Dear Sir/Madam, Please…

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please accept this letter as a response to the proposed Guide for Hobby Mineral Collectors. As a very long term hobby mineral collector in Ontario, I would like to assure you that collectors, like myself, are very responsible and respectful of rules surrounding our ability to collect in various parts and properties in Ontario. As such, we welcome a very defined policy, by the Ministry, which outlines these rules clearly and fairly. We are a group of people who are not interested in staking claims on properties or removing large quantities of minerals. This has never been our reason behind our hobby. The collection of small quantities of exemplary specimens from any one area, for our own personal enjoyment, has always been our objective. Those who wish to do more collection and commercializing in an area are not, by our definition, hobby collectors. These persons may, in fact, be collecting for personal gain and should perhaps be dealt with in some other policy from the Ministry.

Unfortunately, there are some changes that appear to have been made here that are rather concerning. I’m wondering why the Ministry has chosen to change the word policy to a guide. It would seem that policy is more direct and holds more wait than a simple guideline, which I feel tends to leave certain things open for interpretation. For example, is the collection of fossil material lumped in with mineral collection?

My understanding of the draft policy that the Ministry shared with clubs in 2014, was specifically written so that parts of Southern Ontario that were withdrawn from staking because the surface rights are privately held would not be made available for hobby mineral collecting. In this version posted on the Environmental Registry, these areas are still off limits. I think it is important to make them available again, subject to the permission of the surface rights holders. Why should it be otherwise? It is confusing that the Ministry has this as part of the guideline. As this stands, I see this as eliminating large areas of the Province for the hobbyist, even though unconditional permission has been granted. Also, I have read through the Guide to Hobby Mineral Collecting on the Registry, and still don’t know whether I need some sort of permission to go mineral collecting where there are no mining claims, and no-one owns the surface rights. It would be helpful if these points could be explained and clarified in the Guide.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this guideline proposal and I hope that perhaps the points that are made here can be clarified and implemented in the final policy. Mineral and fossil collecting by thousands of enthusiast in Ontario is not only important from a recreational standpoint, but also as an economic importance to several areas in Ontario.

Thanks