NOTE: A version of this article also appeared in the Regina Leader Post

PUBLICATION:          The Ottawa Citizen

DATE:                         2005.02.10

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  News

PAGE:                         A1 / Front

BYLINE:                     Tim Naumetz

SOURCE:                   The Ottawa Citizen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No ban on rifle type used in Dec. 6 massacre, Cotler says: Letter to gunowner sent by mistake, justice minister says

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said yesterday that a letter he wrote to a gun owner announcing plans to ban the Ruger Mini 14 semi-automatic rifle during the current session of Parliament was a mistake.

Mr. Cotler said the government has no plans at this time to ban the weapon, which was used by mass murderer Marc Lepine to kill 14 women at a Montreal engineering college in 1989.

He was responding to a furore among gun owners across Canada this week caused when Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz published the letter on his website last Friday.

An aide to Mr. Breitkreuz said yesterday his office was flooded with e-mails from incensed gun owners who believed the letter was proof the government has a secret plan to prohibit all semi-automatic rifles.

In response, Mr. Breitkreuz circulated an e-mail challenging the government to prove the Ruger Mini 14, which Mr. Lepine used when he randomly gunned down women at Montreal 's Ecole Polytechnique, is a threat to public safety while "in the hands of a law-abiding firearm owner."

By late yesterday, the controversy caught up to Mr. Cotler, who tracked Mr. Breitkreuz down in Parliament to inform him the letter to the anonymous gun owner was incorrect and he would be writing a second letter to retract the first one.

An aide to Mr. Cotler said the government has no plans to ban the rifle during this session of Parliament, and Mr. Cotler signed the letter "in error."

"The minister's office takes full responsibility," said communications director Denise Rudnicki, who added "no decision" has been taken on banning the Ruger Mini 14 at this time.

In the Jan. 27 letter he wrote to the anonymous gun owner, Mr. Cotler said Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, the former justice minister, had forwarded correspondence about the Mini 14.

"The Government of Canada is committed to introducing legislation to prohibit the Ruger Mini 14 at the earliest opportunity during this session of Parliament," Mr. Cotler wrote.

While Ms. McLellan is responsible for the Canada Firearms Act, Mr. Cotler is responsible for Criminal Code provisions for prohibited weapons.

The Mini 14, a lightweight .223-calibre rifle equipped with a magazine that can legally hold up to five bullets, is used by farmers and ranchers to hunt small game and control pests. Former justice minister Allan Rock said in 1995 when he introduced the Firearms Act that the government intended to ban the gun, but no action has been taken since.

The Firearms Act, passed in 1998, prohibited 21 weapons that had been restricted under previous gun laws, including military assault weapons such as the AK-47. Gun enthusiasts who were registered owners of the weapons prior to 1995 were allowed to keep them for life, but could not transfer them or sell them to other people.

BREITKREUZ ON LIBERALS' PLAN TO BAN THE RUGER MINI 14

1. The onus is on the government to prove this firearm is more of a problem than any other type of firearm. Consequently, I will not support the banning of any firearm including the Ruger Mini 14 until and unless the government can provide the following information and assurances to Parliament and the public:

• Evidence that the firearm to be banned is a threat to public safety while in the hands of a law-abiding firearm owner.
• Evidence that the firearm to be banned is not used for hunting or sporting purposes by the majority of the owners of that particular firearm.
• Evidence that the banning of firearms has been a cost effective policy and successful at reducing the criminal use of firearms and keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals.
• Evidence that the firearm to be banned is more lethal than other types of legal firearms.
• Written guarantee that fundamental property rights will be respected and that the government will fully compensate owners for the loss in value suffered by owners of firearm to be banned and/or confiscated.

2. The key point in all of this is - just like the rest of the Firearms Act - the Liberal policy of prohibiting firearms is doing nothing whatsoever to improve public safety.  The hundred million a year being wasted tracking duck hunters should be spent targeting the root causes of violence and for police to go after the real criminals.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In a letter to a constituent dated January 27, 2005, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler stated: "The Government of Canada is committed to introducing legislation to prohibit the Ruger Mini-14 at the earliest opportunity during this session of Parliament.  The criterion for prohibiting firearms is whether it is reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes."

Copy of Letter: http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/IrwinCotlerLetterFeb05.pdf

568,460 REGISTERED FIREARMS PROHIBITED BY BILL C-68 http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/FirearmsProhibitedinBillC-68.pdf

LIBERAL GUN BAN IN THE WORKS FOR YEARS

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article122.htm

NO DATA ON THE NUMBER OF GUNS CONFISCATED

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article532.htm

Library of Parliament Report: Legislative Procedures for Banning Firearms http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/LibraryReportBanning%20Guns2005-02-08.doc