The following material was provided by the Canadian Shooting Sports Association and the Canadian Institute for Legislative Action.
Anglers, hunters, trappers and sport shooters can take great pride in the Outdoors Caucus Association of Canada (OCAC) and the Fur Institute of Canada’s Inaugural Banquet and Live Auction held in Ottawa on December 3.
The non-partisan gala event endorsed a theme that is important to us all – “A celebration of Canada’s conservation heritage.” The event provides an apt reminder to all Canadians that our outdoor heritage activities are important to many. The 160 guests included Members of the Canadian Parliament (MP), Senators, and representatives from various outdoors industries and wildlife federations. The title sponsors were the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association (CSIA) and North American Fur Auctions (NAFA). Highlights of the evening included a wild game supper, fur fashion show, silent and live auctions, and speeches delivered by MP Garry Breitkreuz, OCAC chair Phil Morlock and Fur Institute of Canada chair David Hutton.
The banquet highlighted the common ground shared by anglers, hunters, trappers, sport shooters, and the multi-billion dollar industry that serves the Canadian public. Tens of thousands of Canadian jobs are inextricably linked to these outdoors heritage endeavors and bringing these groups together to discuss common interests was of utmost importance to all concerned.
The Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) has a seat on the OCAC board of directors and is gratified to see the generous response from sponsors and donors for this first-of-a-kind event. Most people involved in the outdoors community have learned that it’s essential to view our heritage activities from a non-partisan, all-party perspective. Fishing, hunting, trapping and sport shooting belong to all Canadians, regardless of political stripe.
There is ample proof that non-partisanship is the only route to successfully promote outdoors issues. Witness the renowned and highly successful Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) in Washington D.C. It is an excellent example of why and how all political parties should be included in promoting the heritage sports. In offering his congratulations to the OCAC in writing, CSF President Jeff Crane notes that the all-party approach in the U.S. transcends political bias and continues to serve the industry even when a different party is elected to govern the country.
“As its American counterpart,” Crane writes, “the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) is proud to share the mission and vision of the non-partisan OCAC. For 25 years, the CSC has been the voice of the American sportsman and woman in the halls of our federal government, and has grown into one of the largest and most effective caucuses in the U.S. Congress, with nearly 300 members of the House and Senate representing almost 50 states.”
“With direct support from CSF (Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation),” he adds, “the CSC has maintained its effectiveness in championing the sportsmen’s agenda in Congress even through shifts in political power. While the threats to our sportsmen’s heritage are ever present, the CSC remains an identified group of allies continuously working as pro-sportsmen elected officials to protect and advance hunting, recreational fishing and shooting and trapping. I congratulate the Outdoors Caucus Association of Canada and the Fur Institute of Canada for bringing the mission of protecting and advancing the outdoors heritage to Canada and for their historic event that will undoubtedly be a huge success.
As OCAC continues to grow, all of us at CSF look forward to the opportunity to work with our neighbor to the north and grow a partnership that will further our success of protecting our outdoor traditions in North America.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
