Ontario MNR going a little too far?

Post by **TLunge** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:39 am

Had a visit from the C.O. last night on the Rideau, it was good to see him out and he was quite friendly. He did not like the fact that we were drinking beer though and said he could have fined us $200 each for drinking beer on the water. It just seems a little bit ridaculous to me as we were getting a ride home and taking our empties with us etc. Could he have been bluffing? I did not think the MNR got involved in beer issues. I thought ice fishing and beer went hand in hand. Is Ned Flanders making the rules here?
TLunge
ps. watched a nice musky on the aqua-vu for awhile, very cool

Post by **seanshuntin** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:49 am

Thats kinda strange, we had them stop by our hut on temiskaming and all the beer was outside stuck in snowdrifts ,72 to be exact and all they did was check our credentials and make a comment on how they wished they could join us .............not a word about possible fines

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:19 am

TLunge......what time did the CO come over to see ya????...he was also here on the river and made a couple of lads go home on their sleds to go get their fishin licenses...

....

MNR has the power to get invloved in anything that has to do with Law Enforcement and actually have even more power than a Police Officer.....they can enter your home without a search warrant...

I have seen CO's issue citations to people that were driving their sleds/ATVs with no helmet....I remember a CO years back, handing out over $400 worth of fines to some guy on a sled that was giving the CO a hard time because he was asked to produce his registration, insurance and had no license tag on the side of his machine.....you're lucky that the CO was havin a good day!!

Post by **orrsey** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:21 am

tlunge,

I am with you on that, I like to have a beer or two responsibly while on the ice for a day. However the MNR recently have been givin the power to enforce the booze issue (so says the MNR officer last year when he approached us with a couple beer in our hands). I beleive it has something to do with drinking in public. As for the issue of drinking in a hut (permenant hut) I believe you are allowed because it is considered private.

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:28 am

orrsey wrote:tlunge,

I am with you on that, I like to have a beer or two responsibly while on the ice for a day. However the MNR recently have been givin the power to enforce the booze issue (so says the MNR officer last year when he approached us with a couple beer in our hands). I beleive it has something to do with drinking in public. As for the issue of drinking in a hut (permenant hut) I believe you are allowed because it is considered private.

I believe that you need running water, bunks and a toilet in your shack to be exempt from gettin a fine for drinkin' in a hut...

Post by **Chevy Champagne** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:43 am

troutnmuskiehunter your right we have had visits and thats wat they told us

Post by **TLunge** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:45 am

TMH he came by at dark last night. He's a new guy, young lad, well 30'sh, I forget his name. He had been at Shirleys earlier in the day so he may be the same guy that visits out your way. Apparently the shack has to be permanent,have a toilet and sleeping accomodations if you want to drink beer in it.
Well Im glad the govt. saved me from myself in this instance so goody goody gumdrops Im going to go skip through some tulips now
bye
TLunge

Post by **bucketmouth** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:53 am

In order for it to be considered a dwelling, you have to have a place to lay your head and a place to go to the bathroom... at least that was what was brought to my attention years ago at Oziles before Yves bought it... they had alot of probs back then with rowdiness and the OPP were there all the time. It got to the point that if you were drinking outside during the day you were risking a fine. We had visits every other weekend and were never bothered for drinking inside our hut, and we always had someone sober around anyway.

Post by **sparky** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:47 pm

TroutnMuskieHunter wrote:
orrsey wrote:tlunge,

I am with you on that, I like to have a beer or two responsibly while on the ice for a day. However the MNR recently have been givin the power to enforce the booze issue (so says the MNR officer last year when he approached us with a couple beer in our hands). I beleive it has something to do with drinking in public. As for the issue of drinking in a hut (permenant hut) I believe you are allowed because it is considered private.
I believe that you need running water, bunks and a toilet in your shack to be exempt from gettin a fine for drinkin' in a hut...

Holy, I don't have running water or an indoor toilet at my cottage. Hope the MNR isn't gonna move in an take away my beer.

Post by **Bass Addict** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:08 pm

Hey Tlunnge................

I know that Co Dude your refering to,, his name is Paul Mcartney and he
also has a thing against the seal hunt..

Post by **SALMON** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:13 pm

As a provincial offences officer..the CO's could have dealt with liqour issues any time they chose to. It all comes down to attitude of people and the individual officers desire to enforce a variety of laws.

Post by **Fishboy** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:45 pm

In Ontario, it is illegal to drink alcohol in public. Areas like provincial park campsites are exempted from the law.

As for telling the CO that you would be getting a ride home after consuming, how does the CO know that you are telling the truth?

Give the CO credit for doing his job and for giving you a break.

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:52 pm

Fishboy wrote:In Ontario, it is illegal to drink alcohol in public. Areas like provincial park campsites are exempted from the law.

.

Partially true Fishboy....Alcohal is exempted from provincial park campsites providing that it is done so in your designated campsite that you paid for....you cannot walk around the park with open alcohal....

Post by **TLunge** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:50 pm

I have nothing bad to say about the C.O. he seemed like a nice guy, gave us a break, and was doing his job very well. I just think that this particular law is just a little bit too much. So far I think a large majority agree from the people I've talked too about it anyway.
TLunge

Post by **bucketmouth** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:26 pm

TLunge wrote:I just think that this particular law is just a little bit too much.

What? Drinking in public? It's a provincial offence and a much needed one. I know I wouldn't want to take a child out fishing on the ice and have to deal with drunken rowdies stomping around, swearing and doing stupid things. Before you chop my head off, I'm sure you are responsible and just enjoying a cold brew like I do, but if there wasn't this law in place you'd have a lot more A-holes to deal with on a daily basis. my 2 cents...