IQALUIT
A ruling on a joint Canada/Norway appeal of the 2009 EU ban on the Canadian seal fur trade in European Union member countries is expected later this spring.

Aaju Peter, Seals and Sealing Network advocate, left, federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, and Seals and Sealing Network chair Dion Dakins make their presentation before the Word Trade Organization appellate board to have a 2009 EU ban on Canadian seal products overturned. - photo courtesy of the Government of Canada

Federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq was in Geneva last week to support Canada’s legal appeal of the WTO’s decision last November to uphold the EU ban.

“The seal hunt has been at the very heart of the economic well-being of these communities, both before and after the first European seal hunters came to our shores,” Aglukkaq told WTO appellate board members. “Not only does it provide a livelihood for our families, but the seal hunt enables our communities to maintain their traditions and way of life.”

The 2009 ban saw an immediate drop in revenues for Nunavut hunters by more than 75 per cent. The market has not substantially improved since then, despite an EU offer to exempt indigenous seal product.

“The seal ban has had a devastating impact on small communities in the North that relied on the sale of seal fur and other products at a time when it was the only economy of many Northerners,” Aglukkaq said.

“But it’s not just Nunavut; it’s also northern Quebec, the Labrador Inuit, and Newfoundland sealers. Our government is standing up for all sealers.”

The Nunavut seal industry is tightly interwoven with the broader Canadian sealing industry.

Although the EU granted an exemption for indigenous-sourced seal fur, Aglukkaq told News/North those exemptions were meaningless. The bans collapsed the broader market created by the east coast trade. This effectively shut down the smaller Inuit trade which was too small to operate with non-indigenous members excluded.

Canada’s appeal of the EU ban is being made in conjunction with Norway. The presence of 10 other countries (Argentina, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Namibia, Russia and the United States)at the appellate board hearing demonstrated the international significance of the trade decision.

Aglukkaq sees the appeal as a necessary corrective to a potentially precedent-setting decision to make a trade decision based on what are essentially moral objections, rather than on principles of conservation or other scientific grounds.

“It’s very concerning that the WTO is making trade decisions on moral grounds,” Aglukkaq said. “What implications does that have for other products on the market, whether it be the fishing industry, the beef industry, or the pork industry?”

“Sealers have a right to make a living just like fisherman and farmers in an area that is well-regulated, well-managed, and humane.”

Aglukkaq cites a campaign of misinformation that continues to surround the Canadian seal hunt.

“One of the reporters (in Geneva) was quite shocked to learn we have not killed baby seals for twenty-some years,” Aglukkaq said.

“This is the misinformation that’s out there, but more importantly, the WTO is using misinformation and myth to make trade decisions,” Aglukkaq added. “The global community should be very concerned.”

Canada’s legal team remained in Geneva to complete their technical arguments before the WTO appellate board. A decision is expected before the end of May.

“Canada will continue to facilitate market access for Canadian sealers,” Aglukkaq said.