“I understand that Canada is facing growing international pressure to rejoin the International Whaling Commission,” writes Rosemari Kupanat, President of the Canadian Inuit Council, in a letter to the Canadian government (Feb. 24, 1994). She strongly warns the Canadian government against succumbing to the pressure: “The Inuit see the IWC as an obstacle, not an aid, to effective management of whale stocks.”

“We strongly support Canada’s historical position that the IWC should be dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of whales. Instead, it has come to be dominated by the protectionist anti-hunting sentiment, and it has lost any hope of instituting a rational or scientific whale management regime. Inuit interests and Inuit rights would be gravely compromised by Canada’s rejoining the IWC,” writes Kupana. Canada left the IWC in the eighties.

Kupana warns against the IWC’s attempt at broadening its mandate to also include small cetaceans, but refers to the fact that “fortunately, there are alternatives” : “One important recent initiative has been that of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) to establish an ICC Whaling Commission ... The establishment of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) is another important development. We believe that NAMMCO represents a good start at addressing the need for regional management of whale stocks,” writes Kupana. She concludes by urging Canada to support the ICC Whaling Commission initiative and to adopt full membership responsibilities in NAMMCO.