OPSEU Local 313 & Local 224 News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2002
Wild turkey hunting season should not open if strike continues
BARRIE – Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) Locals 313 and 224 are jointly calling on the Minister of Natural Resources, the Hon. Jerry Ouellette, to delay the opening of the spring wild turkey hunt over concerns that
limited enforcement capability during the OPSEU strike will violate safety and conservation principles.
The annual wild turkey season is slated to open from Cornwall to Chatham on April 25th, but union officials say that the hunt should be delayed until the strike of 45,000 Ontario government employees is resolved.
"With Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Conservation Officers on strike, there is a limited number of re-deployed managers available to provide the level of protection these precious birds deserve. Certainly not enough to ensure the public’s safety during this very
popular hunt,“ says Rick Maw, an OPSEU Union Steward for Local 313.
Absent from southern Ontario forests since the early 1900s due to habitat loss and commercial hunting, wild turkeys were successfully reintroduced in the 1980s. There are now more than 35,000 birds in the province, thanks to hard work by sportsmen, the
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the MNR.
"Normally this hunt is highly regulated," says Scott Wilson, an OPSEU Union Steward for Local 224. "No one can obtain a licence to hunt wild turkey without becoming certified by attending a special course and passing a test. There is a very strong emphasis
on safety in this course. The violations that would normally be encountered by Conservation Officers during the hunt relate to safety, hunting ethics and conservation of the wild turkeys. None of these potential violations can be dealt with effectively by the handful of managers available."
“My greatest fear is that the lack of Conservation Officer presence will result in poachers heading out into the forest and putting themselves, conscientious hunters and/or the general public in danger,” says Maw. “Mr. Ouellette should not allow this hunt
to take place without our Conservation Officers back on the job across the province."
Wilson says that Mr. Ouellette only has a couple of ways to deal with this situation. “He can postpone the turkey season until the strike is over, or he can get the Conservation Officers back into the field by ensuring that his government immediately
negotiates a fair settlement to end the strike.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Rick Maw, OPSEU Local 313
Scott Wilson, OPSEU Local 224
