Provincial Request for WTO Action Falls on Deaf Ears

Fisheries and Aquaculture
March 3, 2009

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is questioning why the Federal Government has not done more to address the pending vote that could potentially end the sale, transshipment and marketing of Canadian seal products in Europe. The vote could take place as soon as April 1, 2009. The Provincial Government has been calling on the Federal Government to pursue trade action through the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Belgium and the Netherlands since April 2007. The province has also, since July 2008, been calling for the Government of Canada to start preparing for trade action against the European Union (EU) in the event of a full ban.”Our government fails to understand why the Federal Government has done so little to challenge the EU under international treaties that were negotiated by the Government of Canada,” said Minister Hedderson. “We are now down to the final days as the EU Parliament may be deciding the fate of the Canadian sealing industry in the next month. The Government of Canada has pursued a course of shuttle diplomacy rather than acting from a position of strength. All the while, bans have been implemented in Belgium and the Netherlands. Certainly, WTO action should have been taken against those jurisdictions since the province first proposed it in April 2007. Our government was also extremely disappointed with the sentiment expressed by the Canadian Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation, Loyola Sullivan that anyone who thinks there isn’t going to be a ban in Europe is sadly mistaken.”

The Government of Canada has been trying to get the EU to see Canada’s position on derogation through consultation and advocacy. Achieving derogation essentially would have meant that Canada could continue to trade in seal products in the EU if it met certain predetermined criteria. Since January of this year the Federal Government has also pursued development of a system of labeling and certification to establish humaneness. It has now been announced that the EU Committee on Internal Trade and Consumer Protection voted in favour of a full ban with no option for derogation or certification and a very limited exemption for the Inuit.

“Clearly the approach taken by the Federal Government has been inadequate. Our government has never believed that derogation could be achieved in a way that would allow the Canadian seal harvest to continue,” said the Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “Furthermore, there is no precedent or protocol in existence anywhere for a certification or labeling regime on the humaneness of an animal harvest. Humanness is very subjective and it is difficult to see how the seal harvest would be certified in the absence of a certification authority or regime, process or entity.”

In response to a ban on the importation and marketing of seal products in Belgium and the Netherlands, all the Government of Canada has done is hold consultations with those countries. “Holding consultations is not a response worthy of the magnitude of this issue which threatens an industry that is currently commercially viable,” said Minister Hedderson. “The Federal Government’s muted response against Belgium and the Netherlands has certainly not served as a deterrent to the EU in bringing forward a proposed ban of its own.”

Minister Hedderson said the diplomatic efforts with the Czech Republic have been an embarrassment. That country was planning its own ban on seal products at the same time that the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans was meeting with their Minister of Agriculture.

“We expected more from our Federal Government given that the livelihood of thousands of citizens is at risk here,” said the minister. “This is a sustainable and well-managed harvest that provides important income in rural areas of our province. The Federal Government is simply not representing the interests of Canadians. Our sealing industry is in a worse position now than it was three years ago.”

While the major markets for seal products are in Russian and China, with the implementation of this ban it is potentially a very serious problem that Canada will not be able to transship seal products through the EU. Furthermore, seal products will be barred from promotion within the European fashion industry, which has a huge amount of influence on the global fashion industry.

The proposed regulations are a serious threat to the economic viability of a number of coastal communities throughout Canada. There are over 6,000 individuals working in the sealing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador alone. Sealers have stated that up to 35 per cent of their annual income is from the sealing industry.

“The Government of Canada should move to take immediate and swift trade action through the World Trade Organization and start preparing for further trade action against the EU in the event of a vote to ban Canadian seal products,” said Minister Hedderson.

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Media contact:

Lori Lee Oates
Director of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
709-729-3733, 690-8403
oatesll@gov.nl.ca

2009 03 03