Government injects another $180,000 into outfitter organization

The provincial government has now committed more than half a million dollars to a new hunting and fishing outfitters’ group despite previous expectations that its membership dues would cover the majority of its costs.

The Saskatchewan Commission of Professional Outfitters (SCPO) appears to have struggled to attract new members, adding just two during the last nine months. It currently represents 152, about one-quarter of the province’s outfitters.

Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said the latest cash injection came, in part, because the government recognized that the SPCO, membership in which is voluntary, was not going to have the revenues originally envisioned.

“I think government knew we would need to provide some financial assistance if this organization was going to be successful and operate for the long term,” Duncan said, adding that it is developing “slower than anybody suspected.”

“It’s still our belief that this organization can be self-sustaining, and we fully support the commission transitioning to a self-sustaining organization, but we know it’s not going to happen immediately,” Duncan said.

The SCPO was first proposed in 2015 as a mandatory regulatory body for Saskatchewan’s roughly 600 outfitters, an organization that could promote the multimillion-dollar industry while stamping out illegal and unfair practices.

That changed last year, when membership became voluntary rather than compulsory — a decision that left some outfitters wondering why the province spent almost $250,000 on an “expensive new logo and name” for an existing association.

The latest government expenditure came earlier this month, when Premier Scott Moe’s cabinet authorized a $180,000 payment from the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, which collects 30 per cent of all hunting and fishing licenses fees.

That money brings the total amount spent by government on the organization during the last three years to $535,000, not including funds directed to the SCPO’S predecessor, the Saskatchewan Outfitters’ Association (SOA).

According to its 2018 membership form, SCPO annual dues top out at $525, meaning its maximum revenue from dues is $79,800.

The new $180,000 is expected to cover the cost of completing an outfitters’ code of conduct, consultation on whether members should have to carry liability insurance and various proposals related to rules for trip deposit insurance.

It is also expected to pay for consultation with the Ministry of Environment, and the initial stages of a plan to develop a First Nations outfitting organization, according to documents attached to the order in council authorizing the expenditure.

The SCPO is intended to be more of a regulatory body than its predecessor, the SOA. Asked how a voluntary organization can effectively regulate an industry, Duncan acknowledged that is a challenge and suggested it could be revisited.

However, the Weyburn–big Muddy MLA continued, the SCPO’S emphasis on items such as customer protection are nevertheless expected to benefit all outfitters by raising the professionalism and standards of the industry.

“We’re trying to strike that balance between ensuring we have a professional outfitting industry in the province (and) the wishes of those outfitters that didn’t want to be in a mandatory outfitting organization … I think we’ve struck the right balance.”

Roy Anderson, the SCPO’S acting chief executive, declined an interview request, but expressed interest in speaking with the Saskatoon Starphoenix in the future.

In an email, he said the SCPO’S board “does not feel its work with industry and its evolving partnership with the province can benefit from becoming formally represented in these pieces.”

I think government knew we would need to provide some financial assistance if this organization was going to be successful and operate for the long term.