Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member who sponsored the bill, the member representing the fine people of Northumberland—Quinte West. It is his third attempt at seeing the bill through Parliament, so he is nothing if not persistent.
On behalf of my constituents, I thank him for bringing the bill forward again.
The bill is a simple one, a symbolic one and a meaningful one. For many Canadians it goes without saying that hunting, trapping and fishing have always been part of our heritage. From Canada's first people, the original settlers of our continent, to the various waves of immigrants from Europe and other parts of the world, and more recently tourists from all over the globe, people have come to appreciate and respect the beauty and abundance of the natural resources we all share.
The bill plainly states as much and would recognize a day to remind Canadians of this and celebrate that fact. New Democrats recognize the important contributions made by hunting, fishing and trapping-related activities to Canada's social, economic and cultural history.
At this point, it is worth noting that I will be supporting the bill and I will also be encouraging my caucus colleagues to do the same. Perhaps more important than this though, is why.
The specific nature of hunting, fishing and trapping-related activities in Canada can fall under several different categories or types, such as recreational, cultural and traditional, economic, environmental, science-based research. I am sure there are others but these are the first that come to my mind. The frequency, type of activity and impact upon our culture is heavily dependent upon the geography, economy and history of the various provinces, territories and regions throughout Canada. However, make no mistake, these activities are undertaken by Canadians in every region of every province and territory.
An enormous study with more 85,000 respondents was published in 1996. It was entitled the "Survey on the Importance of Nature to Canadians”. It found that approximately 4.2 million Canadians took part in recreational fishing and about 1.2 million Canadians hunted wildlife in Canada that year.
Consider this fact. More Canadian adults go fishing than play hockey and golf, in fact, more than those two activities combined.
The participation rate in the trapping industry is less today than in the past, but it is important to recognize that there are still thousands of Canadians who engage in these activities for social, economic and cultural reasons throughout Canada. Indeed, much of rural and northern Canada was settled hundreds of years ago as a result of the growing fur trade. Voted Canada's best outdoor attraction, Old Fort William, which is in my riding, celebrates just that.
As for the economic impact of hunting, trapping and fishing-related activities, it too is quite significant. Consider the following economic realities. In 2010, Canadians spent more than $10 billion on fishing-related activities. The total expenditures generated by outfitted hunting and fishing in Saskatchewan alone came in at more than $82 million, which helps support more than 4,000 full-time jobs in that fine province. In my home province of Ontario, the net economic benefits associated with recreational hunting alone are more than $1.5 billion a year.
If I have time, I will speak more later about the economic impact and the popularity of these activities, but I would like to raise two more significant points.
Some Canadians worry about the ethical practices of those who engage in hunting, fishing and trapping. Those are people of good conscience and their concerns transcend these activities, but I would like to assure them that hunters, trappers, anglers and fishers are people of equally strong moral character and conscience. These industries and the hundreds of local, regional and national organizations throughout Canada are clearly committed to the humane treatment of the animals that they encounter in nature and that they harvest.
For instance, the Fur Institute of Canada is committed to upholding and maintaining the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards and the hunters that I know throughout my riding are quite aware of and committed to upholding the hunter's code of conduct, which stresses respect for the environment and wildlife, among other things.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the extremely positive role that is played by all of Canada's hunters, trappers and fishers in protecting our natural environment. For many of these people, a love of nature is a major reason why they partake in these activities. However, it is more than that. It may be hard for some non-participants to understand, but hunters, trappers and fishers share a fundamental respect for the environment and the wildlife with which they engage. They understand and uphold many values and principles that are certainly shared by New Democrats, such as a respect for the environment, a commitment to sustainable human activities and the protection of our nature and wildlife from invasive species, among many others.
To highlight a local example, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, which undertakes to represent the interests of more than 100,000 hunters and anglers in my province, has done some outstanding work on environmental issues. In particular, OFAH, as many affectionately refer to this organization, has made some outstanding contributions in our fight against invasive species like Asian carp, zebra mussels and purple loosestrife, among others, that threaten indigenous species and in fact entire ecosystems.
In Thunder Bay—Rainy River, if one is crossing at one of our three borders to enter Canada from the U.S., one is greeted by OFAH-sponsored signage alerting travellers of the risks of importing devastating new species into our environment. The signage is part of OFAH's aquatic invasive species prevention project in the Lake Superior basin. Other program-related activities include providing classroom presentations to young people throughout our region as to the dangers of invasive species.
On behalf of the people of Thunder Bay—Rainy River, I would like to thank OFAH and, in particular, Greg Farrant from its head office in Peterborough; Glenn Rivard, chair of the Thunder Bay district and Zone B; and Hailey McCallum, a young Canadian who has done some great work in this field for this important project in our region.
For a little more on economics, in a brochure written by the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association there are some statistics from 2010 that I would like to share. I think members will find them quite surprising.
The one statistic that jumped out at me immediately when I first started looking at the brochure was that anglers' expenditures in 2010 across Canada were almost one and a half times the total franchise restaurant sales for Tim Hortons. That was how much was spent just on angling. It was about $5.6 billion in 2010.
In 2010, anglers' expenditures were more than one and a third times the total sales of wine by wineries, liquor stores and agencies in that year. Also, while I am still talking about alcohol, Canadian anglers' expenditures consistently rival national beer sales.
Almost 300,000 more Canadians bought a resident fishing licence in 2010 than in 2005, which is an increase of 11.3%.
When we talk about catch and release, in 2010, anglers caught 193 million fish, but more than two-thirds of those were returned to the rivers and lakes of this great country.
What else happened in 2010? Well, of course, we had Vancouver 2010. Anglers' expenditures were three and a half times the economic contribution of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Therefore, when we talk about economics, we are talking about an important part of our economy when we just talk about angling.
In conclusion, I would like say that I fully recognize the important role that hunting, trapping and angling and fishing have played in the historical development of our country, and will hopefully play in the future. I believe the bill is a fitting tribute to these activities and to the individuals and communities who engage in them. I would like to thank the member for Northumberland—Quinte West again for tabling it.
