E.U.'s seal ban might create some challenges for those negotiations

We see the world with the same eyes, from AI to climate change, from the Arctic to geopolitics. That was the pitch for Canada to become an associate member of the European Union. The proposition came last month from the union's top official herself, Ursula von der Leyen. But as one Canadian researcher points out, there are some issues to resolve, particularly in the Arctic. Some of the disagreements that we have or that we've had between Canada and the European Union when it comes to the Arctic. Andre Moreau is a research fellow with the Canadian Arctic Security Think Tank. In a recent article, he argues even though deeper Canada-EU cooperation could bring benefits, there are also risks when it comes to European Union's history of sidelining Indigenous voices, which, Moreau argues, could create tensions in those negotiations. The seal trade was an example of what marginalizing northern communities looked like. In 2009, the European Parliament voted to ban the import of seal skin products. IU Peter is a longtime advocate against the regulation. She says, even though EU regulators later made an exemption for Inuit hunters, the harm was already done. The stigma was that nobody wanted to buy any seal fur, nobody wanted anything to do with seal skins, so the whole economy collapsed. She says it had a huge impact on Inuit communities, where seal hunting is a big part of daily livelihood, providing food, clothing and work. It would be great if our politicians would take that up with EU in light of the talks about joining EU or being part of that economy. Peter hopes Canada might help put an end to Europe's campaign against seal skin products, which she says has been costly for Inuit across the world. Artie Sirkisian, CBC News, Iqaluit.