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IQALUIT - The European Union is considering a total ban on seal products, with the exception of seal harvested by Inuit.

Last week a European parliamentary committee voted to recommend the government of the European Union outlaw all seal products from entering Europe, except for those that come from small-scale Inuit hunting.

"This proposed ban has nothing to do with conservation of the seals, not one bit," said Nunavut's deputy minister of environment Simon Awa. "It's all emotional and it's all political. It's not about conservation."

Awa travelled twice to Europe as part of Canadian and Nunavummiut delegations to lobby against such a ban. He was offended by the exemption of Inuit from the proposed ban, saying the European government was "scapegoating" his culture to make the ban more palatable to lawmakers.

"Don't use me. Don't use Inuit to pass your legislation," said Awa.

The vote in the European Parliament is scheduled for April 2, but before that are weeks of negotiations between the elected assembly and representatives of the national governments of Europe and the executive branch of the EU. Those negotiations could go much longer if the various governmental branches cannot agree. The legislation's final form may differ significantly from current proposal.

Awa said he is concerned about how such a ban would affect Inuit sealing even though they would be exempted from it. He said in 1983 the EU banned the import of the white fur of infant seals and Inuit were exempted, but the market still collapsed and Inuit were not exempted from the fall in prices.

Awa referred to the 11,000 sealskins from Nunavut that went unsold at auction in January over concerns of a ban.

Gail Shea, federal minister of Fisheries and Oceans, said in a statement she was "disappointed" by the committee's proposal and hinted Canada may consider taking legal action under the rules of the World Trade Organization.

"Canada has made numerous attempts to set the facts straight about the Canadian seal hunt and we have provided ample evidence of the humaneness and sustainability of the hunt. Unfortunately, this evidence is not yet understood in Europe," stated Shea.

The EU's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection had originally been considering a system of government-mandated labels to certify the sealskins had been harvested in a humane way, but in its deliberations the committee decided to recommend a total ban except for traditional hunting by Northern peoples such as Inuit.

The committee's proposal would excuse seal products "resulting from hunts traditionally conducted by Inuit communities which are vital to their subsistence." The skins would have to be labelled to certify Inuit involvement and that the animals were killed in a humane fashion.

Exactly what constitutes a "humane fashion" isn't clear, according to a Fisheries and Oceans spokesperson. Sealing in Canada is mostly done with a rifle. Europe's proposed legislation does not say whether shooting a seal is humane enough to satisfy its requirements.

Executive director Robert Cahill of the Fur Institute of Canada was disappointed by the committee's decision. A labelling system for humane sealing could have worked similarly to fur trapping, which uses labels to ensure fur-bearing animals are trapped humanely.

"The proposed labelling scheme, which was defeated, would have enabled consumers to know if a seal product met humane standards and could be implemented in the same way as standards governing wild fur imports into the EU," Cahill stated in a press statement.