(July 27, 2021) – Chris Tibbs, PC MHA for Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans, is calling on the provincial and federal Ministers to amend the Newfoundland and Labrador Wildlife Regulations Program for Anglers with a Disability.

The current regulations stipulate that the designated angler, for a person with a disability, needs to keep within 100 metres of the designee while angling.

“It’s unreasonable and overly burdensome to expect a person with a disability’s designate to be able to stay within 100 metres while angling. In most cases, a person with blindness, visual impairment, walker, wheelchair, or cane cannot get this close to their designate while they are angling,” said Tibbs

“The regulations as currently written are discriminatory to persons with disabilities.”

The 2021 recreational cod fishery does not restrict the designate to be within 100 metres of the person with a disability, allowing the designate to catch the daily limit of groundfish for their designee.

As well, Tibbs notes that big game hunting regulations state a designee must be within sight or 800 meters of their designated hunter, showing differences in regulations for different hunting and angling seasons.

“I firmly believe we should move to the model that we use for the recreational cod fishery,” said Tibbs.

“The Ministers should make this change for persons with disabilities this season to allow them to fully participate and to end this discriminatory practice.”

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca