August 14, 2024

Hon. Minister Jamie Moses, 

As we’ve stated before, the MLOA is a legislated stakeholder in this province and we and take our commitment to Manitobans and conservation very seriously. This recent decision was reckless, premature and unsubstantiated. There is no evidence that the active outfitter allocations are hindering residents, First Nations or long-term moose populations.

Our operators are continuously working to ensure they have viable long-term businesses, and their number one variable is sustainable fish and wildlife populations. Self management strategies have been implemented by many of these operators for these reasons. Requiring clients to harvest minimum bull sizes and managing hunting pressure on the lakes or areas they hunt are two basic conservation strategies commonly being used by operators. To our knowledge, most if not all, outfitters are operating in fly-in access areas only. These areas do not experience the same hunting pressures that road access areas do, and, in many cases, very healthy populations are suspected. 

The MLOA is certain your government is spread too thin, and this file is far too large to avoid continued mistakes and miscommunication. The MLOA is also certain it is unreasonable to continue managing the resource without a long-term plan. 

We strongly urge the government to pause, start over and come up with a long-term holistic moose plan that includes all user groups and does not devastate the economy. It needs to start with science, data, shared management and a zoning of the North. 

We have many ideas about how moose management and planning can be done in a way that involves all users and respects indigenous harvesting rights. We are willing to work with our partners to provide joint planning suggestions to government. To do that, we need to feel safe, and we need time to effectively engage with you and our collaborators. Please give us that time by taking the recent 50% cut off the table, so that we spend our time working with you rather than fighting to save our businesses.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely, 

Board of Directors 

Manitoba Lodges & Outfitters Association