Students Pawns in School Board Politics

O.F.A.H. calls refusal of outdoor club donation blatant hypocrisy

In an unprecedented move, and apparently based solely on his personal opinion, the Education Director of the Thames Valley School Board has refused to allow a high school to accept a donation of five thousand dollars from a local outdoor association. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) is appalled at the action taken against its member club, the East Elgin Sportsmen’s Association, and is calling the move highly offensive and hypocritical.

“Education Director Bill Tucker has unilaterally decided, after the fact, and after an established history of carrying out this event, that the legal, sanctioned provincial shooting competition doesn’t follow his personal moral compass,” said Jack Hedman, President of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. “Mr. Tucker’s decision, on behalf of the school board, to refuse the generous donation from the East Elgin Sportsmen’s Association implies that its members are not valued or respected within the community, and frankly, that attitude is deeply offensive to the club, the O.F.A.H., and every law-abiding firearms owner in this country.”

The East Elgin Sportsmen's Association was established in 1955, and runs a family sporting club near Springfield. For the past three years it has hosted the provincial competition of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (I.P.S.C.) as a fundraiser for the East Elgin Secondary School drama program. In exchange, several students have volunteered at the five-day event, for which they have received community service hours.

Mr. Hedman noted that the O.F.A.H. delivers a mandatory hunter safety education program that includes firearms safety training, and that the province has a long history of safe hunting. The timing of Mr. Tucker’s newfound opposition to target shooting is no doubt connected to the misguided and uninformed campaign by Toronto Mayor David Miller to ban handguns in Canada.

“Handguns are already classed as prohibited firearms in Canada. Banning their legal use will not fix the real problem, which is illegal guns in the hands of criminals,” added Hedman. “What a ban may do is encourage more of the same kind of knee-jerk reaction taken by Mr. Tucker, which is to unfairly discriminate against Canada’s law-abiding hunters, target shooters and collectors.”

With 82,000 members and 655 member clubs, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is the largest nonprofit fishing, hunting and conservation organization in Ontario. For more information visit www.ofah.org.

For up to date information about outdoors activities in Southern Ontario visit Southern Ontario Outdoors at www.sooutdoors.ca . Southern Ontario, the best place for hiking, camping, cycling, fishing, hunting and paddling.

The Race is On

Well like it or not Canadians are heading to the polls on October 14. That's right, the day after Thanksgiving. As users of our great Canadian outdoors heritage it is important for all of us to pay attention to the views of politicians and especially their positions - individual and collective - on the sustainable use of our wild resources.

Over the next several weeks I will report on some issues of concern and where possible the perspectives of both local candidates and national leaders. Whether you hike, camp, hunt, fish, canoe, boat, cycle or enjoy recreational power sports like ATVing and snowmobiling there are issues of concern to us all.

Be sure to visit www.sooutdoors.ca, you're best source of information related to outdoors activities in Southern Ontario. The site is still under construction but new content is being added daily. Post a comment on one of the blogs or visit the forum to discuss issues related to your favorite outdoors pastime.

Whatever your political leanings do your part by discussing the issues and above all get out and vote on October 14. If you don't vote; don't complain. The biggest threat to democracy is complacency!

SD