Public Safety committee  Certainly when we made—

Public Safety committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the committee, fellow panellists. On behalf of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, with 100,000 members and 670 member clubs across Ontario, I appreciate this opportunity to appear before you today to comment on Ms. Hoeppner's bi

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. On behalf of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, our 100,000 members and supporters, and 655 member clubs across the province of Ontario, I appreciate this opportunity to speak to you this ev

Justice committee  Certainly I'd be pleased to comment on that. One of the reasons we were seeking exemption under the previous legislation was in response to comments that had been made, not by anybody at this table but certainly by people who I would classify as animal rights organizations as o

Justice committee  Just to follow on Mr. Coghill's comment, this bill does open-end the prohibition of animals for abusers. Obviously, it wouldn't necessarily have avoided the case that you suggested, which is quite horrific, but it certainly would allow the courts to prevent that person from ever

Justice committee  Thank you, sir. I appreciate your comments, and I would agree with your comments. Yes, we believe it is progress. It's interesting, Ms. Freeman asked several members of this panel about what amendments they would suggest. I note with some wry humour that the amendments that hav

Justice committee  As you might imagine, I don't agree with Ms. Cartwright's perception of the bill. We support Bill S-203. We understand exactly what you're dealing with here. It is a simple, straightforward piece of legislation that is before you. The other bill, Bill C-373, is not before you a

Justice committee  Then you are ahead of me, because I don't.

Justice committee  I'd have to go back and take a look at how that would alter the bill, quite frankly. Once you start amending the bill and start opening that door, who is to say where it stops and what other definitions may be included and what other changes may be proposed? The bill, as it stan

Justice committee  That's correct. Again, I would repeat that this bill is a simple, straightforward piece of legislation, and once you begin to amend it, the doors open; the Pandora's box is unleashed. And who knows where you stop with that? If you pass the bill unamended, as it is, it is simple,

Justice committee  I'd have to go back. We asked for an exemption under the law, I believe—yes, that's probably technically correct—on the advice of legal counsel. I want to be very clear, though, that I don't recall arguing that under that particular legislation hunting and fishing would become il

Justice committee  You're quite correct. I appreciate the question. I don't share that opinion, nor do the people I represent. Realistically, I don't think anybody sitting at this table would suggest that the passage of Bill S-203 will end the debate on this issue either now or in the foreseeable f

Justice committee  Once again, I'll quote from Mr. Piragoff of the justice department: One aspect of Bill S-213 would make all offences hybrid, meaning the prosecution could choose to proceed by way of summary conviction procedure or by way of indictment, depending on the seriousness of the case.

Justice committee  The only comment I would have on that, Mr. Bagnell, is that in testimony before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on November 9, 2006, Mr. Piragoff, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for Justice Canada, addressed that issue. He suggested that under,

Justice committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. On behalf of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, our wildlife affiliates in B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon, t