April 5, 2006

Dear Sir/ Madame,

In June of 2006 I will be commencing my 24th year as a member of the Ontario Provincial Police. For 18 of those years I have been assigned the rank of Detective, specifically assigned to major criminal investigations. I must point out that in all my experience as a police officer I have only investigated one homicide were a firearm was the weapon used in the slaying. In contrast, the majority of murders that I have been involved in as an investigator, a knives were preferred and two separate occasions a hammer was the weapon of choice. I have however been involved in the investigation of countless offences such as robbery, where handguns were the weapon of choice and I must point out Sir, that the firearms registry did not assist in solving one, nor obviously in deterring one. The reasons that the firearms registry is so highly ineffectual are, I believe obvious, but basically it affects the wrong people, law abiding citizens and not criminals.

The vast majority of Canadians have now become enlightened as to not only the contempt this law has shown to the rights of law abiding citizens but as well the disgraceful waste of money. This enormous waste of money, time and effort has done nothing to reduce violence or crime in general. It has, in fact, been responsible for draining resources which would have enormously benefited all Canadians; whether health care, social programs, cash strapped law enforcement or a host of other worthwhile endeavors.

When Alan Rock stood in the House of Commons and told Canadians he could institute this registry for two million dollars it should have been immediately obvious that two million dollars wouldn’t even cover the cost of stamps required to register an estimated seven million firearms. The blatant lack of research displayed by Rock and his fellow Liberals prior to making that ludicrous statement is as obvious as it is ridiculous!

With the above in mind I implore you sir to support the rescinding of this appalling law!

We are all aware of the ongoing violence which has erupted in Toronto and other urban centers as well, but do you really believe, that a law which persecutes a hunter in any rural town Canada is the answer to stopping the criminal element in our cities?

Now is the time for action! We have had thirteen years of Liberal rule while gang violence and murder in our cities has increased exponentially. Thirteen years of Liberal inaction causing finances to our medical facilities to be cut and slashed. Canadians increasingly have had to wait longer for various medical procedures, often with devastating affects. Health Care Personnel have had to function with less equipment, less staff and longer hours eventually, I believe, affecting their own health. And while we’ve had these years of inaction by the Liberals they continued to waste billions of dollars, on an ineffectual firearms registry.