Summer 2023

President’s Report, By Scott Sears

Hello fellow Trappers,

I hope everyone enjoyed their past trapping season and the increased beaver prices that were certainly a welcoming surprise and hopefully they will hold for the future.

Hopefully before the magazine is printed and sent out to everyone, the OFMF Executive is able to have a face-to-face meeting with Minister Graydon Smith to go over some pressing issues and some consistency to the Trapline Allocation policy. The OFMF Executive, after a few years, was able to have an in-person policy forum meeting at the beginning of May to go over new issues. The OFMF Executive will be able to go over these issues at our AGM in Thunder Bay this August.

The Education Committee has been busy with MNRF this year, setting up an Instructor Course for new Instructors throughout the province where needed. There are 15 new Instructors who took this course at the end of May 2023 and if they are all certified will be able to hold courses for this upcoming season.

Lauren and I attended Fur Day on the Hill in Ottawa in April with FIC. The FIC board members were split up into teams and met with approximately 30 MP’s from around Canada. We were discussing a couple main topics in these meetings. Firstly, a Federal home for fur and asking each MP for support to place direct responsibility for the fur sector under the Centre of Rural Economic Development and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Secondly, was help in developing new markets and asking each MP for Federal funding to develop new international markets for Canadian fur and press China to eliminate or reduce the tariff on imports of Canadian wild fur.

The FIC is also getting a lot of slack from anti groups in Alberta with lethal snares. This had led to the TRDC doing best management testing and strategy on coyote snares. Each provincial trapping organization has already received snares for the testing and will be distributing them out for trappers to test. There will be further information at our AGM in Thunder Bay on how the OFMF will distribute these snares throughout Ontario.

The FIC AGM is being held this summer from July 24-28 in Whitehorse, Yukon. OFMF will have representation in attendance.

While I attended the celebration of life for the OFMF’s first President Murray Monk with my wife Cathy and Lisa from the OFMF office, I was happy to see so many people and hear the stories of Murray’s life. Sending our heartfelt condolences to Becky, Nathan and Luke. To share the words from Murray’s Eulogy, when heading into your trap camp this fall be sure to take a moment to say “Thank you” to Murray, as the Trapline Cabin Policy was one of the first policies Murray was able to get for Trappers.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer and a great start to the fall trapping season.