pam anderson asks pm for seal hunt meeting
Pamela Anderson Asks PM For Seal Hunt Meeting
By ANGELA PACIENZA, Canadian Press
TORONTO (CP) - Add Pamela Anderson's name to the list of celebrities speaking out against the East Coast seal hunt.
The bombshell actress has asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss the issue following her hosting duties at Sunday's Juno Awards in Halifax.
"As a proud Canadian who frequently travels abroad, I am alarmed that people are starting to see Canada as a country more beholden to a pack of greedy hunters and to the seal-skin 'fashion' whims of a few countries than to the massive international outcry against the hunt," Anderson, a vocal member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a letter faxed to Harper's office late Monday.
"One of the biggest problems facing the U.S. government is appearing aloof about its own hostile behaviour; I'd hate to see that happen north of the border too."
The actor and model said she's collected thousands of signatures via an online PETA petition protesting the seal hunt.
Anderson, who is from Ladysmith, B.C., said she wants to visit Ottawa on Monday to meet with Harper.
The seal hunt, which started last weekend, has attracted plenty of celebrity protesters this year, including former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Heather Mills. Brigitte Bardot visited Ottawa earlier this month asking for a meeting with government officials but was refused. Singer Morrissey has said he won't include Canada on any tours until the seal hunt ends.
Some East Coast musicians, including Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle who is expected to attend the Juno gala, have criticized the celebrity protesters, calling their photos with baby seals unfair to sealers.
Show organizers say they don't expect the two-hour program will become a political affair, despite the rising chorus from celebrities against the seal harvest.
"I don't think it's (Anderson's) intention to politicize the Juno Awards," said executive producer John Brunton, who had been forewarned of Anderson's letter to Harper.
"My instinct is that she'll keep this part of her life off the stage. It's a music show. I'm sure she'll respect that."
But he acknowledged that celebrities have been known to use prime-time events to make statements in the past.
When she hosted the Junos in 2004, Alanis Morissette took a memorable jab at U.S. censorship.
During the show, which took place just months after Janet Jackson's nipple was exposed during a Superbowl halftime performance, Morissette dropped a white robe to reveal a nude-coloured body suit with pasties covering her breasts.
Said Brunton: "It's a live show. Who knows what people will say?"
Harper has repeatedly defended the seal hunt, saying that Canada is the "victim of a bit of an international propaganda campaign."
A call to his office Tuesday was not returned.
03-28-06 18:36 EST
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