ITK President Mary Simon Statement on CITES Polar Bear Vote

 

 I have seen news reports and received information this morning coming out of Doha, Qatar from the CITES 15^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties that the US proposal on the up listing of the Polar Bear onto Appendix I was put to a vote in Committee and was subsequently rejected by the Parties. I understand that the required two thirds majority vote for passage of the proposal was not met in this instance. 

 

On first reaction, I believe that this is, thus far, a good sign for Canada, more specifically for the Inuit of Canada who have been in disagreement with the proposal from the very beginning based on the fact that there is no trade basis for an Appendix I up listing for Polar Bear. However, as international conferences go, I would caution that the CITES COP is not yet over with still another week to go before final plenary.

 

In conclusion, ITK would like to thank the good work of our Inuit organizational representatives who are currently in Doha lobbying and who will continue to lobby on behalf of the Inuit of Canada until the closure of the CITES Conference. Nakurmiik.