Greenland, Nunavut reinforce necessity of seal trade for Inuit

Aaju Peter sings a song to a little girl during a Celebration of the Seal event in Iqaluit in 2014. (PHOTO BY DAVID MURPHY)

With Arctic watchers looking toward Iqaluit and the Arctic Council ministerial today, the governments of Greenland and Nunavut are taking the opportunity to raise the ongoing contentious issue of seal harvesting and selling seal pelts in Europe.

A joint statement from the two governments, released Apr. 24, reinforced their view that the seal harvest in Nunavut and Greenland is sustainable and important to local Inuit economies.

“The Inuit seal hunt has taken place for thousands of years,” said Premier Peter Taptuna, in the statement. “There is no better example of sustainable resource.”

The European Union is revising its regulation banning seal product imports, including the exemption for seal products harvested by indigenous people, in response to a World Trade Organization ruling in May 2014 that found that in its current form, the regulation discriminates against Canada and Norway in favour of EU member states.

The purpose of the joint Nunavut-Greenland statement is to ensure that the revision of the regulation does not end up being tighter and more restrictive than it is already.

Greenland’s minister of Industry, Labour, Trade and Foreign Affairs, Vittus Qujaukitsoq — who is in Iqaluit for the April 24 Arctic Council ministerial meeting — backed up his Nunavut colleague.

“I am grateful that Greenland and Nunavut stand together on this important issue, which affects us greatly, and together state that there is absolutely on reason for a tightening or further prohibitions in the EU Seal Ban Regulation,” said Qujaukitsoq.

The joint statement shows support for recent high-level negotiations between Canada and the European Union to get Canadian Inuit seal products into the market in France and Germany.

When it comes to selling seal coats and mittens across the Atlantic Ocean, you have to first make your way through a complicated political labyrinth.

The European Parliament voted in 2009 to ban the importation of seal products within EU member states, a ban which included a vaguely-defined exemption for seal products harvested by indigenous hunters.

Since then, Canada, Norway and a variety of businesses and Inuit organizations have tried and failed to overturn the ban in the European Court.

In October 2014, Canada announced that they’d struck a deal with the EU to ensure seal products made from animals harvested by indigenous peoples in Canada could be legally sold within EU members states.

This past March, the European Union Commission proposed a new regulation at World Trade Organization meetings in Geneva to develop an actual system that would ensure Canadian Inuit have access to the EU market.

And Ottawa seems keen to help shore up that system.

Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s budget, released this week, includes $5.7 million in new funding over five years aimed, in part, at developing a certification system for Inuit seal products to give them legal authenticity and streamline their sale.

“The seal harvest is important to the economic well-being and the socio-cultural fabric of Nunavut’s coastal communities, where economic opportunities are limited,” said Taptuna, in the statement.

“The joint statement recognizes that we want the Indigenous Communities Exemption to work to benefit Inuit communities.”