May 26, 2025

Letter to the Editor: Ban dismisses the values and needs of others living in the municipality

LETTER TO THE EDITOR — As a resident of West Grey, I’m troubled by our council’s vote against allowing Sunday gun hunting. Much of the reasoning presented at the May 6 meeting was misinformed, overreaching and downright discriminatory.

One council member opposed bringing West Grey in line with the rest of the province because “it’s going to be a lot of people from away coming up [to hunt] from Brampton and places like that.” This line of thinking carries an unsettling message and does not reflect the values of a connected and diverse municipality.

The mayor — a hunter himself — cast the deciding vote against Sunday gun hunting, citing “tradition” as his reasoning and saying, “the tradition of hunting in my family has been you hunted six days of the week, and you didn’t hunt on Sunday.” This attitude excludes those who do not treat Sunday as their day of rest, for religious reasons or otherwise, and supposes we are all so privileged to have six free days in the week to hunt.

Reinforcing this ban dismisses the values and needs of others living in the municipality and adds yet another challenge to be faced by hunters today. Council’s decision also undermines the rights of private landowners. Preventing lawful hunting on one’s own property is government overreach, especially when it is based on exaggerated fears and misinformation.

Council should revisit this decision and apply logical governance over narrow beliefs and fear-based resistance to change.

Sincerely,
Kirsten Snoek, West Grey

 

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