Conservation Officers Call On Government
to Remember Natural Resources During Upcoming Budget
May 3, 2004
In first week of
Southern Ontario’s Turkey and Trout seasons, the Ontario Conservation
Officers Association (OCOA) is calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty and
Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay to increase the MNR Enforcement
program funding levels in the upcoming budget to ensure that fish and
wildlife are adequately protected this year.
“The MNR budget was slashed in the mid 1990s and has suffered years of
fiscal neglect since then. You couple this with increases to basic
operating costs and you have reduced the ability of Ontario Conservation
Officers to provide effective enforcement of the complex laws that
protect our natural resources” states OCOA President Jim McMullen. “This
is of great concern to our association, and to the thousands of
responsible outdoor enthusiasts, especially during the spring hunting
and fishing seasons which are one of the busiest times across Ontario
for the 200+ Conservation Officers.”
“Funding levels in recent years have been reduced to the point where
officers are now having to share vehicles because they cannot afford to
repair the existing fleet and the replacement strategy falls short of
being adequate, again, reducing the ability to effectively patrol the
vast areas they are responsible for” continued McMullen. Throughout the
1990’s, overtime budgets virtually disappeared, directly affecting the
ability for officers to respond to complaints or to continue complex
investigations at the end of their shift.
In
Southern Ontario, operating budgets for the enforcement program have
been reduced to the point that Districts have had to leave vacant
Conservation Officer positions unfilled for, in some cases, 3 and 4
years. This has essentially reduced the number of Conservation Officers
in the field and the officers remaining are stretched to the limit, and
in many cases unable to provide the protection our resources deserve.
“Without adequate funding, operating an effective natural resource
enforcement program for 12 months is never guaranteed. An unexpected
major equipment repair could break a districts ability to continue with
what the public expects in terms of natural resource protection” says
McMullen.
The
Ontario Conservation Officers want to let hunters, fisherman, the
general public and especially the poachers know that we will be out
working in the months ahead with all the resources we are given to
protect public safety and our valuable wildlife and fisheries resources
from illegal activity.
“The OCOA has had some positive discussions with Minister David Ramsay
on several issues, but need the Dalton McGuinty Government to recognize
the enforcement program funding short-falls and to bring staffing and
equipment levels back to where they were in the early 90’s, and
ultimately to put the field officers back in the field where they should
be.” said McMullen.
Contact:
Jim
McMullen
OCOA President
president@ocoa.ca
(705) 389-2368
