Public Safety committee  Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to that question, Mr. Lloyd. I'm sorry.

Public Safety committee  Yes.

Public Safety committee  That's an excellent question, and thank you for that detail. I would have to think about that a little bit harder. I will say, though, that going back to the trust concerns that Ms. Dancho echoed, even if something like that were written into this legislation, the government has lost the trust of many people in the hunting community so those people might not trust the government to actually say, “You know what?

Public Safety committee  Our membership fluctuates all the time. Sometimes it fluctuates greatly. There are some nuances about the insurances we provide to member clubs that actually dictate that sometimes. Some of our member clubs are four-person hunt camps that have incorporated. Others have several hundred people.

Public Safety committee  Yes, certainly some did. I don't have a list in front of me, unfortunately. I will call back to a report that a colleague of mine authored. It was actually in response to the May 2020 OIC, so it's a little bit further back than the amendments and the new firearm models that are in G-46.

Public Safety committee  Yes, absolutely. The concern about trophy hunting is that nowadays simply the use of the term can be somewhat misleading. We don't really have a huge culture of trophy hunting in Canada, by any means, at least not the way that some people tend to interpret that term. Generally that is restricted to travelling on African big game safaris, for instance, where the meat is left with the local communities and the hunter, the person who harvests it, takes part of that home with him, the trophy if you will.

Public Safety committee  Yes, from the hunting community at large, we're hearing very much the same thing, in that a bill that originally started as a handgun ban very quickly and unexpectedly was expanded to include some hunting rifles and shotguns. That moment alone was enough to.... I wouldn't say it completely eroded trust in the government from the hunting community, but it certainly did make them pause and wonder what exactly they are trying to do here and what the government's ultimate goal is.

Public Safety committee  I don't actually know the number of units or even the number of different models that would still be available. I can certainly say the amendment, at least as it's written now, would not ban every single commonly used rifle or shotgun right now.

Public Safety committee  Sure. I suppose my response would be in two parts. A direct answer to your query is that the SKS is probably one of the more ubiquitous hunting rifles, and it is clearly on the list. I think everybody missed that at this point. That is a rifle that is perfectly legitimate for the purpose of hunting in Ontario, in Canada, and that is on the list.

Public Safety committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. On behalf of the OFAH, thank you for the invitation to appear at this committee. The OFAH is the largest non-profit, conservation-based fish and wildlife organization in Ontario, with 100,000 members, supporters and subscribers and 725 member clubs, with 55 of those clubs operating 122 CFO-approved licensed ranges.