QUESTION PERIOD — Environment and Climate Change
Parks Canada
March 22, 2024
Government leader, in December, the Trudeau government actually paid marksmen from the United States and New Zealand to fly around in helicopters and shoot invasive deer on Sidney Island, British Columbia. Parks Canada says the cost for this to Canadian taxpayers was $834,000. They confirmed 84 deer were culled, which works out to about $10,000 a deer.
Even worse, the Trudeau government permitted these foreign hunters to use restricted AR-15 rifles equipped with prohibited silencers and prohibited 30-round magazines, all while they are taking firearms away from Canadian hunters.
Leader, why did the Jagmeet Singh-Justin Trudeau government think this was a good idea?
Thank you for your question.
I do not have the information underlying the need to engage in this culling of deer. I will make an assumption — which I rarely do in this place — that it was based upon proper and appropriate input from the authorities on the ground, whether provincial, territorial or federal.
In that regard, I will certainly raise your concerns about the cost and other matters with the relevant minister.
There is no justification for this, leader. None. They will never fix the budget, and they have no common sense. To top it all off, Parks Canada also confirmed that 20% of the deer culled by the foreign hunters were the wrong species of deer.
The Prime Minister proves time and time again that he is not worth the cost, doesn’t he, leader?
I think the answer to that question is, “No,” but I congratulate you, honourable colleague, on managing to get in three or four of your catchphrases with a very brief question.
You mentioned proper input, and the question is: Why were the local residents — B.C. hunters — not consulted on this? My question also concerns the invasive deer cull in December.
I strongly suspect, if given the chance, local B.C. hunters would have gladly paid for tags or permits to participate in this cull instead of having Canadian taxpayers bear the cost of $834,000. This could have provided food for their families, and they wouldn’t have fired semi-automatic rifles from a helicopter while doing so. I also suspect local hunters would have shot the correct species of deer.
Leader, if the government was intent on going ahead with this, why were local B.C. hunters not asked to participate?
Thank you for your question. It’s a fair question. I will certainly add that to the question that I will address to the minister.
Leader, Parks Canada has said that the second phase of the cull will take place between this coming fall and the spring of 2025. Given the waste of money and the utter lack of common sense displayed so far, is the Trudeau government considering any changes to the next phase of its deer cull on Sidney Island?
Thank you. Once again, I now have an even longer list of questions that I will address to the minister, and I undertake to do so.
