We've heard a lot today about the linkage between hunting and conservation. Obviously, anything that inhibits the recruitment of new hunters or hunting itself could have some conservation consequences.
This is why I was very alarmed when I read Hansard from October 27, where Jean Crowder, the New Democratic MP for Nanaimo—Cowichan, said that she supports legislation in which “animals would be considered people and not just property”. That same day, Françoise Boivin, the New Democratic MP for Gatineau, said that animals should be treated with “the same protection that we afford to children and people with mental or physical disabilities”.
This is obviously an attempt to introduce an animal rights policy into the federal government. I should note as well that there is an NDP MP's private member's bill, Bill C-592, which many of the traditional groups are objecting to. This bill has the potential to unintentionally criminalize all sorts of accepted animal use practices.
As well, when we looked at the effects of the long gun registry on hunter recruitment—the long gun registry was brought in by the previous government and eliminated by ours, of course—that had a serious impact on hunter recruitment.
I'd like Mr. Weeks, first, and Mr. Latraverse, second, to answer the following question. What are the conservation consequences if we lose a significant portion of our hunting community?