President of Quebec’s Wildlife Federation a Poacher?

 Here is the story as I understand it.
In July 2007, Alain Gagnon the President of The Federation Quebecoise de la Faune was trout fishing on Lac Pimitshikamau, which is part of the Rat River system. It is north of Lac St. Jean and northwest of Quebec City.

The fishing limit on Lake Pimitshikamau is 20 fish for that time of year. Mr. Gagnon was observed by a Provincial Wildlife Officer to be in possession of more than the legal limit of Speckled Trout.

When approached by the officer Mr. Gagnon allegedly started throwing fish into the water. The result is that Mr. Gagnon is not only charged with being in possession of more than the legal limit of fish; he is also charged with obstructing a Provincial Wildlife Officer in the performance of his duties.

All of this happened in July 2007 but Mr. Gagnon only resigned his position with the Wildlife Federation when his arraignment last Thursday in Roberval, Quebec became public knowledge.

 The part of this story that really irritates me is that this fellow who has been involved with the organization for twenty years and president for three when re-elected last April, said that one of his priorities was to encourage fishermen to be more responsible.

Because of his position Mr. Gagnon should maintain a higher respect for the rules than an ordinary person.

An old friend and mentor of mine used to say, “It is not enough to be honest, you must be seen to be honest.” I guess that sums up my feelings about this.