Bake Sale Update

[TJQ]

An email update from Eldon Hawton, President

Friends of Fur

www.friends-of-fur.org

 

 

---------------------------------------------

 

Dear Mister Minister,

 

The context of the Sudbury Star front page article (copy below) titled "MNR

unimpressed by fundraiser to help it buy fuel" begs an answer to some

seriously important questions. Is somebody not telling the truth (lying)? Or

is the notion true that the millions of dollars needed to deal with

Ontario's increasing nuisance bear problems (largely due to another Liberal

MPP"s broken election promise to reinstate the spring bear hunt) are

draining MNR funding, leaving scarcely enough money for basic needs let

alone other important wildlife management programs?

 

Over the past couple of years perhaps every meeting, internal communication

and most outdoor publications throughout Ontario has discussed and reported

on conservationists wrestling with the question; MNR funding is in jeopardy

therefore what can we do collectively or as individuals to help save the

MNR? The lack of funding excuse has been repeated to nausea by MNR Wildlife

Branch civil servants as a natural rejection to requests for wildlife

management needs. Important moose management surveys postponed or cancelled

(no funding). MNR contact offices closed and consolidated with other

services leaving outdoors people with poorly informed people to speak with

(hard to get accurate answers to important questions). The list goes on and

on and on... The consistent message to the outdoors community; if it costs

money don't even bother to ask! Conservation groups, clubs and individuals

have listened to these repeated messages and want to help as much as they

can, the very reason that these and other such fundraisers have spawned.

 

Yet in this story "Kowalski said the ministry has the money it needs." Is

this true? Or is this simply another lie used for convenience to save face

and avoid any perceived embarrassment of accepting this well intentioned

charitable donation. Wildlife Branch is saying that MNR does not have the

funding for basic needs, let alone wildlife management, meanwhile your

office is saying "the ministry has the money it needs? So who's lying or who

is telling the truth?

 

The story further reports, "However, Jolanta Kowalski, senior information

officer with the ministry in Toronto, said the ministry can't accept money

from the public." Is this true? Seems to me that all the money used to fund

the government and the subsequent MNR wildlife management programs comes

from the public through TAXES! We all get our pockets picked one way or

another by the tax man. Therefore;

 

I believe that we the public need a Minister of Natural Resources that cares

enough about enhancing Ontario's social, economic and wildlife management

benefits, to stand up in caucus on behalf of the outdoors community and

fight for the needed funding to properly manage these extremely important

valuable resources. We don't need any Minister of MNR who won't do that! In

turn we also don't need any government who rather than listening to

scientific facts, acts on questionable information at the whim of animal

rights groups and refuses to grant our MNR these important, basic, necessary

and reasonable requests!

 

Until and unless we the voters elect trustworthy, knowledgeable and wise

politicians to form the next provincial government willing to act

accordingly to scientific facts on wildlife management decisions, Ontario's

wildlife management programs may be destined to rely on the slim pickings of

charitable donations as such.

 

Sincerely,

 

Eldon Hawton, President

Friends of Fur

www.friends-of-fur.org

 

Box 23007

North Bay ON

P1A 4K6

705 670 8014 weekdays

705 472 7369 weekends

 

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MNR unimpressed by fundraiser to help it buy fuel

Sudbury Star (ON)

Thu 22 Feb 2007

Page: A1

Section: Front

Byline: Harold Carmichael

Source:

 

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources says it appreciates the gesture,

but no thanks, just the same.

 

Regardless, local hunting, fishing and conservation clubs are going ahead

with plans to hold a fundraising bake sale March 3 at the Brockdan Hotel in

Sudbury's south end to help pay for gasoline for trucks used by ministry

conservation officers.

 

The bake sale will be modelled after similar fundraisers held in North Bay

and South Porcupine with the same goal in mind.

 

The ministry turned down the money raised in each case, citing an attempt to

embarrass the ministry publicly, said Andy Zandarin, past president of the

Copper Cliff Rod and Gun Club, who is spearheading the fundraiser.

 

Zandarin said there are far fewer conservation officers than in the past and

they also are limited to spending $100 on gasoline a week per vehicle.

 

That's not right, said Zandarin, because the public relies heavily on

conservation officers to protect fish and game against poachers.

 

"The province is depending on the general public to turn poachers in," he

said. "Can you imagine if the Ontario Provincial Police depended on the

general public to turn in speeders? Our highways would look like a wrecking

yard."

 

Zandarin said he learned about the predicament conservation officers face

through Freedom of Information Act requests. He said that in 1992, the

ministry had 257 conservation officers, but today only has 199, with 26

assigned to special investigation work.

 

As well, conservation officers used to have a $300 weekly gasoline budget.

 

Zandarin said he plans to take the bake sale money to the annual meeting of

the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters in March that Natural

Resources Minister David Ramsay is expected to attend. When it's question

time following the minister's speech, Zandarin said he will ask Ramsay to

accept the money raised in Sudbury and forward it for gasoline purposes.

 

However, Jolanta Kowalski, senior information officer with the ministry in

Toronto, said the ministry can't accept money from the public.

 

"We couldn't even if we wanted to," she said. "There's no mechanism to

handle donations of that type."

 

To accept such a donation, Kowalski said, money would have to be directed to

the Treasurer of Ontario and go into the consolidated revenue fund. Then,

the Ontario Legislature would have to pass legislation earmarking that money

for the Ministry of Natural Resources.

 

"It would be a lot more trouble than it's worth for a few hundred dollars,"

she said.

 

Kowalski said the ministry has the money it needs.

 

"We appreciate that people want to help us, but people have to understand

the Ministry of Natural Resources is still out there and is heavily involved

in conservation and enforcement. It's the core function of the Ministry of

Natural Resources," she said.

 

Kowalski said the ministry moved to a "risk-based model" with its

conservation and enforcement work last year, targeting areas where problems

historically occur as opposed to trying to be everywhere.

 

"It's directed enforcement," she said. "People have a perception that we're

not out there, but we are."

 

Clubs expected to participate in the March 3 fundraiser include the Copper

Cliff Rod and Gun Club, Trailsmen Rod and Gun Club (Valley East), Sudbury

Game and Fish Protective Association, Chelmsford Fish and Game Association,

a club in Sturgeon Falls and a club on the north shore.

 

All told, some 40-45 Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters- affiliated

clubs in Zone "D" could contribute to the event, said Zandarin. Zone D

consists of the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, and the North Shore.

 

Roy Polsky, chairman of Zone D, said the federation is neither for nor

against the fundraiser.

 

"If it's to embarrass the government and make a statement, it's not the

function for us," he said. "We have no intention to doing that. There's a

lot of members in the clubs that are going and supporting it. We're not

against it."

 

Polsky said the question of what will happen to any money raised another

concern for the federation.

 

"Even if you raised funds, it's not going to the guys it's supposed to," he

said. "It gets shipped to Peterborough. It goes into a big pot. If it would

be directed strictly to the COs, we would have no problem."

 

A member of the Trailsmen Rod and Gun Club, Polsky has been Zone D chairman

for seven years.

 

One key difference with the Sudbury fundraiser is that the public is

organizing it. On Feb. 1, Ministry of Natural Resources employees who are

members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 649 held a

barbecue in the parking lot of the Ontario Government services complex. The

union also started an online petition.

[bigfish1965]

Is the government really saying they have enough money? Are they serious?

Too bad I can't get up to Sudbury for the bake sale...

[fishindevil]

yes rick i feel the same as you,and TJ,you are right someone is lying and it has to be the government if we were to ask any CO, who has been around for a while they will tell you that everything has been cut,and it is for sure true that there is not enough officers around to do the job that we the public as well as fishermen and hunters want we all know that poaching is everywhere,and that the officers will say we need more help and more officers to do the jobs...look at how big there individual areas are...the CO,in my area which is durhan region does an area that is dang huge,and there is no way he can be everywhere,its impossible,as soon as they blitz,the area around port darlington for the anglers bringin tons of salmon back to quebec,they are right back at it filling up van loads of fish to head back to montyreal i have seen this about 20 times in the last few years and it still goes on every summer,and the CO, in that area who is MITCH FINNEY, has said that he cannot go there everyday for a few weeks and catch these guys he just cant, because of the size of his area and lack of buget,so it never ends and its just going to get worse i think.....

[walleyejigger]

it's a shame, how can we expect our resources to stay intact without important man hours out in the field by our CO's at all times of the year, sometimes just having them out there is enough of a deterrent,

 

those are gonna be some expesive blueberry cupcakes,

 

they should have a confiscation sale instead ( fish, wild game, boats, atv's, equipment etc.)