The ballroom of the Four Points by Sheraton in Langford isnB次元官网网址檛 normally filled with burly men in camouflage, trading stories of moose hunting and giving advice on whoB次元官网网址檚 best to butcher their deer.
Tuesday night was the exception.
Amidst the cheerful story swapping, however, a palpable sense of tension and frustration lay beneath the surface of the group B次元官网网址� over 100 strong B次元官网网址� as they milled about the room waiting for the microphone to click on. There was a feeling amongst those in the hall that their government is ripping them off.
B次元官网网址淎re we privatizing a public resource?B次元官网网址� came the rhetorical question from the front once the presentation began.
Al Martin, director of strategic initiatives for the , was trying to address that issue in Langford and at similar forums around the province, in response to recent changes to B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Wildlife hunting tag allocation policy.
The policy allocates the division of wildlife resources between resident and non- B.C. resident hunters who utilize guides, but only after accounting for conservation needs and the constitutionally protected hunting rights of First Nations.
B次元官网网址淏asically, when you take conservation requirements off the (wildlife) populations and you take First Nations use off the populations, whatB次元官网网址檚 left is whatB次元官网网址檚 allocated between these two groups,B次元官网网址� he told the gathering.
Martin explained that allocation was previously done using a very complicated and somewhat arbitrary process, and people bogged down the process with appeals, so the government dramatically increased allocations in an attempt to streamline. The allocation process was changed in 2007 to one Martin believes was fair, transparent and equitable between residents and the guiding sector.
But late in 2014, it changed again.
Minister Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations announced in December that a much higher percentage of game licenses will be issued to guides and other non-B.C. resident hunters.
Martin says the ministry is responding to pressure from guides to make their businesses more profitable, and thatB次元官网网址檚 the wrong way to create wildlife policy.
B次元官网网址淪cience is the proper tool for the discharge of wildlife policy,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲ithout the proper assessment, management and research, we will not be able to sustain our wildlife populations. Wildlife will only be preserved if there is adequate investment and attention made to the sustainability of watersheds and landscape. We, as an organization, are fundamentally committed to that.B次元官网网址�
Quoting the past number of licences issued and to whom, he illustrated an increased trajectory in the B次元官网网址渘on-residentB次元官网网址� allotment numbers.
B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檝e ended up with is the guides harvesting a disproportionate share of animals,B次元官网网址� he said.
He ended by highlighting allocation scenarios in other areas of North America, including other provinces in Canada, where percentages are much higher in favour of resident hunters. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e clearly out of step.B次元官网网址�
The microphone was finally taken by people in suits who stuck out like a sore thumb all night.
B.C. NDP leader Juan de Fuca MLA John Horgan said itB次元官网网址檚 important that people get angry about the latest change and rally against it. He encouraged letter-writing campaigns to bring this issue to the attention of the people who can make a difference B次元官网网址� those in government.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 a born-and-raised Vancouver Islander,B次元官网网址� Horgan said. B次元官网网址淚 had an expectation when I was growing up, that you could access our common resources. Our fish, our wildlife, our forests. What weB次元官网网址檝e seen over the past 10, 15, 20 years B次元官网网址� and that covers the NDP years, as well, IB次元官网网址檓 not being partisan here B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檝e seen an erosion in the common good in the interest of the corporate good. That has to stop.B次元官网网址�
Calling Thomson one of the B次元官网网址渄ecentB次元官网网址� people in the legislature, Horgan said once the evidence comes to the minister in the form of letters of concern about the change, Thomson will see the light of day on the matter. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e begun the process by coming here tonight. Now send the letters and send the emails.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 throw them out if they do this!B次元官网网址� yells the first speaker from the crowd after the presentation. B次元官网网址淲e have the right to vote and we can vote against them!B次元官网网址�
Others surely feel the same way and the B.C. Wildlife Federation wants those people to get loud.
For more details on the BCWF initiative or to sign the petition, visit .
