Connect with us
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=12]

National

Four years, $10,000, one frog: Inside Parks Canada’s costly frog cull

Published

5 minute read

From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Ryan Thorpe

It took Parks Canada four years and $10,000 to capture a bullfrog in British Columbia.

“Kids spend zero dollars actually catching frogs, but Parks Canada managed to spend several years and thousands of tax dollars not capturing a single frog,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Did Parks Canada put Mr. Magoo in charge of this particular operation?”

Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, Parks Canada launched a series of unsuccessful culls of the American Bullfrog at the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, according to access-to-information records obtained by the CTF.

The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a collection of 15 islands and 30 islets off the southern coast of B.C.

In 2018-19, Parks Canada spent $1,920 attempting to cull the American Bullfrog from these lands, but did not manage to kill a single frog.

The following year, Parks Canada spent $2,000 and again struck out.

The cull took a temporary hiatus in 2020-21, according to the records.

In 2021-22, Parks Canada spent another $2,207 on the cull, but once again failed to kill any bullfrogs.

Finally, in 2022-23, after years of failure, Parks Canada spent $3,882 and managed to kill one frog.

Between the years of 2018-19 and 2022-23, Parks Canada spent $10,009 on these frog hunts, capturing a single American Bullfrog in the process.

“The frogs appear to be slipping through the fingers of Parks Canada bureaucrats just as fast as our tax dollars are,” Terrazzano said. “Parks Canada keeps proving it’s very bad at hunting, but very good at wasting money.”

The American Bullfrog is the largest species of frog in North America, and is native to southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It was “introduced” to B.C., according to the Canadian Encyclopaedia.

A Parks Canada brochure for the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve describes American Bullfrogs as “real bullies” that “prey on any animal they can overpower and stuff down their throat.”

In 2023-24, Parks Canada’s annual bullfrog hunt at the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve finally hit the jackpot, killing 100 bull frogs at a price tag of $5,079.

The frogs killed by Parks Canada so far have come at a hit to taxpayers of $149 a head.

The records obtained by the CTF detail all Parks Canada animal culls conducted between the years of 2018-19 and 2023-24, as well as any planned future spending.

During that time period, Parks Canada spent a combined $2.6 million on animal hunts targeting moose, deer, doves, foxes, frogs and rats, alongside different species of fish.

Parks Canada plans to spend an additional $3.3 million on animal culls in the coming years. The overall animal cull bill that Parks Canada plans to send to taxpayers sits at $5.9 million.

The highest profile of these animal culls is taking place on Sidney Island in B.C., with Parks Canada spending more than $800,000 on phase one of the hunting operation, which took down 84 deer, at a cost of $10,000 a head.

Residents of Sidney Island organized their own hunt last fall, killing 54 deer at no cost to taxpayers.

So far, Parks Canada has employed exotically expensive hunting techniques on Sidney Island, bringing in expert marksmen from the U.S. and New Zealand and renting a helicopter for $67,000.

Phase two of the operation is set for this fall and will involve ground hunting with dogs.

That deer hunt is part of a $12-million Parks Canada project, officially called the Fur To Forest program, aimed at eradicating the European fallow deer population on Sidney Island and restoring native vegetation, tree seedlings and shrubs.

“The Sidney Island deer hunt has already proven to be an utter disaster and Parks Canada should cut taxpayers’ losses and cancel phase two,” Terrazzano said. “Parks Canada should stop cosplaying as Rambo on the hunt for deer and frogs before it wastes even more of our money.”

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

armed forces

Yet another struggling soldier says Veteran Affairs Canada offered him euthanasia

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Jonathon Van Maren

‘It made me wonder, were they really there to help us, or slowly groom us to say ‘here’s a solution, just kill yourself.’

Yet another Canadian combat veteran has come forward to reveal that when he sought help, he was instead offered euthanasia. 

David Baltzer, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, revealed to the Toronto Sun that he was offered euthanasia on December 23, 2019—making him, as the Sun noted, “among the first Canadian soldiers offered therapeutic suicide by the federal government.”

Baltzer had been having a disagreement with his existing caseworker, when assisted suicide was brought up in in call with a different agent from Veteran Affairs Canada.  

“It made me wonder, were they really there to help us, or slowly groom us to say ‘here’s a solution, just kill yourself,” Baltzer told the Sun.“I was in my lowest down point, it was just before Christmas. He says to me, ‘I would like to make a suggestion for you. Keep an open mind, think about it, you’ve tried all this and nothing seems to be working, but have you thought about medical-assisted suicide?’” 

Baltzer was stunned. “It just seems to me that they just want us to be like ‘f–k this, I give up, this sucks, I’d rather just take my own life,’” he said. “That’s how I honestly felt.” 

Baltzer, who is from St. Catharines, Ontario, joined up at age 17, and moved to Manitoba to join the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, one of Canada’s elite units. He headed to Afghanistan in 2006. The Sun noted that he “was among Canada’s first troops deployed to Afghanistan as part Operation Athena, where he served two tours and saw plenty of combat.” 

“We went out on long-range patrols trying to find the Taliban, and that’s exactly what we did,” Baltzer said. “The best way I can describe it, it was like Black Hawk Down — all of the sudden the s–t hit the fan and I was like ‘wow, we’re fighting, who would have thought? Canada hasn’t fought like this since the Korean War.” 

After returning from Afghanistan, Baltzer says he was offered counselling by Veteran Affairs Canada, but it “was of little help,” and he began to self-medicate for his trauma through substance abuse (he noted that he is, thankfully, doing well today). Baltzer’s story is part of a growing scandal. As the Sun reported:  

A key figure shedding light on the VAC MAID scandal was CAF veteran Mark Meincke, whose trauma-recovery podcast Operation Tango Romeo broke the story. ‘Veterans, especially combat veterans, usually don’t reach out for help until like a year longer than they should’ve,’ Meincke said, telling the Sun he waited over two decades before seeking help. 

‘We’re desperate by the time we put our hands up for help. Offering MAID is like throwing a cinderblock instead of a life preserver.’ Meincke said Baltzer’s story shoots down VAC’s assertions blaming one caseworker for offering MAID to veterans, and suggests the problem is far more serious than some rogue public servant. 

‘It had to have been policy. because it’s just too many people in too many provinces,” Meincke told the Sun. “Every province has service agents from that province.’

Veterans Affairs Canada claimed in 2022 that between four and 20 veterans had been offered assisted suicide; Meincke “personally knows of five, and said the actual number’s likely close to 20.” In a previous investigation, VAC claimed that only one caseworker was responsible—at least for the four confirmed cases—and that the person “was lo longer employed with VAC.” Baltzer says VAC should have military vets as caseworkers, rather than civilians who can’t understand what vets have been through. 

Featured Image

Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National PostNational ReviewFirst Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton SpectatorReformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.

His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

He is the author of The Culture WarSeeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of AbortionPatriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life MovementPrairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.

Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Continue Reading

2025 Federal Election

As PM Poilievre would cancel summer holidays for MP’s so Ottawa can finally get back to work

Published on

From Conservative Party Communications

In the first 100 days, a new Conservative government will pass 3 laws:

1. Affordability For a Change Act—cutting spending, income tax, sales tax off homes

2. Safety For a Change Act to lock up criminals

3. Bring Home Jobs Act—that repeals C-69, sets up 6 month permit turnarounds for new projects

No summer holiday til they pass!

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today that as Prime Minister he will cancel the summer holiday for Ottawa politicians and introduce three pieces of legislation to make life affordable, stop crime, and unleash our economy to bring back powerful paycheques. Because change can’t wait.

A new Conservative government will kickstart the plan to undo the damage of the Lost Liberal Decade and restore the promise of Canada with a comprehensive legislative agenda to reverse the worst Trudeau laws and cut the cost of living, crack down on crime, and unleash the Canadian economy with ‘100 Days of Change.’ Parliament will not rise until all three bills are law and Canadians get the change they voted for.

“After three Liberal terms, Canadians want change now,” said Poilievre. “My plan for ‘100 Days of Change’ will deliver that change. A new Conservative government will immediately get to work, and we will not stop until we have delivered lower costs, safer streets, and bigger paycheques.”

The ’100 Days of Change’ will include three pieces of legislation:

The Affordability–For a Change Act 

Will lower food prices, build more homes, and bring back affordability for Canadians by:

We will also:

  • Identify 15% of federal buildings and lands to sell for housing in Canadian cities.

The Safe Streets–For a Change Act 

Will end the Liberal violent crime wave by:

The Bring Home Jobs–For a Change Act 

This Act will be rocket fuel for our economy. We will unleash Canada’s vast resource wealth, bring back investment, and create powerful paycheques for workers so we can stand on our own feet and stand up to Trump from a position of strength, by:

Poilievre will also:

  • Call President Trump to end the damaging and unjustified tariffs and accelerate negotiations to replace CUSMA with a new deal on trade and security. We need certainty—not chaos, but Conservatives will never compromise on our sovereignty and security. 
  • Get Phase 2 of LNG Canada built to double the project’s natural gas production.
  • Accelerate at least nine other projects currently snarled in Liberal red tape to get workers working and Canada building again.

“After the Lost Liberal Decade of rising costs and crime and a falling economy under America’s thumb, we cannot afford a fourth Liberal term,” said Poilievre. “We need real change, and that is what Conservatives will bring in the first 100 days of a new government. A new Conservative government will get to work on Day 1 and we won’t stop until we have delivered the change we promised, the change Canadians deserve, the change Canadians voted for.”

Continue Reading

Trending

X