Sticky situation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/08/2016 (3528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For many years now, duck and goose hunters from across North America have stopped in at Sticky’s Bait and Tackle in Dauphin to buy their licences, pick up supplies and get the latest from Don (Sticky) Stokotelny about the local fish and wildlife populations.

None of that has really changed, except this year, the hunters won’t be able to get their federal migratory bird permits from Stokotelny. His vendorship of the federal licences has been rescinded as Environment and Climate Change Canada moves toward offering licence sales exclusively online.

“As long as they let everyone know this is happening, I’m OK with it. I think it will be inconvenient if people don’t know about it,” said Stokotelny, owner and operator of Sticky’s Bait, Tackle and Guiding Service. “People will get used to it. What choice do they have? Changes happen every day.”

Change is indeed the driver in this equation, as the federal department that administers migratory bird-hunting permits across Canada has made a conscious decision to wrap up its vendorship system altogether and move all licence buyers online. The change will be phased in over the next couple of years but is already happening, and quickly at that.

Last year, the feds introduced their online licensing system for federal bird permits. The interface is basically a fill-in-the-boxes form asking all the same information (address, birthday) as on the paper licence, with the end result being a print-at-home licence you create and sign.

These types of systems are common for purchasing angling and hunting licences across North America, and Manitoba is in the process of developing its own. The province issued a request for proposals last winter for a company to run the new system and is now presumably working toward an agreement with the successful bidder. It’s possible we could see a pilot of the new system here in Manitoba in 2017, with full implementation more likely for 2018, assuming all goes according to plan. Vendors like Sticky’s are still selling paper Manitoba licences in the meantime, at least for now.

When the feds made federal bird permits available online in 2015, they also made their first move toward eliminating vendors, holding back on making the routine annual delivery of paper licences to anyone who hadn’t sold at least 50 permits the previous year. Vendors were not told this would be happening, and some scrambled when they didn’t receive their licences. In the end, the feds allowed vendors to request the paper books last year, with the understanding they would be cut off in the future.

This year, the feds have moved a step further, stating they will no longer accept new vendor applications and essentially stripping the vendorship of anyone who hadn’t sold at least 150 licences the previous year. Requests for licences from these vendors will be declined, and there will be no option to renew their vendorship next year. This year, at least, the government warned them with a letter ahead of time.

Stokotelny got his letter a few weeks ago. He estimates he sold 149 permits last year. “We regret to inform you that your company did not meet the criteria and thus we will no longer be partnering with you to sell MGBH permits,” states a letter Stokotelny received July 12. “In an effort to transition from physical MGBH permits to a fully electronic permitting system, Environment and Climate Change Canada has completed an analysis of the 2016 vendor program in order to bring further modernization and efficiency to the distribution process. Upon completion of the review, we decided that we should further scale down our independent vendor network to encourage hunters to purchase their permits online.”

Stokotelny said he understands the decision and isn’t upset with the feds, although it could be argued their communications with the vendors on these changes have not been stellar, particularly considering these are people who essentially served as their sales team for the past several years.

Stokotelny, like all vendors, used to make a $2 commission for every $17 federal bird stamp he sold. (Incidentally, vendors in Manitoba make $1 for every provincial licence they sell, regardless of the price of the licence, including some that cost more than $300. They have been lobbying the province for years for an increase but so far have seen none.) So while the permits themselves weren’t exactly lucrative, Stokotelny still liked selling them as a loss leader that brought people into his shop.

“I like interacting with the hunters because I myself love hunting,” Stokotelny says. “I know one thing people not coming into the store are going to miss out on is having me help point them in the right direction. I want them to be successful, so I tell them where to find birds or fish, let them know if there are any rule changes since last year, things like that.” He also ensures licence buyers are given a copy of Manitoba’s fishing or hunting regulations guide.

Under the new federal system, Sticky could still lend his own in-store computer, Internet service, printer and paper to customers to print out their licences through the regular public system — for no commission.

“I don’t think I will,” he said. “I don’t have one that’s for public use. It’s in the back room.”

Here’s hoping all those bird hunters still flock to Sticky’s, albeit with a folded-up piece of computer paper already in their pocket.

Paul Turenne is executive director of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association.