OTTAWA, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - The government of Canada on Tuesday said it would try to reverse a recent Belgium ban on imported seal products, by challenging it at the World Trade Organization.

The ban 'is a violation of Belgium's international trade obligations under the WTO,' Canada's Trade Minister David Emerson said in a statement.

Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn added: 'Sealing is an important way of life for many Canadians, including Inuit and other aboriginal peoples.'