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May 10, 2007
Murdoch slams cuts in MNR budget
By Jim Algie -
www.owensoundsuntimes.com
Local News - Cuts in the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources budget have cut conservation
law enforcement targets by 40 per cent,
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch said
Wednesday in a statement to the provincial
Legislature.
Conservation officers "have no money to put gas
in their trucks, ATVs and boats because this
government prefers them working behind a desk,"
Murdoch told the Legislature. He said there has
been a 57 per cent reduction in the number of
ministry trucks in service - from 252 in 1992 to
110 now.
A
copy of Murdoch's statement was obtained by The
Sun Times. It follows a highly critical report
in late April by Ontario Environmental
Commissioner Gord Miller on cuts over the past
15 years to both natural resources and
environment ministries.
Lack of funds forces some conservation officers
to work from their offices because they can't
afford to put gasoline in their patrol vehicles,
Miller's report said. In northern Ontario,
community groups have taken to selling cookies
and holding fundraising events to support
conservation officers.
Members of the local Ontario Public Service
Employees Union (OPSEU), which includes
conservation officers, held a barbecue in Owen
Sound on Friday to raise gas money for MNR
patrol vehicles.
"It's not often I go to rallies with OPSEU
members, but I joined them this weekend in Owen
Sound because it was for a very good cause,"
Murdoch told the Legislature.
Murdoch is the Progressive Conservative's rural
affairs critic but he blamed governments of all
three political parties for "trimming the MNR"
over the past 15 years.
"Look where it got us," he said. "Today we hold
fundraisers, cookie and bake sales, to keep this
essential service alive."
In a plea to "save the MNR," Murdoch cited 2007
job spending cuts which have already produced a
further decline in conservation law enforcement
activity. In 2007, more than 300 seasonal staff
contracts started a week later and are to end a
week earlier than last year.
Among contracts for seasonal employees, 61 had
working hours trimmed from 40 to 36 hours
weekly. As well, 47 seasonal positions from last
year have gone unfilled and the ministry has
chosen not to fill 82 regular full time student
positions, Murdoch said.
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