TORONTO – The union
representing most staff at the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources is urging
politicians to “Save the MNR” following
the release of statistics that show
enforcement of fish and game laws
collapsed last year.
“The sharp drop in fish
and game enforcement last year is
symptomatic of a larger funding crisis
that extends right across the MNR,” said
Smokey Thomas, president of the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union. “With
the meager budget it has, the ministry
can no longer perform its core functions
of protecting and managing the lands,
forests, and lakes that make up most of
Ontario.
“We’re calling on
politicians of every stripe to make
serious, specific, long-term funding
commitments so the MNR can do what
Ontarians expect it to do.”
Figures obtained through
Freedom of Information show a 30 per
cent reduction in the number of fish and
wildlife charges laid, a 36 per cent
reduction in the number of convictions,
and a 39 per cent reduction in the
dollar value of fines paid for fish and
game violations.
The statistics also show
a 40 per cent drop in the number of
completed charges as more and more cases
become backlogged.
“Last year was basically
a field day for poachers,” said Thomas.
“In most districts Conservation Officers
didn’t even have enough money to buy gas
to do regular patrols.”
To view the MNR
enforcement statistics, visit
www.opseu.org/campaign/savemnr/stats.pdf
. For more information on the union’s
campaign to rebuild the Ministry of
Natural Resources, visit
www.savethemnr.ca . To read Doing
Less with Less, the Environment
Commissioner of Ontario’s 2007 report on
MNR and Ministry of Environment funding,
visit
www.eco.on.ca .
