Here's the letter I sent to McQueen today. Please email her and let her know how much you appreciate her moving this forward and encourage her to do it quickly...............
Dear Honourable Dianna McQueen:
It gave me great pleasure to see your reply to Ms. Blakeman in the legislature when she asked you about the future of pack dog use in Alberta. I agree whole heartedly with you that it is a "n...o-brainer" and it is very encouraging to see that you have instructed your staff to move forward to allow pack dog use in Alberta. It is my understanding that all changes to the 2013 hunting regulations must be confirmed by May 8 so I fear that even though you gave your staff this instruction in mid April, that we are not going to see this change for 2013. I also understand that there is some concern over the process for making this change within your legal department that may further delay the implementation of this change.
Perhaps you can confirm this but if this can be done through Ministerial Order and Order in Council, the earliest we could see the change would be in 2014 is it not? As 2014 falls in the middle of the two-year cycle for regulation changes, my fear is that this could be delayed yet another year until 2015. If this cannot be done through Ministerial Order and Order in Council and requires the Wildlife Act to be opened, the time frame could even be longer could it not?
As this is a matter of public safety and a matter of safety for grizzly bears (a species at risk in Alberta), in addition to all of the other benefits pack dogs provide, it would seem to be prudent to allow these canine companions in the field as soon as possible. Perhaps a Ministerial Order of Non-Enforcement would be the simplest means of dealing with this until such time that the concerns of your legal department can be satisfied. This would allow a "soft" implementation of the new regulation if you will and allow both enforcement officers and current pack dog users an opportunity to interact before the new regulation was brought into law.
Considering that everyone agrees that getting pack dogs in the field is as you said a "no-brainer" and that the life of a hunter or one of Alberta's precious grizzly bears could be saved, there seems to be no logical reason to allow this change to languish in bureaucracy for several more months or even years. I urge you to please take steps for the immediate implementation of pack dog use in Alberta.
Yours truly,
T.J. Schwanky
Dear Honourable Dianna McQueen:
It gave me great pleasure to see your reply to Ms. Blakeman in the legislature when she asked you about the future of pack dog use in Alberta. I agree whole heartedly with you that it is a "n...o-brainer" and it is very encouraging to see that you have instructed your staff to move forward to allow pack dog use in Alberta. It is my understanding that all changes to the 2013 hunting regulations must be confirmed by May 8 so I fear that even though you gave your staff this instruction in mid April, that we are not going to see this change for 2013. I also understand that there is some concern over the process for making this change within your legal department that may further delay the implementation of this change.
Perhaps you can confirm this but if this can be done through Ministerial Order and Order in Council, the earliest we could see the change would be in 2014 is it not? As 2014 falls in the middle of the two-year cycle for regulation changes, my fear is that this could be delayed yet another year until 2015. If this cannot be done through Ministerial Order and Order in Council and requires the Wildlife Act to be opened, the time frame could even be longer could it not?
As this is a matter of public safety and a matter of safety for grizzly bears (a species at risk in Alberta), in addition to all of the other benefits pack dogs provide, it would seem to be prudent to allow these canine companions in the field as soon as possible. Perhaps a Ministerial Order of Non-Enforcement would be the simplest means of dealing with this until such time that the concerns of your legal department can be satisfied. This would allow a "soft" implementation of the new regulation if you will and allow both enforcement officers and current pack dog users an opportunity to interact before the new regulation was brought into law.
Considering that everyone agrees that getting pack dogs in the field is as you said a "no-brainer" and that the life of a hunter or one of Alberta's precious grizzly bears could be saved, there seems to be no logical reason to allow this change to languish in bureaucracy for several more months or even years. I urge you to please take steps for the immediate implementation of pack dog use in Alberta.
Yours truly,
T.J. Schwanky
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