Fishing and Hunting Industry Speech – Mike Reader

It is indeed a pleasure to welcome all of you here tonight. I can’t imagine a time in our history when we have gathered so many like-minded groups and individuals in one place to begin a new relationship.

This meeting is about the O.F.A.H. extending the olive branch. Please accept it in the spirit in which it is given.

Let May 8 be remembered as the day the fishing and hunting community in Ontario showed its solidarity, thanks to your attendance.

Let May 8 be remembered as a new beginning for open, honest dialogue between those who care about our fishing and hunting future.

Let May 8 be remembered as the day all of us stood together to dispel any of the rhetoric that we hear over and over again that the fishing and hunting industry cannot work together.

Let May 8 be remembered as the day we all began our plans to meet again, and again, and again, as one united fishing and hunting industry.

I am proud of everyone in this room; for today is the beginning of a new proactive approach that we feel is long overdue. I am also extremely proud of our President, Bob Allen, our Executive and Board for endorsing this new vision for our future. Too many times we go it alone; too many times we fight battles in isolation of others; and too many times we simply forget to talk to our friends.

This gathering is not intended to be about the O.F.A.H. It is intended, however, to demonstrate our willingness to share, inform, motivate, partner, lead, follow, listen, and invest in our collective interests.

Therefore, let today be remembered as a new beginning for all of us in this room, and for those who wanted to attend this evening but could not.

I remind myself, however, that it is so important that we meet again after tonight, because if we don’t, then tonight has been for naught. We need to put any differences we have aside and seek out those common interests that will benefit our angling and hunting future. Let’s speak publicly about issues we agree on, and if we have issues we are not in agreement with, then at the very least, speak with respect, not animosity toward the other.

We provided a questionnaire for you so we may collectively orchestrate what I will call a roundtable on the future of hunting and angling in this province in the near future. Please fill it out at your leisure this evening, and leave it on the table for collection at the end of the night.

And one last comment, before I introduce our guest speaker: Let this May 8 gathering send a clear message to those who oppose our rich fishing and hunting and outdoor heritage that your attendance here this evening is proof that our community is alive and well in the province of Ontario.

I now want to take the opportunity to introduce our guest speaker for the evening. As a Barrister and Partner with the law firm of Danson, Recht and Freedman, Tim Danson’s specialty includes litigation involving constitutional, corporate/commercial, fidelity/fraud, criminal, appellant, victims’ rights, and environmental protection and conservation. Mr. Danson appears before all levels of Court, and various administrative tribunals, including numerous appearances before the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada on issues of considerable public interest.

Most of you know him for the high-profile cases that he has defended in Ontario, and across Canada. Most likely none more high-profiled than the representation of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy at the trial of Paul Bernardo. The list of individuals that he has represented is mind-boggling, and too long to mention here. I would, however, mention that Mr. Danson has previously represented us as legal counsel in the case of Her Majesty the Queen versus Howard. Mr. Danson, on behalf of the O.F.A.H., was successful in his legal argument before the Supreme Court of Canada wherein the constitutional validity of the 1923 William’s Treaty was upheld.

We at the O.F.A.H. know Mr. Danson as a lawyer, but we also know him as a keen angler, and as a friend of anglers and hunters, and a friend of, what we believe, is our constitutional right to hunt and fish in this country.