As a lifelong citizen of…

As a lifelong citizen of Ontario with an interest in minerals since my childhood, I have taken up hobby rock and mineral collecting in my early retirement. This has been a lifelong dream of mine.

I became aware of the above guide being posted for comment on the Ontario Registry, and through some digging and research, it seems that collecting on crown land is technically illegal and this document seems to indicate to me that I am taking my chances in collecting. I could potentially unwittingly set myself up for undesirable consequences.

The text says it is my responsibility to confirm my legal obligations, but it is virtually impossible for the lay-person collector (including myself) to find the land status of every location that I would potentially like to explore. I want to do the right thing and make sure I follow the rules, but this can pretty much deter me from my passion as I don't want to put myself at risk.

The following statement under Offences and Penalties, "generally" will not enforce the Mining Act, and "benefit of enforcement discretion" also supports my concerns above. I would be at the mercy of any given enforcement officer at any given time having a bad day and deciding to make an example out of someone who is enjoying a hobby and doing what he/she thinks is okay or acceptable.

My understanding is that the original intent of this "Guide" was to ENSURE the legality of hobby mineral collecting, but I don't think the designation as a "Guide" does that. As a "Policy" statement would better protect the rights of the hobby collector.

Another area I have concern is the wording in the limit amount which is defined as "can carry unassisted". My wife is much smaller than I am and can carry much less, so in essence this is a biased quantification and really is in a sense, discriminatory towards women and people with lower physical stature. An uneven playing field that generally favours men; not what would be considered "inclusiveness" in today's world. I do not claim to know what the appropriate wording would be, but would not want the limit to be further reduced from what is currently allowed.

Overall, I believe this "Guide" misses the mark in attempting to exempt hobby mineral collectors from prosecution, and leaves too much up to interpretation. I am very concerned with this.

Please accept my above comments in good faith, and thank you for the opportunity to comment.