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MONTREAL — Ungava gin is bottled in southern Quebec, but it has always drawn heavily on the geography and people of the Arctic region that gives it its name.

“With total respect for the environment and Inuit traditions, the rare plants and berries that impart a unique bouquet to Ungava gin are delicately picked and selected by hand,” the distiller says on its website.

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Now the company is being accused of a lack of respect and being asked to make a contribution to the people of northern Quebec after an advertising campaign the company acknowledges crossed a line with its use of Inuit imagery.

Andy Moorhouse, vice-president responsible for economic development with Makivik Corp., which represents Quebec’s Inuit, said he was offended by Ungava’s use of Asian women dressed in skimpy parkas to advertise the gin.

“We’re not Asian. We don’t look like Asians. We’re Inuit,” Moorhouse said. “It was disturbing to see how they would try to imitate the Inuit culture with the parkas.”