August 19, 2010 – Ottawa, Ontario – The President of the European General Court suspended the coming into force of European Parliament’s proposed Seal Ban Regulation, National Inuit Leader Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, announced this afternoon.

The ban, which was scheduled to come into force on August 20, 2010, would prevent the import of seal products into EU countries. Canadian and Greenlandic Inuit and other plaintiffs launched legal action earlier this year to annul the seal ban regulation and also sought interim injunctions while the main case is in process.

“In our view, the seal ban is both illegal and immoral. Although we are not sure what future action the EU Court will take in this case, I welcome the current decision by the Court to stop the implementation of the ban as scheduled,” said Simon.

“I can only hope that the EU Court will determine that the ban and its so-called Inuit exemption are illegal. That would be a fitting conclusion to this totally unjustified action by the European Parliament.”

In its decision today, the court held that “it is in the interest of the proper administration of justice that the status quo prior to the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 be maintained pending a decision on the application for interim relief.” Full text of the order is available at www.itk.ca.

“This decision is clear evidence that the EU Court is very much aware of the seriousness and principled nature of the fundamental objections of Inuit and other plaintiffs to this very unjust law,” said Simon. “We will continue our efforts with renewed purpose and conviction. In fact, I would hope that the European Parliament would see fit at this stage to do the right thing and withdraw its legislation.”

Contact:
Patricia D’Souza
Senior Communications Officer
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
613/292-4482; dsouza@itk.ca