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Readers may recall NMMA reporting on a private member bill (Bill C-246) introduced earlier this year in the House of Commons by a Toronto Liberal Member of Parliament (MP), Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, aimed at addressing animal cruelty.  The bill endeavoured to update Canada's animal welfare laws and accomplish three goals:1) banning the sale of cat and dog fur in Canada; 2) ending the practice of shark finning; and 3) strengthening criminal laws against animal abuse by introducing an extreme penalty for animal cruelty.

The issue with the bill stemmed not from its attempt to stop animal cruelty, which NMMA supports, but its wording.  While the bill overall had great intentions to protect animals, it was overly vague and included language that would make it illegal to fish or use bait IF the fish or bait died.

According to a Canadian Sport Fishing Industry Association economic study, nearly 9 million Canadians (over 25% of the population) enjoy recreational fishing. In addition, 55% of boat owners engage in fishing while boating. With 43% of Canada’s population participating in recreational boating last year, and anglers spending a total of $8.3 billion annually, this vagueness in the bill would have greatly impacted recreational fishing and boating and was of significant concern for NMMA and the Canadian Sport Fishing Industry Association.

NMMA Canada’s ‘Day on Parliament Hill’ in May put this issue in front of lawmakers, raising concern among MPs during our discussions (similar to how we dealt with the reduction of hours of operation of Canada’s locks and waterways in past years’ Days on the Hill).  During meetings with these MPs and other decision makers, we made it clear we are in favour of legislation to protect animals but that making it illegal to kill a fish or bait would have astronomical impacts to boating, fishing and Canada’s economy.