The event will acknowledge the cultural significance of seal products and their impact on the economic well-being of the Inuit community.
The day was chosen in support of Europe’s Maritime Day and is seen as a response to the EU’s 2010 ban on seal products.
The Newfoundland MP Scott Simms said: “This is about seal products and products that are gaining notoriety around the world.
“Part of cultural references and ceremonies is the ability to partake in commerce for products, particularly with respect to fur.”
However, the event was quick to attract the negative attention from AR activists.
Sheryl Fink, the director of Canadian campaigns for the International Fund for Animal Welfare said that the event fails to look at the cultural importance of the seal.
Ms Fink claimed: “It doesn’t consider what the animal provides for Inuit people, it doesn’t look at the cultural importance of the seal.”
She later wrote an editorial for the Huffington Post, which stated:
“Canada Just Passed A New National Day Celebrating Seal Slaughter.”
Natan Obed, the president of ITK formally representing Inuits in Canada, says that he is pleased to see Canada supporting the sealing industry.
He admits that it’s important for Inuits to promote seal as a sustainable product.
He said: “We participate in the sealing economy, from all our communities, our hunters, our seamstresses, everyone who eats seal meat. Everyone is a part of that sealing economy.”
