"The Liberals are more concerned about registering pellet guns than getting tough on criminal use of firearms."

Breitkreuz calls his revelation "explosive" because the Liberal gun registry’s decision now places many innocent Canadians - unknowingly – in violation of the Criminal Code of Canada and under the threat of long prison terms. The Liberal decision affects thousands of businesses that are now criminals for selling airguns without a firearm dealer's licence. The Liberal decision affects more than a million law abiding airgun owners (including every teenager with a pellet gun) who will be criminals unless they have a firearms licence in their possession by the end of this year. The Liberal decision affects millions of airguns that are now firearms according to Bill C-68 and are going to have to be registered by the end of 2002. The Liberal decision has also banned tens of thousands of airguns that will have to be confiscated by police. "If the Liberals are consistent with their previous dictatorial decrees, they will also refuse to pay compensation for seizing and destroying this legally acquired property," explained Breitkreuz. ." Please see the attached preliminary list of 13 makes and models of airguns the Canadian Firearms Registry has changed from non-firearms to firearms.

"This is just the tip of the airgun iceberg!" exclaimed Breitkreuz. "We are still checking dozens of other airgun makes and models." The reason for the Liberal ruling is because of airgun muzzle velocity tests, conducted by the RCMP, with a new type of laser pellet being sold under the brand names: Lazerhawk, Prometheus, and Beeman. The Saskatchewan MP explained, "RCMP muzzle velocity tests with a new type of laser pellets confirm that any airgun with a current muzzle velocity of over 400 feet-per-second(fps) will likely exceed the 500 fps airgun exemption in section 84(1)(3)(d) of the Criminal Code. See the attached summary of the impact this Liberal legislative legacy will have on thousands of airgun dealers and more than a million airgun owners.

"This one change will easily push the Bill C-68 implementation costs from the current $585 million to well over the billion dollar mark before the gun registration deadline of January 1, 2003. The registry already has a backlog of more than a million licence applications to process before the end of the year. What are they going to do when all the airgun owners start filing applications?" asked Breitkreuz.

"In 1995, during the C-68 debates, we warned the Liberals that their poorly drafted bill was going to lead to chaos," reminded Breitkreuz. "Firearms experts told the Liberals to use ‘muzzle energy’ instead of ‘muzzle velocity’ to define firearms in the legislation, but of course Chretien and his crew wouldn’t listen to common sense. This is just one more reason why Bill C-68 has to be scrapped, killed and abolished. I hope the millions of airgun owners out there heed this warning."

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Crosman 357 mag - Prohibited Firearm - FRT# 41822-1 (now prohibited because of barrel length)

Webley Hurricane - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 43386-1 (muzzle velocity: 640fps)

Webley Tempest - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 43382-1 (muzzle velocity: 560 fps)

Beeman Model p1 - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 17122-2 (muzzle velocity: 580 fps)

Crosman Model 1740 - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 89275-1 (muzzle velocity: 600fps)

Crosman 1008 - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 41826-1

Crosman 1377c - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 90615-1

Crosman Model 1760 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 89255 (muzzle velocity: 750fps)

Crosman Model 1077 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 41814-1

Crosman 760 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 41799-1

Crosman Powermaster - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 72071-1

Diana Model 20 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 38510-1

Marksman Lazerhawk - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 79371-4

If your business is in possession of ANY airgun that the Canadian Firearm Registry has reclassified as a firearm and you do not have a licence to sell firearms (and most airgun dealers do not), your business is criminalized. If you do not have your airguns displayed or stored in accordance with the display and storage provisions of Bill C-68, your business is criminalized. If you sell any of these reclassified airguns to anyone without a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate or Possession and Acquisition Licence your business is criminalized. If you sell any of these reclassified airguns without the firearm being registered with the Canadian Firearms Registry and/or without the transfer of ownership being approved by the Canadian Firearms Registry, your business is criminalized. Finally, all the staff in your store must also have a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate or Possession and Acquisition Licence in order to handle these reclassified airguns in your store.

If an individual or business is in possession of any airgun that is a handgun that the Canadian Firearms Registry has reclassified as a firearm - depending on the barrel length - it is now either a restricted or a prohibited firearm (See the above list for examples). If the barrel length is under 105 mm (4 inches), your airgun-handgun it is ‘prohibited’ (like the Crosman 357 mag listed above). If the barrel length is over 105 mm then your airgun-handgun is ‘a restricted’ firearm. All these reclassified airgun-handguns must now be registered immediately or you will be in unauthorized possession of a firearm. If you do not have a firearms licence authorizing you to own a restricted and/or prohibited airgun-handgun, you will be in violation of Criminal Code section 91(1)(b) and subject to imprisonment for up to five years or in violation of section 92(1)(b) and subject to imprisonment for up to ten years.

All these newly reclassified airgun-handguns in your possession must now be stored just the same as any other handgun in accordance with the storage laws and regulations – if you do not you will be criminalized. If you wish to transport your airgun-handgun out of your house you must now apply to the Chief Firearms Office in your province for an Authorization to Transport and you will only be authorized to transport your airgun-handgun to a shooting range approved by the CFO.

If you own a reclassified airgun-handgun with a four-inch barrel or less, it is now prohibited. Due to another bit of poor draftsmanship in Bill C-68, you are no longer eligible to be ‘grandfathered’ because you didn’t register your airgun before February 14, 1995, your now prohibited airgun will be confiscated by police and destroyed - (likely without compensation from the Liberal government.

If you own a reclassified airgun or pellet rifle it is a non-restricted firearm (See the above list for examples) you will need to be in possession of either a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate, a Possession Only Licence or a Possession and Acquisition Licence before December 31, 2000 or you will be in unathorized possession of a firearm and subject to the penalties noted above. You will also be required to register your airgun or pellet rifle before January 1, 2003.