Statement made on 23 March 2011 by Senator Charlie Watt
Hon. Charlie Watt:
Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill C-465, which aims to make September 23 a national hunting, trapping and fishing heritage day.
While I accept that there are many fine hunters, trappers and fisherman who enjoy these activities as sports here in southern Canada, we must recognize that hunting and fishing are necessary to the survival of all northern communities. By calling it "sport," we undermine the critical role of these hunter and providers.
I do not want the issue of subsistence hunting to become lost in this dialogue today. The main point I want to make is that not everyone hunts and fishes for sport. The food crisis in the North and our economic needs have forced us to continue subsistence hunting, which remains very active today. We still cannot rely on store-bought food in the North because of the high cost and limited availability in our northern grocery stores.
I appreciate the government efforts to provide better subsidies to Northerners through a revised food mail system, but this is not enough. We still need to address poverty and food scarcity, and we need to find permanent solutions for our Arctic communities.
As a start, we could give our subsistence hunters the recognition they deserve. We should give them subsidies and programs in a fashion similar to those given to farmers and fishermen, because our hunters are harvesting the food of our region.
I ask honourable senators to keep the distinction between sport hunters and subsistence hunters clear in their minds, and I ask them to consider innovative ways to show gratitude and respect to the hunters who hunt for the survival of their people.
Honourable senators, when the European Economic Community no longer accepted sealskins, our hunters were not eligible for EI. However, as you will remember, the cod fishermen of the Maritimes received compensation when the cod stocks were depleted many years ago. Perhaps we can use similar parameters or come up with something better. At the very least, our hunters should receive better payment from hunter support programs and our hunters should get some tax breaks on hunting income and on their equipment, such as ropes, nets and other items required to do their work, including boats and snow machines.