Thank you very much.
Thank you to the chair and committee for the opportunity to speak here.
My name is John Kendell. I am president and chair of the Credit River Anglers Association. We are based out of Mississauga on the Credit River, but our mandate has expanded to encompass most of Lake Ontario watersheds and migratory fish around the Great Lakes.
Fishing and hunting has been in my family since my family first came to Canada in the early 1800s. My wife is a new Canadian, but she also fishes; I can't get her to hunt yet, but I'm working on that. My children hunt and fish with me. My daughter is only five and she's been out numerous times already.
This is a wonderful bill, and our membership fully supports it. It's such a key, as has been said, but I'm not going to reiterate what's already been said by the other members beyond saying that fishing and hunting have been ingrained in our society from day one. My grandfather used to take me hunting and fishing; my dad used to take me hunting and fishing; and now my dad takes my grandchildren hunting and fishing. This has gone on for several generations. It's wonderful to have a bill put forth to recognize that heritage.
We do have the hunting and heritage fishing laws within Ontario, but to have it recognized across the country is vital. I have hunted in several parts of the country, and I fish from coast to coast. Again, this is encompassing, right across this great nation of ours.
Also, I think it is important to recognize what anglers and hunters give back to society. I volunteer 1,000 hours a year. My membership of my association volunteers 30,000 to 40,000 hours a year back to the community. That's for wildlife habitat preservation, tree-planting, fish-stocking--all of these things. They do it because they enjoy the environment, but they also do it because it's so important to protect our fishery.
In closing, I think we have to understand, too, that we have a world-class fishery all across Canada. We have unique fisheries within Ontario, B.C., the Prairies, the Maritimes, and Quebec. This bill will make the rest of Canada, those who do not partake in these activities, aware of what we love. It will help with that understanding.
Thank you.