On November 11, 2023, La Press reporter Tristan Péloquin did what no CSSA member dares attempt.
He bought a non-restricted SKS with three detachable magazines in a private sale, without receiving a transfer authorization by the Canadian Firearms Centre, as required by law.
“A private Facebook group allowed gun owners to sell military-style weapons for several months under the guise of coded language. We purchased one, and found numerous violations of the law during the transaction.” [i]
Péloquin did not “find” numerous violations of the law, he committed numerous violations of the law. There is a difference. Yes, even for reporters, as his next statement admits.
“Eight short seconds. That’s exactly how long it took us to transform one of the three five-round magazines sold with our SKS rifle into a prohibited 30-round high-capacity magazine.”
By removing rivets from three magazines, he possessed a prohibited device, the legal description for a centrefire cartridge magazine capable of holding more than five rounds. That offence carries a maximum of five years in prison.
By his own admission, Péloquin is also guilty of unauthorized possession of a firearm, making him subject to a prison term “not exceeding five years.”
These are serious crimes with serious prison time attached to them, so why has Tristan Péloquin not been arrested and charged?
At a minimum, Tristan Péloquin’s Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) must be revoked for committing the crimes to which he confessed in his La Presse article.
But we also believe Péloquin should face criminal charges for violating the Criminal Code in ways that, were a CSSA member to do, that individual would immediately be arrested, charged and hauled off to the nearest Remand Centre.
Are members of the Fifth Estate now exempt from the laws that other Canadians must obey?
So far, the answer appears to be a resounding YES.
And that brings us to a very disturbing constitutional issue.
All Canadians are to be treated equally under the law.
The hint is in the very first word of that sentence.
ALL Canadians…
We wait with bated breath for the announcement of Tristan Péloquin’s arrest and the criminal charges against him, unless some pigs, to quote Orwell, are more equal than others.
Source
[i] https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/acheter-une-arme-non-enregistree-un-jeu-d-enfant/2023-11-11/huit-secondes-pour-obtenir-un-chargeur-illegal.php
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