Political Rhetoric vs Criminal Code Reality

When the emotional rhetoric to ban guns overtakes rational thought and editorial due diligence, media outlets publish absurd statements like this:

“We must criminalize possession of all firearms in Canada. There are some clear exceptions: licensed hunters, gun clubs, sports shooters and law enforcement. Barring these, there is absolutely no justifiable reason for an individual to be carrying a firearm.”

In other words, the writer demands we do what Jean Crétien’s Liberal government did almost three decades ago – criminalize possession of all firearms in Canada.

Why then do the editorial boards of The Hill Times^[i], The Huffington Post^[ii] and The Globe and Mail^[iii] publish such nonsense?

1. The author has an agenda and willfully ignores current law to push that agenda;
2. The media continue to abdicate its responsibility to journalistic integrity;
3. Editors are too lazy, either wilfully or intentionally, to perform basic research before publishing an uninformed opinion piece.

Before screaming “There oughta be a law!”, it would be wise to invest thirty seconds to research if that law already exists.

In this case, firearm possession was criminalized almost thirty years ago. This limits ownership to the exact group the author says should be permitted to own firearms: “licensed hunters, gun clubs, sports shooters and law enforcement.”

We do not have a “gun problem” in Canada, nor do we have a problem with civilian ownership of firearms. We have a gang violence problem that few politicians or policy think tanks have the courage to address.

If we truly want to stop the violence in our major cities, we must do the hard work of tackling the root causes of gang violence, the gangs themselves and the obscene amounts of money they gather through drugs, prostitution and other illegal activities. Only then will we stop the violence plaguing our streets.

For those interested in facts (which excludes The Mosaic Institute [iv] , its chair, Vahan Kololian, and the editors of The Hill Times, The Huffington Post and The Globe and Mail), here is what current Canadian law defines as the crime of firearm possession.

Criminal Code Section 91 [v]

(1) Subject to subsection (4), every person commits an offence who possesses a prohibited firearm, a restricted firearm or a non-restricted firearm without being the holder of

(a) a licence under which the person may possess it; and

(b) in the case of a prohibited firearm or a restricted firearm, a registration certificate for it.

 

Criminal Code Section 92 [vi]

(1) Subject to subsection (4), every person commits an offence who possesses a prohibited firearm, a restricted firearm or a non-restricted firearm knowing that the person is not the holder of

(a) a licence under which the person may possess it; and

(b) in the case of a prohibited firearm or a restricted firearm, a registration certificate for it.

 

Sources:

[i] https://www.hilltimes.com/2018/08/23/vahan-kololian/155202

[ii] https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/vahan-kololian/criminalize-possession-of-guns_a_23511150/

[iii] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-we-must-criminalize-gun-possession-in-canada/

[iv] http://mosaicinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Lets-Eradicate-Gun-Violence-by-Criminalizing-All-Gun-PossessionAug23_4-16pm.pdf

[v] https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-19.html

[vi] https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-20.html