The Government of Saskatchewan is lifting some of the restrictions it had on place for hunting in motorized wheelchairs - which was disallowed due to a technicality.

Under Saskatchewan law, you were not allowed to hunt while operating a four-wheeled motorized vehicle, which would technically include most mobility wheelchairs.

Due to this, those who were mobility-impaired had a huge roadblock from hunting until last year, when the government introduced a permit that allowed people to ride their mobility wheelchairs while hunting.

Now, the government has redone the regulations so that motorized wheelchairs are not affected, and done away with the permit.

A Wildlife Unit Manager of Saskatchewan, Joann Skilnick closely followed what exactly was causing the problem for some hunters. 

"Prior to 2020, our regulations actually did not allow hunters with mobility impairments to use motorized wheelchairs," said Skilnick, "When we became aware of that, we amended that regulation so that climate was still that they would need to obtain a permit to use a wheelchair because it was defined the same as an ATV."

"With the new legislation that we amended this year, we changed the definition of an ATV such that motorized wheelchairs would be exempt and hunters using them would be able to hunt without obtaining a permit."

Skilnick says that while motorized wheelchairs are allowed, the restrictions on ATVs have their place.

"That's primarily to protect land from being disturbed from ATVs, such as causing tracks on farmer's land and stuff like that," said Skilnick.

The change from the permit restrictions was done in communication and cooperation with hunters in Saskatchewan.

"We received some additional feedback from hunters who were using motorized wheelchairs we had some stakeholders involved in some discussions. They identified that they thought we should remove that need for a permit," said Skilnick.

Skilnick says that she hopes all hunters - including those without mobility impairments - remain safe and follow all rules while hunting.