Ontario’s New Licensing Service

What Anglers and Hunters Need to Know

90th OFAH Annual General Meeting and Fish & Wildlife Conference

March 17, 2018

Overview

1. Regulatory Changes

2. New Licensing Service

3. Communications

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Regulatory Changes

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Highlights

Outdoors Card Changes

Licence Summary

Game Tags

Mandatory Hunter Reporting

New Apprentice Hunter Opportunities

Majority of Changes effective JANUARY 1, 2019

Outdoors Card Changes

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• Multiple versions/classes of Outdoors Cards will

be replaced by one Outdoors Card for all anglers

and hunters.

• Your Outdoors Card will no longer identify whether

you are a hunter or angler - hunter accreditation

tracked in system to determine what licences you

can purchase.

• Fishing and Small Game Licences will still be able

to be printed on back of Card.

• You will need to carry proof of firearm

accreditation (e.g. PAL) if hunting with a gun.

• Existing Outdoors Cards will remain valid until

they expire.

Licence Summary

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• Various types and formats of individual

licences will be replaced by a single

Licence Summary.

• Licence Summary will list all of your

valid hunting and fishing products.

• Licence Summary will contain some

validation information.

• Generally required to be carried (either

physically or digitally), unless licence

is printed on the back of your

Outdoors Card.

New Game Tags

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• Game Tags will replace the current game

seals

• Will contain detailed information on what it

is valid for

• Invalidated by notching day/month/time

immediately after and at site of kill

• Only required to attach Tag if you are not

immediately accompanying the animal or

available to produce the Tag for inspection

• Tag must remain with the animal until it has

been transported to the site of processing

and is being processed for long-term

storage

Feedback on New Tag Approach

Fraudulent Activities

Tag equipped with document security features to

discourage and prevent fraudulent activities

System controlled and tracking of Tag printing

Higher set fines for relevant infractions

Durability of Tags

Allow invalidated tag to be carried on person rather than

affixing the tag provided you are accompanying the

animal

Plastic tag holders available to protect tags

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New Mandatory Hunter Reporting

• System will track reporting obligations, send reminders and provide

confirmation of submitted reports.

• System will implement consequences for not completing a mandatory report

(e.g. prevent licence purchase in a subsequent year) – approach phased in

as part of communicating change to the hunting community.

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• New requirements for mandatory hunter reporting.

• Anyone issued a Tag (moose, deer, elk, bear, turkey,

wolf/coyote for select WMUs) will have a mandatory

reporting requirement (whether they hunted or not).

New Apprentice Hunter Opportunities

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• Apprentice hunters will need to purchase an Outdoors Card to participate in

the Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program.

• Apprentice hunters will have the option to purchase select hunting selects

and tags that are not obtained through a draw.

• Allows apprentice hunters to hunt with

their own bag limit for some species

(e.g. small game, turkey, bear, wolf/coyote,

antlered deer).

• All other apprentice rules remain the

unchanged (e.g. direct supervision of

licensed mentor, share single firearm,

parental/guardian consent)

The Next Fish and Wildlife Licensing

Service

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A New Fishing and Hunting Licensing

Service – in November 2018!

What will I be able purchase when the new licensing service is

launched?

Outdoors Cards

fishing licences

small game licences

2018 hunting licences will not be available for purchase from the date the

new licensing service launches in late November until December 31,

2018.

• Be sure to buy 2018 hunting licences early and keep them in a safe place!

• Starting January 1, 2019, 2019 hunting licences will become available for

purchase during their regular timeframes.

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What’s new?

Outdoors Cards and Licence

Summary:

• The ministry is moving to one

Outdoors Card for both anglers

and hunters.

• The Licence Summary is a

document that will list valid

fishing and hunting licence

products that are purchased by

an individual.

• clients can print their Licence

Summary from home and will

have the option to carry a

Licence Summary in a digital

format (e.g. on a smartphone).

• maintain your most recent

licence summary when you are

hunting or fishing.

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Other Improvements and Changes

• Accessing the new service will require an email address, or Outdoors Card

number with a password that you define.

• After your account is created you will just need your username and

password for future access.

• Ability to update your address, view your past licence purchase history and

reprint or email your licence summary for use on your mobile device without

a fee charged.

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Game Tags

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• Game tags will be available for

the 2019 hunting season. • Tags will be available to be printed

from home or by visiting one of the

900 licence issuers or 66

ServiceOntario centres who

provide MNRF services.

• Tags will be made available after a

big game draw has been run. If

you choose to not immediately

print your tag that is ok, just

remember to print it prior to going

hunting.

• Note: you will only have one

opportunity to print your tag, it is

recommended that your printer is

operational and loaded with paper.

Other Improvements and Changes (2)

• QR code:

• Will be readable only by enforcement officers who will

be able to determine if it has been duplicated.

• Information within the code validates that the tag is the

one that was printed from the system with other

information to link the code back to the licence

summary.

• It is the responsibility of the hunter to maintain the

tag and licence summary in a readable fashion.

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Other Improvements and Changes (3)

• New service will include email notifications for important reminders such as

“Your Tag is Ready”, “Next Year Licences are Available”, “Hunter Activity

Reminders” etc. Notifications will be delivered to you, if you have indicated

you want to receive them.

• Links to important information such as hunting and fishing regulation

summaries, important notices such as hunting and fishing notices and

updates will be available for easy reference of information.

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Service Channels

• The new service will be available:

• Over the Internet, including on a mobile device.

• At one of the 900 licence issuers or 66 ServiceOntario locations across Ontario

who provide MNRF services.

• Over the 1-800 automated telephone line - for Outdoors Card renewal and entry

into a big game draw

• Online services are being developed with a simple online shopping

experience and will offer hunters and anglers additional services that are

presently not available.

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Walkthrough of the Online Service

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CONFIDENTIAL

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CONFIDENTIAL

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CONFIDENTIAL

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Communications

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• The ministry will be making regular updates to Ontario.ca about upcoming

changes.

• We will also be communicating through our twitter channel, our new

Facebook account and through our fishing and hunting regulations

summaries.

• As we continue to move forward to November and beyond, we greatly

appreciate the support that the Ontario Federation of Angers and Hunters

has provided.

Summary

• The new fishing and hunting licensing service will be launched in late

November 2018 – current service continues to be of use until then.

• Fishing regulations come into effect on November 23, 2018.

• Hunting regulations come into effect on January 1, 2019.

2018 hunting licences will not be available for purchase from the date the

new licensing service launches in late November until December 31, 2018,

so buy your licences early and keep them in a safe place.

• Visit the ministry’s website regularly for updates on the service

(ontario.ca/outdoorscard).

• Thank you for the opportunity to share these upcoming changes with you.

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