Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all the best for the coming New Year from the Board of Directors, staff and the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
It’s been the strangest year for all of us, and we can only imagine what it’s been like for you, too.
First, COVID-19 and the response to it from all levels of government transformed our lives in ways none of us thought possible this time last year.
Then Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic and a mass murdering criminal in Nova Scotia to enact the most sweeping firearm confiscation Order in Council in our nation’s history.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair promised gun owners compensation for confiscating and destroying their legally owned firearms but so far, the minister can’t buy himself a scapegoat for this boondoggle despite three failed attempts to find one.
It’s widely speculated Justin Trudeau will force the fall of his own government this spring in order to have the pandemic election he so desperately wants in order to try to regain the majority government he lost in 2019.
You can bet that if all the rumours are true, the foundation of the Liberal Party’s next election platform will be another massive round of gun confiscations.
With or without a spring election, all signs point to Bill Blair issuing a second gun ban by Order in Council specifically designed to remove the best-selling semi-automatic rifles from the Canadian marketplace.
Bill Blair’s ongoing hints about another OIC gun ban only serve to cripple our already-paralyzed retail firearms industry.
After being stuck with millions of dollars in unsalable inventory after the last OIC gun ban, firearm wholesalers and retailers are understandably reluctant to place orders for guns that will probably be on the next ban list.
While Bill Blair’s Firearm Confiscation Compensation Scheme searches for a scapegoat, gun owners across the country are challenging the nullification of their firearm registration certificates using Section 74 of the Criminal Code. Nine recent court decisions in Alberta have cleared the way for reference hearings to move forward in that province.[i]
Major legal challenges to Justin Trudeau’s gun ban by order in council are moving slowly through the court system. The CSSA supports three of those legal challenges, all of which you can read about, and lend your support to, on our website.[ii]
If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift, consider donating to the CSSA’s latest fundraiser and giving your tickets to the gun lover in your life. One lucky person from this fundraiser will win a Kodiak Defence WK-180C. [iii]
Who knows? This may be your last chance on this Non-Restricted firearm before Bill Blair bans it with his next order in council!
While we really, really hope 2021 will be a much better year for all of us, we also realize the battle for our fundamental rights and freedoms never ends.
We will continue to work with elected officials and political parties across the spectrum for common sense gun laws that respect the rights of firearms owners while making Canada a safer place for everyone.
These are not mutually exclusive ideals, contrary to the lies and misinformation spread by our political enemies.
But unless something completely unexpected happens over the next ten days, we’re going to focus our attention on our families this Christmas.
That means there will be no CSSA E-News or CSSA MarketPlace published until January 5, 2021.
Until then, all of us here at the CSSA wish you and your family a happy and safe Christmas Season and a wonderful New Year.
Sincerely,
Tony Bernardo
Executive Director
Canadian Shooting Sports Association
Sources:
[i] https://christopherdiarmani.com/17038/guns/canadas-firearms-act/nine-attempts-to-quash-section-74-reference-hearings-destroyed-by-alberta-judge/
[ii] https://cssa-cila.org/cssa-supports-three-legal-challenges-of-sor-2020-96/
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