Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-501, An Act respecting a National Hunting, Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day. I have already had the opportunity to speak in favour of this bill at second reading, but I wanted to reiterate my support.
In my riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, hunting, fishing and trapping are a major part of my region's economy. In fact, I invite people to visit my region if they have never been there.
In the past, some preeminent people, including Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, were lucky enough to come to my riding to go fishing, hunting and trapping. There are some absolutely magnificent pictures on the Internet of Theodore Roosevelt with a rather large moose carcass, hunted in my home town of Saint-Raymond in Portneuf. I am very proud to mention that in the House.
The tradition of hunting clubs has existed for hundreds of years in my riding. At one time, these clubs were reserved for the Anglo-Saxon elite. Nonetheless, we were lucky. Access to these hunting clubs opened up over the years. Today, Canadians, Quebeckers and tourists can come take advantage of our hunting grounds and explore our magnificent region. Obviously, our many lakes and rivers are also great places to discover.
Every year, I try to participate in the fishing days that take place in Quebec. I think my colleague's initiative, which seeks to institute a similar day across the country in order to truly celebrate this important part of our heritage, is worthwhile.
My family is not big on hunting. However, my father went fishing many times when I was a child, and I went with him once. Fishing is not really my thing, but I did my part for the conservation effort by stocking one of the rivers in my riding with trout recently.
This type of activity made me truly aware of the importance that our hunters and fishers place on nature conservation and the protection of our wildlife.
I have only one negative thing to say in my speech today. Although this bill celebrates an important part of our heritage and draws attention to the importance that Canadians who participate in these activities place on environmental protection and sustainable development, I find it ironic that the government is making decisions that are completely contrary to these values. I sometimes get the impression that they take hunters, fishers and trappers for granted. That is unfortunate.
Efforts made in our respective ridings to conserve and protect nature are impressive. For example, in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, the hunting season for wild turkey will again open in the spring.
A few years ago, the Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs reintroduced wild turkeys into Canada. We are starting to see the results of this initiative. People can now hunt for turkey, something they had not been able to do for a very long time. In my riding, I regularly see wild turkeys along Highway 138, the Chemin du Roy. It is rather amazing to see how successful this initiative has been. Some species of fish are also being reintroduced into the Jacques-Cartier River, among others.
The Conservative government should copy all these programs. Considering the importance of the diversity of our fauna, it should not be impeding Canadians' efforts. We are spoiled in Canada because our biodiversity is quite impressive.
The Conservatives' decision to reduce protection for our lakes and rivers does not make any sense. Now there are only 99 lakes and rivers in our entire country that are protected. These kinds of decisions will increasingly limit access to lakes, rivers and wilderness areas for our hunters, fishers and trappers. That is really unfortunate.
Nevertheless, I hope that establishing a national hunting, trapping and fishing heritage day will raise the Conservatives' awareness of the importance of protecting nature and our wildlife. It is a step in the right direction, and I am pleased to see this bill before us. I am proud to support it, but I hope that we will broaden our thinking and adopt concrete measures to ensure that these traditional activities continue in Canada for hundreds of years and generation after generation.
