New fee from the MNR!

[Old Man]

It's always hard to watch the younger generation get sucked in by the same lies the previous generations where sucked in by

[lew]

I just renewed my license plate sticker and it looks like that went up too.

 

Little bits here and there, but it all adds up after awhile.

[Big Cliff]

I hear you Lew, we might be ok on the fishing license thing, from what I understand we might be exempt since we are already over 65 and entitled to fish for free.

[Fish Farmer]

I hear you Lew, we might be ok on the fishing license thing, from what I understand we might be exempt since we are already over 65 and entitled to fish for free.

Free, the last fish I caught Cliff was about $50.00 Lb. at the end of the day.

[Ralph Field]

Remember , as of 2016 all seniors must have an outdoor card and fishing licence.

[dave524]

Remember , as of 2016 all seniors must have an outdoor card and fishing licence.

Crap, I turn 65 May 2015, so I need a 2015 card for next spring and then again in 2016 and there after, can't catch a break no how. Of course I didn't need any card for the first 35 years of my life and come to think of it I feel the MNR or for most of those years the Dept of Lands and Forests was more of a presence than today.

[moxie]

Well I think I'm just going to stop fishing, $2 is outrageous.

Its' the monetary tax creep Bill. These asses spent your grand kids kids future. They gave away the bull a long time ago and now they're looking for the horns. If they look closely they'll see we have them firmly embedded in our a$$e$.

[ch312]

 

As much as the rumour is that Smoking is a revenue generator, in a country with free healthcare, the million dollar cancer treatments far far far out spend the revenue collected from tax on smokes.

 

 

Exactly. People who smoke deny this to the end and think that they're simply paying too much in taxes when in fact they aren't paying enough to cover the cost of cancer diagnosis and treatment they will likely need in the future. What really gets me is smokers who nag about those who mooch off taxpayers (welfare bums, EI abusers, fake disability cases, etc) when they're essentially mooching off taxpayers to have their treatment covered.

[ch312]

Tell me why I should pay for a licence.

 

Without the money generated by hunters and fisher people we wouldn't have any animals to hunt or fish for?

[ch312]

 

That right there pisses me off the most. PLUS ADD ON THE SMALL GAMES TAG.

 

Is there a market price these days on venison?

 

Talked to a few fellas this week that hunted. A group of 12 guys had one doe tag. They seen more does then they had seen in years. They asked why the low number of doe tags in their area.

 

Answer? The hard winter last year. OMG

 

Like most wildlife, deer populations fluctuate and follow a natural cycle. The population has been on the decline over the last couple years and the severe winter last year had a big impact and killed plenty of deer leaving many area's with much lower populations. Just because your buddies saw a bunch of deer in the specific area/bush they hunted does not mean the rest of the WMU also has the same high population density. Take the WMU I hunt for example. At the properties where I hunt I haven't noticed any decline over the last few years even though many other hunters report seeing fewer deer. A few years ago we could get 6 additional tags for this WMU, this year they're offering 0. I'm fine with that. Keeping a healthy deer herd is far more important than me putting meat in my freezer.

 

 

While it sucks not having as much venison in the freezer, it would suck even more if the MNRF disregarded the falling deer population and continued to offer tags for WMU's that cannot sustain the harvest simply to increase revenue. The result would be even fewer tags for years to come and even more time for the population to rebound.

 

We should be thanking the MNRF for monitoring the deer and moose populations, not frowning upon them

[Oggie]

If the MNR is primarily funded from licenses and tags, can they really be impartial when it comes to managing a population? The deer herd is down for example. Wouldn't there be a lot of pressure to continue to issue tags in order to continue the revenue stream? I'm not sure the MNR would be professional enough (at some levels) to reduce the tags sufficiently when the population is under duress. Cutting tags reduces money to an already strapped Ministry.

 

Just thinking out loud. Seems like a conflict of interest of some sort.

Dan O.

[Big Cliff]

Want to increase the deer population? Put a bounty on the coyoties! I have seen more coyoties in the WMU I hunt than deer this year.

 

Unfortunatly this is going to be my last year for deer hunting anyway, I just can't handle the work involved anymore but that is ok, I've had plenty of really good years.

 

As far as paying for a fishing license and all of that, I think I might have gone out fishing 6 or 8 times last year and I think I might have kept 20 fish mostly crappie which I believe are an invasive species anyway.

 

If they want to take that away from me, go for it, I'll just sell my boat, quit buying gas, paying insurance, buying tackle and I'll sit in my chair by the dock and drink my dandelion wine. Go ahead, tax that if you think you can! A couple of extra bucks might not seem like much to some of you young guys with jobs but try living on $1100.00 a month and see what you think especially when you have earned the right!

[Steve]

well put Big Cliff.

 

every dollar counts during the retirement years.

[glen]

Right on Big Cliff.

I would like to try that wine.

[bigugli]

I don't think I would mind the Fees if the money was put to good use. I just know that when it comes to this province, that never happens.

 

The original idea behind the provincial license was to fund a special conservation account. Our politicians, in their usual wisdom, saw this as a way to replace provincial budget funds and give to other political pet projects. What makes you think the surtax is any different.

 

Truth be the government is trying to implement all sorts of new charges and fees. Lets face it, the Premier has promised a $20billion urban transit plan. That money is going to come out of our pockets, one way or another.

[Dara]

All they do is charge more for less.

 

I just wish they would be honest about it instead of a bunch of sneaks.

 

If you want to raise the price of a license, just raise it.

 

Don't treat me like an idiot and come up with a new name for the increase.

Its childish and sneaky and makes me think that the government thinks we have no brains.

Although it sure looks like some fit the bill as they are all for the new tax.

And don't try to tell me that its a special fee just for fishermen and hunters...I see it going to pay for windmills

 

They are calling them "revenue tools" nowadays and all they are is new taxes.

 

A little bit of honesty in government would go a long way to me accepting this crap.

 

And I for one, don't want to see any more cops or CO's when I'm fishing...another "revenue tool"

[ch312]

well put Big Cliff.

 

every dollar counts during the retirement years.

 

Which is why it's important to save for retirement if you plan on continuing to enjoy recreational activities like you did before retirement. The cost of everything will continue to rise and those who cannot afford those increased costs should find a way to earn additional income to continue to enjoy those hobbies rather than giving up their hobby all together.

 

Living within your means applies to everyone, including seniors on pensions. I wonder how many people who are outraged by such increases (the senior fishing license thing too) continue to spend $2 on a coffee or $12 for a pack of smokes daily? A timmies every day equals about $50-60 per month while smokes come in anywhere between $100-300 depending on your brand, and yet people are up in arms when the MNRF wants an additional $2 per year, or a whopping $0.165 per month!

[ch312]

If the MNR is primarily funded from licenses and tags, can they really be impartial when it comes to managing a population? The deer herd is down for example. Wouldn't there be a lot of pressure to continue to issue tags in order to continue the revenue stream? I'm not sure the MNR would be professional enough (at some levels) to reduce the tags sufficiently when the population is under duress. Cutting tags reduces money to an already strapped Ministry.

 

Just thinking out loud. Seems like a conflict of interest of some sort.

Dan O.

 

Their goal is to have a healthy herd which is why they increase or decrease tags accordingly each season. While they could continue to offer up to 6 additional tags per WMU after the population declines, the result would be far less revenue generated in the long run as it would take even longer for the herd to recover. It's a good thing that the MNRF does what's best for the herd, not what's best for humans.

 

 

 

Want to increase the deer population? Put a bounty on the coyoties! I have seen more coyoties in the WMU I hunt than deer this year.

 

 

Many studies have proven this to be a myth and coyotes do not have such a huge impact on deer populations as many people believe. Sure, they'll take a bunch of fawns every spring and takeout any unhealthy adults, but coyotes alone do not have that great of an impact on the herd. They're relatively new to Ontario, but if you look at area's in the states that have high coyote populations you'll see the deer herds doing just fine.

 

Deep snow and severe cold will have a far more negative effect on the herd than coyotes...

 

 

A bounty would be nice to help pay for gas and equipment, but where would the MNRF find the extra funds to pay out a bounty on every coyote killed? Increase fees for hunting licenses?

[bigugli]

Which is why it's important to save for retirement if you plan on continuing to enjoy recreational activities like you did before retirement. The cost of everything will continue to rise and those who cannot afford those increased costs should find a way to earn additional income to continue to enjoy those hobbies rather than giving up their hobby all together.

 

Living within your means applies to everyone, including seniors on pensions.

 

 

So when is the province, and it's bureaucracy, going to start behaving responsibly, and live within its means.

[Old Man]

Reading the rational put forward by the MNR for this increase is an interesting look into how the minds and accounting abilities of government bureaucrats work or, doesn't. While the SPA may be solely funded from licenses, permits and fee's issued for hunting and fishing activities, these are not the only revenue streams that generate dollars for the provincial government from these activities. The provincial government also receives revenues related to hunting and fishing through taxes on goods and services such as sales tax, income tax and business taxes relating to these activities, but of course, all this money ends up in general revenue accounts to be wasted on things like MaRs, Ornge, gas plants etc.

 

For those that say "it's only $2" and "Living within your means applies to everyone, including seniors on pensions." should remember that this isn't the first $2. There has been many $2 preceding it, and many future $2 to come. That "living within your means" should apply to government as well. Many governments, especially this current provincial government, show a decided lack of respect for tax payers money and an addiction to just keep on going to the well for more.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Old Man

[Acountdeleted]

I WOULD GLADLY PAY ALOT MORE FOR MY SEASONAL LICENCE FEES IF THEY WOULD HIRE ALOT MORE CO'S AND DOUBLE OR TRIPPLE THE FINES

 

I don't even think they have to raise the price of anything to hire more CO's. I truly belive that CO's can and should pay for themselves.

 

I was fishing on Simcoe last February and a CO came up and asked us what we were catching and our licences. After providing the documentation he started more filtered try again please chatting with us and he mentioned that he caught 40 without even using a rod and reel (he was infering that he handed out 40 tickets).

 

If you put a monthly quota on CO's like they supposedly have with traffic cops, you would have no problem having them cover their own salary plus additional revenue.

[crappieperchhunter]

 

Which is why it's important to save for retirement if you plan on continuing to enjoy recreational activities like you did before retirement. The cost of everything will continue to rise and those who cannot afford those increased costs should find a way to earn additional income to continue to enjoy those hobbies rather than giving up their hobby all together.

 

Living within your means applies to everyone, including seniors on pensions. I wonder how many people who are outraged by such increases (the senior fishing license thing too) continue to spend $2 on a coffee or $12 for a pack of smokes daily? A timmies every day equals about $50-60 per month while smokes come in anywhere between $100-300 depending on your brand, and yet people are up in arms when the MNRF wants an additional $2 per year, or a whopping $0.165 per month! X2

X2.

Taxes keep going up, honestly is there anyone out there who doesn't know that? My folks live very frugal so that was my upbringing. My dad used to always compare a co workers life to ours. Both families with 3 kids, both families had both parents working making the same amount of money. My folks had a house and a cottage paid for before my parents where 40. The other family still had a mortgage when my dad's co worker retired at 65. My dad retired at 57. His kids who where the same age as my brother sister and I where the kids in school who had everything. Never packed a lunch always bought lunch from the cafeteria at school. They went on $$$ vacations every winter....our family went to Florida twice. I could go on and on, but I think my point has been made.

 

Fast forward to the present. I see the same thing in a large % of all my co-workers and the whole population in general. People have lived there enter lives above there means. The good old days are gone people. This is a global condition not something we can blame on our own government. If you can't see that then I think you are the one who needs a reality check. Politicians are just people like you and I. Most of us are not willing to take any real financial responsibility for our futures so what makes anyone think the government will think differently? I think the next 20-30 years are going to be tough, like back during the depression...before my time. If you are middle class like myself and you have not been frugal with your money and lived within your means, then I think you might be in a little bit of trouble.

 

Some people through no fault of there own get dealt some crappy cards and end up with a bleak future and no real chance at a decent retirement. Most of us however have had more then a fair chance at the future/ retirement that they would be very happy with. They just chose not to take any responsibility in preparing for it properly. Can't always blame all your life's financial woes on other's....though many like to try.

Edited November 18, 2014 by crappieperchhunter

[Terry]

I know people who did nothing but save, the companies pension went bust and so did they

I know people who never had the toys I had because they invested very cent they could, the market crashed

 

and I know people who worked for 40 years but did not a pension plan and are now trying to live on the scraps the government sends them.

 

it is wonderful that there are so many people here that are doing so well,

 

but there really are people who needs food banks

who take their car off the road for a while each year because they don't have enough for insurance

 

and 2 bucks for each license and vehicle plates went up and home heating went up and hydro electricity went up

 

 

but we are still ok, so screw the poor

 

and quit crying over a 2 buck increase

 

 

or is it, but for the grace of god go I

Edited November 18, 2014 by Terry

[crappieperchhunter]

I know people who did nothing but save, the companies pension went bust and so did they

I know people who never had the toys I had because they invested very cent they could, the market crashed

 

and I know people who worked for 40 years but did not a pension plan and are now trying to live on the scraps the government sends them.

 

it is wonderful that there are so many people here that are doing so well,

 

but there really are people who needs food banks

who take their car off the road for a while each year because they don't have enough for insurance

 

and 2 bucks for each license and vehicle plates went up and home heating went up and hydro electricity went up

 

 

but we are still ok, so screw the poor

 

and quit crying over a 2 buck increase

 

 

or is it, but for the grace of god go I

 

I agree with all your points Terry. All these examples are not the majority however...these are the exceptions which is why I made the crappy cards reference. And if your "screw the poor" comment is directed at me I'm sorry if you think that is my message or the way I feel.

[lew]

I'm sure you all saw the same news as me last night where the provincial lieberals have a bigger deficit than they thought, so we can probably all expect more tax increases and this measly $2 grab is probably just a drop in the bucket of what's to come.

 

I'm just happy that I can honestly say I voted against these morons in the last election.

Edited November 18, 2014 by lew