Fergus born Brad Gerrie finds it a little ironic he not only got the job he wanted against considerable odds, but he is really surprised he can ply his dream career from his home town. Few get that opportunity because Ontario is a big place and jobs like his are few and scattered.
Gerrie got what he wanted by ignoring the experts’ advice and tried for specialized law enforcement.
“I knew what I wanted to do in grade 8. I wanted to be a Game Warden,” he said in an interview. “I was quite into camping and fishing. I got into hunting when I was legally able to.”
He loved Scouting and saluted Fergus leader J.G. Townsend. It was in Scouts he met a Conservation Officer (CO, and the Ontario equivalent of a game warden) who inspired him. Plus, his brother, Bryan, was in the RCMP.
His friends and advisors argued against his goal.
“Everybody said, ‘Don’t even try.’ There were only 200 Conservation Officer jobs in the province. It was because of the competition for the positions. Fortunately, I didn’t listen to them.”
He attended high school in Fergus, and went to Sir Sanford Fleming College. It had a reputation for students going on to work in the MNR, but there were no guarantees when he graduated in 1982.
“I set a time limit,” he said. He took contract work including fish counts and tagging walleye in Kapuskasing, and doing similar work at Lake Scugog. In 1983, he did a stint as a provincial park warden – and volunteer work.
“In 1984, my experience allowed me to compete for a full-time job,” he said.
His time limit had not run out, and, “I was hired in the fall of 1984. I was in the right spot at the right time.” His full time first job was in Lindsay.
In 1988, he “won a competition for Cornwall.” He spent time netting lake sturgeon. “We found lots. Our nets were ten inch gill nets, and anything bigger than 70 pounds went right through the net.” Those fish are now very scarce, but were once plentiful. He estimated a fish from the Groundhog River was over 90 pounds. “They were stacked like cordwood.”
COs regularly deal with protecting species and not just fishing and hunting. Fish and Wildlife Management includes biology, study of habitat, forestry lands and surveying. The law enforcement side has regulations to protect wildlife, and offences can be surprising.
When Gerrie was first hired, a CO’s duties included such things as moose surveys and fish tagging, he said, adding that has “changed in 25 years. Now a CO does pretty much 100 per cent enforcement.”
That ranges from regulating gravel pit operators to charging poachers.
COs have some extraordinary powers, and with evidence indicating a broken Resources Act law, they can search for and seize illegally-killed game – though they must obey the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
There are people who view Ontario’s resources as a means to money, and Gerrie said, “The ones who want to profit illegally from the resource or are blatant … are the worst. We just put one guy in jail up in Barrie.”
Danh Luu got 45 days on Dec. 9 after being convicted of failing to comply with a court order suspending his fishing licence. Plus, he cannot apply for or hold a fishing licence in Ontario for five years. He is on probation for two years and his fishing tackle was forfeited.
He was also convicted for angling without a licence and received a suspended sentence. On April 10, COs saw him angling from the docks at the Barrie marina. He was then under a one-year fishing suspension after a conviction in 2008 for fishing violations. It was his fourth conviction for angling without a licence since 2007. He had not paid the fines from those previous convictions.
There are also other types of offences.
On Dec. 22, a Kingsville commercial fishing license holder was fined $5,000 and a Lake Erie commercial fishing boat captain was fined $1,000 for commercial fishing violations. D. W. Murray Fisheries Limited, owner of a commercial fishing license and Donald Rutgers, captain of the vessel William T. R., pleaded guilty to one count each of violating terms and conditions of their license.
An MNR investigation found on Oct. 9 their quota for walleye was exceeded by 801 kilograms. Then, on Oct. 24, 578 kilograms of walleye was caught and landed in excess of quota.
Gerrie said the COs do the investigation and then turn their work over to prosecutors.
They can even charge people who lie to them. A Midland resident was fined $2,400 on Nov. 22 for obstructing a CO by providing false identification. Grayton S. Willis pleaded guilty to charges of obstructing a CO, contrary to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. Court heard he used someone else’s identification to elude a CO during an investigation on Aug. 5. During an unrelated investigation the next day, officers discovered his true identity.
Protecting rattlesnakes
Then there was the fellow in the Niagara area who was convicted of possession of Massasauga rattlesnakes. They are an endangered species native to Ontario.
“Hobbyists know where they are,” Gerrie said of the snakes, adding “There’s quite a market for collectors. They’re not readily available in legal markets. They’re quite valuable.” He noted that convicted poacher had a marijuana growing operation in his house, and the courts concluded he had no respect for the law.
COs also recently caught a “chronic offender” in illegal possession of spotted turtles, another protected species.
“I think he’s still in jail,” Gerrie said.
In other recent convictions:
– an Amherstburg resident was fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to unlawfully depositing bait in a pond during a prohibited period. He was banned from possessing a migratory game bird hunting licence for a year. Court heard that on Sept. 25, COs were conducting surveillance of a suspected baited pond. The resident was seen dumping approximately 22 kilograms of corn into the water the day before the opening of duck hunting season. An all-terrain vehicle was seized, and will be returned when the fine is paid.
– A Mildmay man was fined $2,050 and received a two-year hunting suspension for deer hunting violations. The court heard he shot two buck deer on Oct. 11, 2009 near Mildmay with a rifle. He pleaded guilty to shooting two deer during a closed season, and paid another $150 for transporting illegally taken wildlife, $150 for possessing illegally taken wildlife, and $250 for discharging a firearm on Sunday for the purpose of hunting. The deer were forfeited and were donated to charity. That area is closed to Sunday gun hunting and the rifle hunting season was also closed. He transported the deer to his residence, butchered them and stored them in his freezer. Conservation officers began their investigation after a call was made to the MNR tip line.
– A Sportsmen’s club and its president were fined after pleading guilty to four charges of unlawfully serving wildlife and making false statements in an application. Dover Rod and Gun Club and its president Jerome Blair, both of Chatham-Kent, were fined $1,000 and $500 respectively. Blair received a one-year prohibition from participating in any aspect of wild game dinners. Court heard between January 2007 and March 2008, the club held a number of wild game dinners. Applications to serve wild game at dinners were submitted by Blair for review and approved. Investigation determined the information on the applications used to make those decisions was false. Prior approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources is required for charitable organizations to serve or list wild game.
Gerrie said such crimes are often perceived to be victimless, but environmentalists note ecosystems interact and a sudden change or disappearance of a species can have long-term implications.
Ontario is divided into four regions. Gerrie is in charge of the COs in the area covering everything west of the Greater Toronto Area and Lake Simcoe, including the Great Lakes. He said regions cooperate. He remembers several years ago an American angler was reported as having more than the legal limit of walleye and was heading south. COs tracked him until he reached the QEW, then charged him. His truck and boat were confiscated to ensure he would return for court, and he was fined about $8,000, making those fish very expensive.
Solutions for the Grand
Gerrie was surprised and pleased to obtain the Cambridge District posting in 1996 and he moved back to his home town. Oddly enough, it was in his home territory where many complaints about illegal fishing were being lodged. The upper Grand River had become a world famous brown trout fishery, and there appeared to be a lot of illegal fishing.
Gerrie remembers meeting Friends of the Grand River secretary Terry Ryckman and another Fergus volunteer to discuss what to do. Gerrie said the problem was not as bad as it first seemed, but involving the public was the best way to address the problem.
The result was Riverwatch, which became a province-wide guardian program, where citizen volunteers explain the rules to those fishing illegally. They do not do more than talk to anglers, but if there is no cooperation, they call the MNR.
Anyone wanting to report violations can call Crime Stoppers, too. Gerrie remembers a call from Paul Porter about illegal activity, and the poachers attempted to flee when Gerrie arrived. But he and Porter were able to catch them.
“The program worked the way it should work,” Gerrie said with a smile.
Today, he oversees 50 COs in his region. Currently they are working on programs for the coming season, which includes priorities (stemming from complaints) and a focus on what risks are involved in each area. Gerrie said 40% of the work comes from complaints, 50% is planning, and the remainder is outreach. It was MNR COs who taught the local Riverwatch course.
Gerrie said his ambition as a “game warden” was fulfilled, and now he is in a position where he can encourage improvements in the way the MNR operates, and he looks forward to that after being employed there full time for 25 years.
“Things have changed, but it’s been a good career. It continues to be a good career. It’s not without challenges but challenges are there for everyone.” That includes those with a dream to pursue.
“When young people call me up and inquire about being a game warden, I will not discourage them,” he said with a smile. “If you truly want something, go for it.”
