A lot of times when people buy something online, it’s because they can get it for cheaper than in a physical store, but that won’t be the case once the provincial government shifts the sale of hunting and fishing licences and provincial park vehicle permits online.
A $4.50 administrative fee will be added to the current costs of licences when purchased through the new online system, except for Manitoba resident seniors conservation fishing licences, which will remain free of charge.
In the case of one-day vehicle permits for provincial parks, that will nearly double the price from $5 to $9.50.
“We are excited to improve and modernize the way Manitobans and visitors access and enjoy the many outdoor activities offered throughout our province and in our provincial parks,” said Conservation and Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard in a March 9 press release about the government introducing legislation to enable online licence and permit sales by this spring. “Moving to an online system from a paper-based one will enable our government to improve the services we deliver, while decreasing our carbon footprint.”
Licences and vehicle permits purchased online would still need to be printed out so they can be carried for inspection by conservation officers or, in the case of vehicle permits, displayed on the dashboard.
The Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) approves of the move.
“The Manitoba Wildlife Federation has been advocating to have e-licensing brought to the province for years,” said MWF executive director Chris Heald in the provincial press release.
Paint Lake Lodge co-owner Kathy Ruiter told the Thompson Citizen that online sales can be good for the buyers, particularly those who lose their printed-out fishing licence and can just print out another to replace it. But her experience as the owner of a lodge in Saskatchewan with her husband Barry has led them to decide to stop selling licence and permits once the online system is in place.
“You have to have a really good internet connection,” she said, and on summer weekends the internet service at Paint Lake is often slow, while there were 10 to 15 occasions over the winter when there wasn’t any internet at all. “We don’t always have the internet.”
The introduction of online licence sales in Saskatchewan led to the number of licences the Ruiter’s lodge sold falling by about two-thirds within a couple of years and she predicts that the number of Manitoba vendors will drop under the new system.
Including vehicle permits in the online system wasn’t a good idea, Ruiter says, as many people come to eat at the Paint Lake lodge restaurant don’t have a vehicle permit. Until now, it was easy for them to buy a one-day pass but now the transaction will take longer.
Vendors receive only $1 apiece for each permit or licence they sell, Ruiter says.
“I just don’t really think they should have put the park passes on it,” she said.
Thompson Canadian Tire owner Mike Howell told the Citizen that his store will be selling paper hunting and fishing licences until the end of April and online ones after that if all goes as planned.
“My intentions are to become a vendor for the e-licences if possible,” he said.
A Conservation and Climate Department spokesperson said short-term vehicle permits will still be available at parks but it will depend on internet connectivity if they have access to the online system to sell annual passes. The Paint Lake Provincial Park campground office will have the capacity to sell annual vehicle permits, he said.
Licences and park permits will also be sold at Conservation and Climate Department offices.
