Canadian and a gun owner here, so I'll weigh in.
Personally I see no issue with teaching children to shoot at a young age (5-6, depending on maturity level), providing proper supervision is given. Keeping guns locked up when you have children in the house is important, and failure to do so leads to many of the accidents you hear about. When done properly, it can teach the child both proper respect for firearms as well as be an enriching experience. It's also a big urban/rural divide thing, having a gun when you live out in the country is like having a car... necessary.