Just got off phone with MNR.

[wheelie]

Crossbows are not legal in Ontario for bowfishing anymore. White sucker is open in the rivers for bow and arrow March 1st even though they are closed for fishing. Got alot of questions answered. Boat are legal to shoot out of. Clears alot of questions I had. Just have to watch for bylaws about bows in some towns and cities

[Pydpiper]

Who did you speak to? I called the Aylmer MNR and was given an "OK" by Duncan Hall, CO. That was about two weeks ago.

[ninepointer]

Crossbows are not legal in Ontario for bowfishing anymore. White sucker is open in the rivers for bow and arrow March 1st even though they are closed for fishing. Got alot of questions answered. Boat are legal to shoot out of. Clears alot of questions I had. Just have to watch for bylaws about bows in some towns and cities

Sounds to me like an interpretation, not a reg change. If its important to you, I'd ask to see the reg change because this is the sort of thing that would have required posting onthe EBR for public comment.

[swiftfox]

Duncan is a good guy. talked to him this winter about trespassers again. He is fair and knows the regs. I would go with his knowledge of the regs.

swiftfox

[bugs]

I think it was one of those things you want in writing. It is like calling CRA and 5 people can all give you the wrong answer.

[wheelie]

Made another call to the top and waiting on his return call. Exaclly what I am going to ask for Miss Bugs if he says crossbows are allowed. In 2005 crossbows were in the regs as being able to use. Why would they remove it? It is not in the regs now and no heading in there that states crossbows are concidered as a bow and arrow as they are in the hunting regs. Not that it is a big deal, I would just like to know and be able to have that choice.
After four cruisers that came to arrest me last summer I want to have all avenues covered. Have plans for some new towns this summer. Only problem is I am crazy busy with work and this is ussually the slow time of year. But I will have to find time.

[Pydpiper]

It has to be in the regulations somewhere, otherwise there would be no "violation". Hopefully someone in the MNR can provide a link to the actual regulations seeing how it isn't clear in the summary.
When I was speaking to Duncan he was verbally consulting with another CO, and they both seemed confident in what they told me, but better safe than sorry.
I doubt I will be using a crossbow to bowfish, but in the event that I change my mind it would be nice to not have to guess.

[maple]

Geeze, not this again.

I thought the last time this came up it was said that Bill T. had a firm ruling from the MNR and crossbows were OK. If I recall correctly, he even wanted the names of CO's who were mis-interpreting the regs so they could be enlightened.

I know they are not "included" in the current regs, but neither are they "excluded".

Why not send him a PM?

[wheelie]

Just got conformation from head Co in Owen Sound that crossbows are definately not allowed. I will take retriever off crossbow till I know for sure or have a ruling

I am with you Pydpiper why risk it. Can't afford a lawyer.

[Pydpiper]

Yep, before a got an arrow wet I would want to see something in writing, like a link to the actual act that pertains to crossbows.
Our MNR typically doesn't differentiate between bows for any hunting season, if it says "bow" it means any bow we have access to provided the other variables are met, like draw weight, length and broadhead.
The exception is waterfowl, you can hunt them with a recurve or compound, but not a crossbow, difference being the migratory laws which our MNR has nothing to do with.
No intention of fishing with a crossbow, but the discrepancies are worth looking in to further just to find out what the facts are.

[Xbowkiller]

Want to try it someday

[Rogue_wave]

Ha ha ha!!! This thread brings back memeories. Been bowfishing since 1984 and have had several run in's with the mis informed authorities. To the best of my knowledge if the township or city bylaws classify a bow or crossbow as a firearm, then it is illegal to discharge one with in the city limits. A few years ago I showed in a small town to whack some carp, it was a Sunday 6:30 in the am. Ten minutes after I got there I heard the sirens and started to chuckle to myself ( I did my homework and was 100% legal) this knucklehead in a cruiser came flying in with his holster undone and hand on his sidearm. He proceeded to tell me that it was illegal to hunt carp in the city and that I was under arrest. He grabbed my bow and as I went back for a bag to put the fish in he told me not to move. He grabbed and the three carp and threw them into the back of the cruiser"s carpetted trunk and off we went, me still in waders. Once we got to the station it was just organized confusion. I showed him the regs and no believed me. They finnally got a hold of a co and he came over, checked me for my fishing lic and my equip, to make sure I had no target tip or broadheads. They finally said I was free to go on my own. I told them they brought me here and they could take me back to my truck, that I wasnt walking all that way in waders carrying an open bow and fish. I'd have been back there again once someone saw me and phoned the cops again. Needless to say the arresting officer was pi$$ed and told me once back at the truck that I had ten minutes to get out of town. I drove back to the station and logged a complaint against him. He then followed me all around the town till I left, I took my sweet time. Anyways to make a long story short, make sure you check the individual town bylaws or you could be in trouble, regardless of the MNR Regs.

cheers

R/W

[Tom]

A city or township might have a ruling or law that states you can not fire a crossbow inside it's limits, ..... but they can not class a piece of archery equipment as a firearm. This is the jurisdiction of the federal government. Unless the archery equipment shoots the projectile faster then 500 fps it is not a firearm by definition (federal government). Lower levels of government can not over rule what the federal's say, they can only add too the regulations (this is why there are 3 levels of court with the federal court being the last say).

I once had CO tell me that I could not target shoot, in a safe permitted area because there was a hunting season going on. I checked into that and the head office for the MNR told me that target shooting was a federal regulation and that the MNR and provincial officers had no say or jurisdiction.

But it is best to get everything in writing. I usually send an e-mail to the MNR asking for a clear interpretation of a ruling. I then print off their answer and carry it with me. But with this, how can they class vertical bows and crossbows differently as that would be a clear discrimination case, stopping people from using archery equipment to Bow Fish which have a disability. And if they allow the disabled to use crossbows, they have to let all people use them or they would be centering out the disabled which is a clear discrimination case as per the Canadian Human Rights & Disability Act.

Good luck,

[OldSkool]

This is the response I received from an e-mail I sent to the MNR website.

My question was,

Please advise as to whether or not crossbows are legal for use for the

purpose of bowfishing.

MNR response

Hello,



Thank you for your enquiry.



As per page 11 of the 2012 Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary:



"Bow and arrow: includes all longbows"



You may not bowfish in Ontario with a crossbow.


My follow up question,

Why the change? It was allowed in previous years. Was there public consultation on this?

MNR response

Hello,



While the Ontario Fishery Regulation (OFR) lists crossbows in Schedule 6, the Fisheries Act does not create a new definition for ‘bow and arrow’ to include ‘crossbows and bolts’. Schedule 6 of OFR 2007 does not have the authority to define what constitutes a ‘bow and arrow’. In order for the OFR to redefine what is traditionally considered a ‘bow and arrow’ it would require a separate subsection that clarifies the intent of the term and that a ‘crossbow and bolt’ are included in the definition of a ‘bow and arrow’. So although it appears in subsection 6 of the OFR, you technically cannot use a crossbow for sport fishing under the current regulations. That is why it no longer appears in the fishing regulations.



When it did appear in the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary several years ago it was in error.

We hope you have found this information helpful.

If you require further assistance please contact the Natural Resources Information Centre at the toll free number below.



Regards,



NRIC web reader - CG

************************************

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Natural Resources Information Centre

300 Water Street,P.O. Box 7000

Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5

1-800-667-1940

TTY: 1-866-686-6072

Fax: 705-755-1677

[email protected]


Looks like it's simply a matter of a definition rewrite. I would hope that Excal would be interested in this. I realize the crossbow/fishing market is not large. But you would want to make sure bow/arrow definitions would always include crossbows.
For what its worth you can still hunt frogs with a crossbow

[OldSkool]

And for the record I was wrong/out of date when I posted this,

OldSkool » Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:43 pm
Crossbows are totally legal for use during Ontario's bowfishing season. The definition of bow and arrow in the regulations includes "all long bows and crossbows"

I was reading the 2010 regs and used the info found there. The information changed in the 2011 regs as stated by Wheelie.

My bad