The concept is being met with some opposition, but the government says it's doing what it can to make the transition as painless as possible, hopefully in the end benefitting local hunters and anglers.
Saskatchewan's angling and hunting licence vendors that are transitioning to the new online automated Hunting, Trapping and Angling Licence (HAL) system will still be able to sell paper licences for this year.
"We are taking a decades-old paper system and moving it online and there have been a few growing pains this spring," Environment Minister Ken Cheveldayoff says. "In support of the stakeholders who are going through this transition with us and to make sure anglers can hit the water this spring issue free, we will make paper licences available as a back-up, in the event of computer problems or challenges with data entry."
The back-up paper licences will only be available for this year. In 2014, the HAL licensing system will be entirely electronic. Only vendors who are adopting the new electronic system will be issued the paper licences.
"Hunting and angling licence vendors play an important role in the partnership for managing Saskatchewan's fish and wildlife resources and we want to ensure that the best possible system is available to them," Cheveldayoff adds.
"By bringing the licensing system online, we receive real-time information on how our province's fishing and hunting resources are being enjoyed which benefits our stakeholders, guests and the Ministry of Environment's conservation efforts for generations to come."
Individuals can access the automated licensing system to establish an account and be assigned a unique HAL identification number. They will only ever have to register once and then they will be able to purchase all future licences as they become available.
Individuals can purchase their licences:
online through their personal computer any time;
through private issuers, Ministry of Environment and select Provincial Park offices; or
by phone at 1-855-848-4773.
For this year, spring bear licences must be purchased from a local licence issuer, Ministry of Environment or select Provincial Park offices. All remaining licences will be available online in time for the fall hunting season.
Detailed instructions for signing up for a HAL number and how to purchase a licence are available at www.gov.sk.ca/huntingandfishing.
