Grey Highlands council has shot down a motion to try and bring Sunday gun hunting to the area.
During a council meeting on Feb. 1, a notice of motion from Coun. Dan Wickens was discussed after previously presented at a Jan. 18 meeting.
The motion says the provincial government regulates Sunday gun hunting during open seasons and updates the regulation on April 1 and Sept. 1 of each year. As the municipality does not allow for Sunday gun hunting, the motion was looking to have staff to provide a notice to the Ontario government to request the municipality be included as an area which permits it.
Wickens says it is legal to hunt with a rifle on Sundays in the province with permission from the municipality. He adds surrounding municipalities including Chatsworth, Clearview, Georgian Bluffs, Meaford, Melancthon, and Southgate all allow Sunday gun hunting.
“It is legal on Sundays to target shoot, Skeet shoot, and you can also shoot predators on your own property if they are doing damage to your livestock, you can go out and shoot groundhogs because they are doing property damage,” says Wickens.
Coun. Joel Loughead in response says he has heard overwhelming opposition to the idea of opening up a Sunday gun hunt, and believes it is attributed to the amount of trail networks.
“Our neighbouring municipalities have Sunday gun hunting allowed and there is nothing that precludes citizens of Grey Highlands from visiting those municipalities and hunting there,” says Loughead.
Coun. Nadia Dubyk added she believes people do come to the municipality for the range of outdoor recreation options they currently offer, and thinks sticking with the status quo would be best.
“Council is here to have hard discussions to talk about issues that may bring out a lot of emotions from our community, but I do believe us having a good respectful conversation here at this table and with our community is what we are here to do,” says Dubyk.
Mayor Paul McQueen says this is not the first time this topic has been addressed in the municipality.
“It was I think in the 2007 to 2010 in that era, but yes it did come to council at that time and at the time council said no. It came to West Grey council just before the end of the 2018 term, they actually implemented it and I think about three weeks later, they rescinded it because I think the public out cry that came out. We have seen some of that feedback to our council as well in that,” says McQueen.