, but sharks gotta be skinned right away or it taints the meat, opposite of fish, slimy and tough to hang onto, sharks are covered in sandpaper, or so it seems.

[Vancouver]

I had frogs before.

[Anonymous]

I had frogs before.

Did you like the taste VancouverGuy?

[EU]

Anything with the right sauce...tastes like chicken. ;)

[Anonymous]

I've tried dog meat.