ENVI Committee Report

The New Democratic Party members of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development provide the following as their comments on the committee’s report on Licenses Hunting and Trapping in Canada.

New Democrats support and encourage Canadians to spend time enjoying Canada’s great outdoors. We see it as a privilege that Canada’s vast unspoilt wilderness allows for Canadians to continue these historical activities. Though as Evan Walz Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Environment and Natural Resources Government of Northwest Territories noted, “I did mention that it's [trapping] not a primary source of income for most people, it's secondary or tertiary. It supplements income in other areas.”

New Democrats recognize and salute the fact that hunters and trappers have played an important role in conservation of wildlife habitat, which complements the vital and important role carried out by government agencies through regulation, enforcement, research and environmental monitoring and protection. It is in this role of ensuring a sustainable environment that the federal government can play its most important role.

John Tramburg, Vice President, Cabela's Canada & Outdoor Services, Canadian Division said, “Environmental sustainability is not only critical from a retailing perspective but also, for Darin and me and a variety of our outfitters across our company, a matter of who we are. It's what we do in our spare time as well as in our professional lives. Lifestyles across generations are woven into the outdoors.”

Witnesses mentioned the important role played by federal legislation like the Migratory Birds Convention Act, which for nearly 100 years has regulated the harvesting of hundreds of bird species which travel across the Canada/United States border. The NDP supports legislation which protects wildlife populations and wildlife habitat.

We also recognize the importance of maintaining and protecting  the un-restricted Aboriginal right to hunt and trap established through the nation to nation treaty process. As relations with Aboriginal people is an exclusive federal jurisdiction it is incumbent on the federal government to ensure these rights are not eroded and this nation to nation relationship is maintained. We also recognize that due to the absence of this nation to nation relationship between the Crown and non-Aboriginal Canadians this same right is not extended to all citizens.

It is also important for the federal government to play a lead role in environmental research and monitoring.

“It's assistance with funding for research, in some cases for baseline data. We are a really big territory. We do have a research program in place, but it's difficult. It is extremely expensive, because it is such a big territory. In some cases, we have a hard time getting funding even just to get baseline data so that we can monitor what's happening. Money for continuing to monitor would be really helpful.

It's not so much for research itself, because we do have researchers here, and we work with our co-management partners here. We do have four settled land claim agreements. We have co-management boards set up in those areas that set our research priorities. They tend to be underfunded with respect to the work they can do with wildlife. Getting access to funding so that research could be done by the co-management boards and the government here would be really helpful to us,” said Lynda Yonge, Director, Wildlife Division, Environment and Natural Resources GNWT

Finally it is vital to understand that climate change is have an impact on wildlife habitat across Canada though the end result of these changes are still unknown as Lynda Yonge said, “We are seeing changes. We don't know what the long-term effects of those changes will be. We're monitoring that, but we're not yet in a position to be able to say what they will be.”

Recommendations:

1.    In order to ensure healthy wildlife populations and a sustainable environment protecting habitat it is recommended that the Government of Canada initiate and provide funding for wildlife research and monitoring, particularly in the area of the impact of climate change on habitat.

2.    As federal legislation has played an important role in maintaining healthy wildlife populations and a sustainable environment it is recommend the Government of Canada support and enhance laws which protect Canada ’s environment and wildlife.

3.    Due to the special role hunting and trapping plays in the culture of Canada ’s Aboriginal people it is recommended that the Government of Canada takes active steps to ensure the hunting and trapping rights of Canadian Aboriginal people which were established through nation to nation treaties.