Manitoba adds 10 new conservation officers

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This article was published 24/03/2022 (1401 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The addition of 10 new conservation officers will play a key role in addressing public safety concerns over poaching and illegal night hunting in Manitoba, according to cabinet minister Scott Fielding.

The new recruits were sworn in on Tuesday following a ceremony that was not able to take place in person during earlier COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The 10 new hires replace 10 former provincial employees in the conservation department who were gradually approaching retirement. The 10 employees came from two graduating classes over the last year and a half, and several have started working across the province stationed in different communities.

The officers have been spread out across the province, including postings in Neepawa, The Pas, Snow Lake and the Cranberry Portage community.

The 32 weeks of training to become a conservation officer encapsulates a large variety of assessments. This includes a firearms training course for 10 days, emergency vehicle operating course for five days, two weeks of on-the-job defensive tactics and officer safety training that are part of a 24-week course, and additional training measures are instructed for chemical immobilization, ice-water rescue and investigation courses into fisheries and night hunting.

“The big things they are obviously concerned about are illegal poaching and all other remaining offences,” said Fielding, the minister of natural resources and northern development.

Over the past year, Fielding said there have been 17 charges across the southern half of the province for illegal night hunting. In 2018, the province introduced legislation to limit night hunting and improve rural safety after extensive Crown stakeholders and Indigenous communities were consulted.

In 2020, the legislation was brought forward, allowing Indigenous communities the right to hunt at night in the southern half of the province, provided they do so in a safe manner, and follow the night hunting permit system introduced. The permit system allows for rights-based hunting on provincial Crown lands, where it is safe to do so.

In the northern half of the province, Indigenous hunters may hunt at night on provincial Crown land without applying for a permit, but there is a three-kilometre safety buffer zone in place surrounding railways and highways.

Those 17 charges over the past year represent an increasing concern over residents not abiding by provincial laws, and poaching remains an ongoing issue expressed by some rural municipalities, the minister said.

“Our number one priority for night hunting for us is public safety.

“There is a balanced approach between prohibiting night hunting on private land and safe rules for rights-based night hunting in other areas.”

There were no additional resources brought in with the swearing-in of the 10 new provincial officers. Earl Simmons, Manitoba’s newest chief conservation officer, was appointed to the position during the ceremony.

During his 37 years of work with the department, Simmons has covered some big responsibilities in the province, and Fielding is confident he can help lead new recruits going forward.

“Earl is a type of guy whose dedication to the province is second to none.”

» jbernacki@brandonsun.com

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