COMMENTARY – THE VARIATIONS OF VARIANT OR OTHER WAYS TO MAKE YOUR BRAIN HURT
It seems almost impossible in this day of modern lawmaking that the term “variant” could be mentioned 99 times in the abhorrent Firearms Act and yet remains undefined. Sadly, this is the case. For years, courts, lawyers, bureaucrats, politicians and we lowly commoners have struggled to understand the meaning of this word. Worse, it appears the original drafters had no clue as to what it should mean either.
Let’s take the Mitchell Arms AK-22 as an example. It bears a vague resemblance to the famous AK-47 except for the junky plastic stock, the deformed contours, lousy bluing, wrong size, wrong sights and otherwise tortured caricature of the Russian military rifle. It shares no parts – not even a screw – and is chambered for the common .22 long rifle cartridge, not the AK’s 7.62x39mm round. It uses a completely different action befitting its rimfire DNA and, of course, a completely different magazine. In fact, the only things the AK-47 and the AK-22 firearms share are the first two letters of their names.
Yet the AK-22 is a named variant of the AK-47 under the Firearms Act. This is clear proof that the architects of this badly written junk legislation were incompetent when they wrote this legislation.
And when you thought the tragic comedy couldn’t get worse, the RCMP Firearms Lab enters the fray and declares the Mossberg Blaze 47, a .22 firearm of similarity to the AK-22 to be a prohibited variant of the AK-47 based upon the ludicrous decision of the original drafters of the prohibition orders. Their excuse: if the drafters of the prohibition orders thought the AK-22 was a variant then that means the Blaze 47 must be a variant too.
Part two of this silliness is that the Mossberg Blaze, the identical rifle without the cheesy plastic military-wannabe stock, is NON-RESTRICTED and the Blaze 47 stock is an uncontrolled part. One could legally buy the Blaze, legally buy the stock, and legally put one together and it would still be non-restricted.
Talk about punting the RCMP lab’s credibility through the goalpost of life! With the simple movement of a few electrons in the FRT (Firearms Reference Table), the RCMP took Bill C-68’s mantle of stupidity and draped themselves in it. Their cache as Canada’s supposed experts in firearms instantly transformed itself into incompetence across the global gun community. Canada’s recreational shooting community rippled with derisive laughter and many RCMP officers, both retired and serving, called us to express their regrets that the Firearms Lab had sullied the Force so badly.
You see, EVERYONE knew that the simple little Mossberg Blaze 47 was not a variant of an AK-47. Indeed, the RCMP had shamelessly played out a blatant political agenda. In doing so, they also torched their credibility.
It is self-evident that those who disregard obvious truth for a political agenda will not be swayed by the derision of those they supposedly serve. Worse, the current government has vowed to give the decision-making powers regarding classifications to the RCMP, ignoring the fact that we elect politicians to make our laws and that the specter of permitting police to make the law is far too frightening to contemplate for any democratic nation. We’ve seen the results of RCMP classifications, and we’ve seen the perpetuation of C-68’s gargantuan stupidity at their hands.
And yet, the definition of a simple word “variant” continues to go on undefined. Right now, it means whatever they say it means. Even the dictionary is no guide, delivering several different meanings that are all sufficiently vague as to be preposterous.
This is simply an intolerable situation. Even the current Liberals want Canada to be a nation of laws, not a place where the whims of unelected bureaucrats have the power to put people in jail.
The word “variant” simply must be defined, not just for the Firearms Act, but as a symbol that Canada is still a free nation where the laws that govern our citizens are clearly understood by those citizens. We know politicians are big on symbolism, but this declaration, that the written law is the cornerstone of our democracy, seems to be more necessary every day.
Let’s bring “variant” out of the dark shadows of the Firearms Act, lest its arbitrary definitions begin to be applied to more sentient things than just our firearms.
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2016 SHOT SHOW GARNERS RAVE REVIEWS (The National Shooting Sports Foundation | January 22, 2016)
The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show℠ (SHOT Show®) rang up its second highest attendance total ever, attracting more than 64,000 industry professionals during a four-day run. Held at the Sands Expo Center Jan. 19-22, the SHOT Show also attracted a record number of buyers, sending a strong signal about the health of the firearms industry.
“We are ecstatic at the response to this year’s show,” said Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “And we’re optimistic for a year of strong sales, shooter participation, business-to-consumer outreach efforts, safety education and technological innovation.”
This year’s SHOT Show offered several new features that were well-received. These included SHOT Show TV, which aired in more than 70,000 hotel rooms across the city, a new NSSF Members Reception and the SHOT Show NEXT Pavilion.
“It takes an in-depth knowledge of what our industry wants and where it wants to go to pull off a show of this size and have the vast majority of those attending state, unequivocally, that this is the best show they’ve attended in years,” said Dolnack. “That kind of positive response is the result of working hard to add value to the customer experience through new, innovative features.”
NEXT Pavilion
The SHOT Show NEXT Pavilion display counters were an enormous hit, giving exposure to 100 top-tier vendors selected from the long list of those waiting for booth space on the main exhibit floors.
“It is vital to the health of the show, as well as to the health of the industry, that new companies, new people and new products gain visibility,” said Dolnack. “The NEXT Pavilion is just the kind of adrenaline shot the show needs to keep evolving.”
“I think the NEXT Pavilion has worked out well,” said David Fillers, CEO of DDI, one of the new NEXT exhibitors. “It was a good deal, and I’ve probably sold a couple months’ worth of production.”
Drew Gilkerson of Gunner Kennels made the new venue work for him, saying, “We doubled up and had product in the New Product Center. I think that was critical to the good response I’ve had up here in the NEXT Pavilion. This has been phenomenal.”
SHOW Floor Buzz
If the buyers were happy, the exhibitors were a mirror reflection of them.
“Obviously SHOT Show is important to us,” said Tom Taylor, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sig Sauer. “We made a huge investment in the booth because we want our customers to know that we are a total system provider.” And it was evident from the crowd in the booth that the effort wasn’t lost on anyone.
Thomas O’Keefe, President, Winchester Ammunition, was also pleased with this year’s show. “The show has gone perfectly,” he said. “We’re celebrating our 150th anniversary, and there’s a tremendous level of excitement that comes with that. We’re very proud of our new products, and indications are that the coming year should be very exciting. We’re also very pleased that the show is so well organized and well run—we’re very proud to be part of the NSSF.”
Paul Pluff, Director, Marketing Communications with Smith & Wesson, said, “This is the premier show for us, and once again this has been a very busy time. The response to our new products has been fantastic, and based on what we’re seeing, we’re very much looking forward to the year ahead.”
Jason Vanderbrink, Vice President of Sales for Vista Outdoor, was very upbeat about the show traffic. “We’ve had a very good show. Booth traffic has been great, and the new product intros have all been received very well, especially with the help of our brand ambassadors on television, YouTube, etc., who have helped drive a lot of interest. The mood is good.”
John Iacobelli, Director of Engineering for GunBroker.com, said, “The show has been wonderful. It allows us to expose our marketplace to the dealers so that they can have an alternate avenue for selling their products. We open their doors to the nation.” Donald Hall, the company’s CEO, said simply, “We’re swamped. It used to be retailers saw us as competition, now they see us as a resource.”
“Our booth has been incredibly busy, and this show has the most positive energy I’ve ever seen,” said Ryan Repp, Communications Manager, Brownells. “These are serious thoughtful customers.”
Mike Schwiebert, Vice President of Marketing for Weatherby, put the show in context by saying, “In my 17 years of working SHOT Shows with Weatherby, this is perhaps the busiest show I’ve ever had.”
Dave Miles, Director of Marketing for O.F. Mossberg and Sons, echoed those sentiments.
“The show has been amazing,” Miles said. “SHOT Show always plays a role in a successful selling season, and this year will be no different. We’ve had great response to new products, and that enthusiasm is translating into a significant uptick in business.”
The upbeat, positive attitude was omnipresent.
“This year’s opening day was the best I’ve ever experienced, and we’ve been a SHOT Show exhibitor for decades,” said Robin Sharpless, Executive Vice President of Redding Reloading. “We are especially thrilled by the international presence—everyone wants to be a part of this industry.”
Law Enforcement
The excitement for what 2016 will mean to the firearms industry was at a near fever-pitch in the law enforcement hall.
“It’s been a great show,” said Cindy Daniel, Executive Vice President of Daniel Defense. “I think it’s going to be a very exciting year.”
Darren Jones, Media Relations and Sales with SilencerCo, said, “This show has been completely overwhelming—in a good way. We’ve had tremendous response to our newly launched products, and it will probably be one of our best years ever. We fully expect the ball to keep rolling.”
Media Receiving Great Cooperation
Media members, who have sometimes found face-to-face time with product and marketing mangers tough to come by when buyers are as busy placing orders as they were this year, found a very receptive show floor.
“This is the most exciting SHOT Show I’ve been to in many years,” said author and TV host Craig Boddington. “There’s lots of energy and enthusiasm, lots of buzz about people wanting to get into the industry, wanting to shoot—it’s great to see.”
Looking Ahead
More than 1,600 exhibiting companies filled the convention center and ballrooms in the adjoining Venetian Hotel. Total show exhibition space was more than 640,000 net square feet, or 13 acres of product display, with more than 60 new companies exhibiting on the main floor in addition to the 100 added to the NEXT Pavilion.
On the first evening of the show, more than 2,400 people attended NSSF’s State of the Industry Dinner, where Steve Sanetti, NSSF President and CEO, delivered a well-received speech that exhorted industry to stay alert in this important election year.
“Much of the public and the media are woefully misinformed about who we are and all that we do about genuine gun safety,” said Sanetti, who pointed out to such notable NSSF programs as Project ChildSafe, FixNICS and Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.
“We have to face the fact that our industry is being blamed, and attacked and pilloried unfairly by politicians, media and agenda-driven social engineers seeking a convenient scapegoat for the result of policies which, ironically, they themselves have championed,” said Sanetti. “So, ladies and gentlemen, the state of our industry is, and must be throughout the year—alert.”
At the dinner, Ted Rowe, whose decades-long executive involvement in the firearms industry, including his time as President of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting, received the prestigious NSSF Ken Sedlecky Award for his enduring commitment to the success of the industry and supporting NSSF’s mission to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.
Ron Spomer, award-winning author of hundreds of magazine essays, more than a few books and host of the television show Winchester World of Whitetails, received the 2016 POMA-NSSF Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award.
The SHOT Show is not just about selling and buying products. The show provides educational opportunities for firearms retailers at the sold-out SHOT Show University, this year enhanced with sessions covering range management and sessions geared toward veteran retailers; at a full slate of diverse Retailer Seminars, including two capacity sessions on NFA firearms and accessories; and for law enforcement professionals at the Law Enforcement Education Program that covered such topics as mission-specific tactical optics and getting the most out of agency K9s.
The SHOT Show is managed by Las Vegas-based ConvExx. NSSF extends its gratitude to major sponsors of the 2016 SHOT Show. For the fifth year in a row, Ram Truck was the official truck of the SHOT Show. Daniel Defense, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Aguila Ammunition, Brownells, GunBroker.com, Sig Sauer, SilencerCo, Smith & Wesson, Vista Outdoor and Winchester Ammunition were major sponsors, as was Nissan, which repeated its sponsorship of the Press Room in addition to sponsoring the New Product Center.
The SHOT Show, the fifth largest trade show in Las Vegas, pumps nearly $90 million in non-gaming revenue into the Las Vegas economy. The 2017 SHOT Show is scheduled for Jan. 17-20 at the Sands Expo.
See the story: http://www.shotshow.org/2016-shot-show-garners-rave-reviews/
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MATT GURNEY: IT’S THE COP, NOT THE RIFLE (Matt Gurney | National Post | January 24, 2016)
I’ll probably be dismissed as just another gun nut being nutty about guns, but I confess to not being particularly bothered by the recent decision by the Toronto Police Service to deploy 51 C8 carbines (compact rifles) to frontline officers. The carbines will be kept secured inside cruisers, one assigned to each of the city’s policing divisions. The C8s are very similar to the carbines carried by Canadian military personnel (which are themselves closely related to the American M4 carbine, which is a compact, modernized version of the M16 rifle). So, essentially, Toronto cops with M16s.
(Gun aficionados: Yes, I know. I’m simplifying here. Cut me some slack.)
The response to this announcement has been … predictable, for lack of a better term, in many quarters. Some citizens have made reasonable arguments against what they see as a step toward the militarization of Canadian police (I share these concerns in a general sense, but rifles do not a militarized police force make). Some have concerns about recent high-profile incidents where Toronto police have opened fire on individuals or vehicles. How much more dangerous, these citizens ask, would these incidents have been if the officers were armed with “assault rifles” instead of handguns? Other citizens, on the reflexively anti-police fringe, simply don’t like cops, don’t trust them and probably wouldn’t have reacted well if the announcement had been issuing fresh office supplies to the force, either. All in all, though, the debate has been interesting to watch.
Mark Pugash, director of corporate communications for the Toronto police, joined me on my radio show on Friday and took many of these issues on. He made a good case. The police aren’t adding additional weapons, he said, but swapping them — the 12-gauge shotguns that North American police have used as their heavier weapon for decades will be withdrawn from service as the rifles are phased in (the shotguns will be converted into so-called “bean bag” weapons, which are less lethal alternatives to conventional firearms). The rifles are more accurate than the shotguns, he noted, and better able to penetrate the body armour that criminals and terrorists are increasingly using all over the world. Pugash added that officers will be well trained in the operation of the rifles and noted that they have already been added to the inventory of, not only numerous other Canadian (and even Toronto-area) police forces, but have indeed long been part of the arsenal of the Toronto SWAT team, known as the Emergency Task Force. He further stressed that Toronto police are held to a high standard of accountability whenever they draw or use their firearms (that’s a more debatable point, but I’ll come back to it in a minute)
All in all, I found Pugash’s arguments persuasive. But hey, I’m the gun-owning, pro-law-and-order and generally pro-cop guy (and not bad with a C8, either). So I would be persuaded, one supposes. But Pugash didn’t — couldn’t, in fairness, given his position — make the argument I actually find most material here: it’s the quality of cop you have, not the gun they carry, that matters.
This isn’t some ode to the glories of policing and our fabulous men and women in blue. I do think Canadians and Torontonians are generally blessed to have a competent, professional police, and the overwhelming majority of officers I know are honourable, decent and dedicated. With only two exceptions, both fairly mild, my interactions with police have been excellent. Add that to my lineage — cops all up and down the family tree — and I come to my general affection for the police, and police officers, honestly.
But I still acknowledge that there are issues, and that these issues need addressing, now. Police forces are not accountable enough, especially in situations where guns have been drawn or fired — after-action reports and bureaucrat hassles don’t constitute accountability. More broadly, the public feels, with too much reason, that there’s one law for the police and another for everyone else, and that in the thankfully rare instances where cops behave badly, they won’t be punished. That’s a problem.
There are also fundamental trust issues. Way, way too many times in recent years, police all across North America have provided versions of events that independent video recordings, or other forms of evidence, have later proven to be blatant lies. There are also problems with patrol and investigative techniques that leave too many feeling singled out for their race or religion. I said above that almost all of my experiences with the police have been good, and I’m not blind to the fact that being a generic issue WASPy dude who dresses reasonably well, speaks unaccented English and lives in a well-to-do area absolutely plays a part in that.
These are the issues. They need to be fixed. In some areas, I think we’re making progress. In others, not so much, and that worries me.
But fundamentally, the firearm an officer carries just isn’t germane to these arguments. In theory, a C8 rifle is more powerful than than a .40 Glock, but over the distances an officer will ever be shooting in, it’s not materially significant. A rifle’s advantages in power and range become clear over battlefield distances, not in alleyway shootouts. Cops with scary rifles may anger the cop haters, in other words, but they actually don’t matter.
Toronto, and all of Canada, needs cops that are properly trained, accountable and in touch with their communities. In large part, this is what we have. In the places and ways we don’t, we should work on that. In the meantime, getting upset about swapping out one type of firearm for another is a sideshow. Let’s keep our eyes on the ball, folks — those in uniform, and the rest.
See the story: http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/matt-gurney-its-the-cop-not-the-rifle
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JUDGE FINDS CFO FIREARMS INVESTIGATOR DEFAMED N.S. WOMAN, AWARDS HER $50,000 DAMAGES (By Michael MacDonald | The Canadian Press | January 26, 2016)
HALIFAX – A woman who became the target of defamatory statements after she applied for a firearms licence has been awarded $50,000 in damages by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge.
Court documents show that when Laura Doucette applied for a firearms licence in 2011 as part of a course, firearms investigator David Grimes warned her instructors she may have been involved in an armed robbery.
Judge Denise Boudreau, in a ruling released Monday, said Grimes’ false statements were clearly defamatory and his actions were inexplicable, given that he never checked to see if the allegations were true.
Boudreau said Grimes’ ill-founded allegations of criminal activity were made in a cavalier fashion with callous disregard for the impact they would have on Doucette’s life.
The judge said the statements harmed Doucette’s mental health, but the judge said she wasn’t persuaded that this case represented a permanent setback for the woman, who is in her 30s.
In an amended defence filed last October, Grimes and the provincial government admitted liability for defamation and breach of privacy.
See the story: http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2016/01/26/judge-finds-firearms-investigator-defamed-n-s-woman-awards-her-50-000-damages.html
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CANADA IN THE ROUGH – MIGRATORY MAYHEM – JANUARY 30, 2016
If you love waterfowl and seeing the heart of the Canadian flyway, you will love this show. Keith joins the boys from Federal Ammunition in Manitoba as they have an incredible duck and goose shoots in the field and flooded timber.
See the teaser: http://www.canadaintherough.com/migratory-mayhem/
Canada in the Rough can be found on OLN, WILD TV, and CHEX. For a full schedule, visit: http://www.canadaintherough.com/schedules/
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IAN MULGREW: RARE RCMP APOLOGY FOR DELTA FIREARMS COMPANY AND OWNER (By Ian Mulgrew | Vancouver Sun | January 18, 2016)
Red-faced RCMP officials have apologized to a Delta firearms firm and its owner after a headline-making 2008 raid supposedly to stop gun trafficking to gangsters.
On the eve of a lengthy civil trial over the incident Monday, the federal government settled out of court and, as part of the agreement, the force issued a rare exonerating letter over the bogus operation.
“I write on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to apologize for the search of the Silvercore Advanced Training Systems Inc. (“Silvercore”) premises in Delta, British Columbia, the seizure of Silvercore firearms inventory and records, the wrongful arrest of Travis Bader, and the prosecution of criminal charges against Travis Bader and Silvercore, which were ultimately stayed by Crown counsel,” Inspector Janis Gray said.
“I have conducted an exhaustive review of the police file and all of the evidence and circumstances surrounding the search, seizure, arrest and charges, and I have concluded that there is no evidence that either Silvercore or Travis Bader ever committed any criminal offences.”
Two Surrey RCMP Constables, David Clarke and Michael Everitt, provided with information by Canadian Firearms Centre officer Jeff Harrison, were behind the misguided operation.
The centre is responsible for administering the Firearms Act and the Firearms Registry, handling all licences and authorizations as well as the registration of restricted and prohibited firearms.
The police and firearms officer claimed they were only doing their duty in the investigation, reputedly triggered by an attempt by Bader’s father to register a restricted handgun.
“A letter of apology from RCMP brass confirming my innocence takes some of the sting out of the long delay, and we look forward to resuming our relationship with the RCMP and its members,” Bader said.
He started Silvercore in 2003 after roughly a decade of providing training in firearms and safety to police officers, sheriffs, corrections staff, Canadian Border Security guards and others.
As well as offering courses and training, his firm did gunsmithing and bought and sold firearms.
In the course of his business, much of it with law enforcement, Bader was authorized to possess, store and transfer restricted and prohibited firearms as well as regular guns.
Still, in May 2008, the RCMP raided the Delta company’s facility in the 7100-block of Vantage Way, alleging it was connected to guns that ended up in the hands of criminals.
According to police, decommissioned guns that could be easily reassembled and returned to working order were finding their way into the wrong hands.
Bader’s father, Gordon, is a retired 30-year veteran of the Vancouver Police Department and was an instrutor with Silvercore.
The former ERT sniper and past director of the anti-gun-control lobby, the Responsible Firearms Owners Coalition of B.C., Gordon Bader was also a firearms instructor at the Justice Institute of B.C., which trains police officers, and a gunsmith at the Vancouver Police Museum.
Both father and son said at the time the accusations were rubbish.
Still, Travis added the “confusion, the anger, the embarrassment” were nearly unbearable.
The Mounties painted the arrests and the raid, during which hundreds of guns were seized, as a response to what was then a murderous spree of gang violence around Metro Vancouver that had claimed 31 lives.
Still two years later, one of the officers involved, Clarke, was charged with dealing drugs, theft of police property, breach of trust, and possession of a number of illegal restricted weapons.
All criminal charges against Silvercore and Bader were stayed on March 19, 2010, by Crown attorney Todd Buziak.
“From my review of the entirety of the information provided to me, I can advise you that neither Travis Bader nor Silvercore Advanced Training Systems Ltd. were involved in any criminal wrongdoing,” Buziak wrote in a letter after the charges were dropped.
All Firearms Act charges were stayed in May 2010.
“I think that everyone will understand that a letter of apology from the RCMP is a precious commodity and the settlement sum is confidential,” Bader’s lawyer Jason Gratl said.
The force has not yet responded to a request for explanation.
See the story: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Mulgrew+Rare+RCMP+apology+Delta+firearms+company+owner/11660403/story.html#ixzz3yZp3yHma
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From one of our CSSA writing team …
KNIVES KILL, TOO
Re: Lock ‘Em Up, letter to the editor, Jan. 27.
Letter-writer Ron Charach’s half-baked idea for gun-storage facilities would cost a fortune and accomplish nothing, just like the billion-dollar long-gun registry. And does Charach really believe that knives cannot be equally deadly? Less than two years ago in Calgary, a young man killed five people at a house party with a kitchen knife.
Even if weapons could be kept away from would-be killers, there are still other ways to wreak indiscriminate carnage, such as arson. If we want to reduce these types of killings, we have to try to alleviate the underlying social, economic and psychological issues that motivate the perpetrators. Feeble attempts to control inanimate objects will divert limited resources away from that effort.
Zach Martin, Mississauga, Ont.
National Post
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RURAL OUTREACH EFFORT WORTH FULL RESPONSE (By Jim Merriam | Niagara Falls Review | January 26, 2016)
Allan Thompson is asking for input so let’s give it to him.
Thompson has been tapped by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead a rural outreach to discover just what we denim-wearing, pickup-driving, snuff-dipping rednecks want.
You can put down your pens and step away from your keyboards, the stereotyping is not mine. It’s what you might suspect from Ottawa.
If the government is sincere, perhaps this is our chance to change perceptions.
The objective for the Liberals of course is to win more rural seats in 2019. But there’s a slim chance rural messages will find a way through the Ottawa noise and actually result in something good.
For starters Liberals have to leave our guns alone. Their long gun registry cost them all kinds of rural support and it can happen again.
The pro gun registry arguments — we register cars why not guns; it’s only a bit of paperwork, what are people trying to hide? — seem to make all kinds of sense in the ivory towers in Ottawa and Hull.
In rural Canada, not so much. The Liberals miss the fact their gun control initiatives were an insult. Not just a turn-your-back insult but a real slap in the face.
The majority of rural gun owners are responsible citizens who resented being picked on in a lame attempt to reduce gun crime. With some notable exceptions, gun crime is an urban issue and handguns — already tightly controlled in Canada — the dangerous weapons.
Forcing the registration of Joe Brown’s .22 rifle that he uses to protect his herd from rabid foxes and stray coyotes is both insane and insanely expensive.
Moving along, rural residents understand the new government’s attempts to deliver on all those election promises. But common sense and reasonable compromise would be, well, reasonable.
For example, the numbers of refugees admitted to Canada by an arbitrary date (already a fail) is meaningless.
The issue is this: Stephen Harper and company turned a cold shoulder to the Syrian refugee horrors. Trudeau reminded Canadians what this country is all about, presenting an open heart to the world.
Forget the numbers and dates. Get it right no matter how long it takes.
Moving to the war against ISIS, many of us understand we have to fight the good fight, just as we have done in the past.
Canada should put more, not less effort into destroying the gangsters who cut off heads, drown people in cages for sport and publicity, rape, pillage and slaughter.
As a people, we should be too proud to let other nations do our fighting for us.
Then there’s agriculture. We don’t have enough space to get into all the issues here, so let’s blue sky it for a second.
Canada has the geography, the skills, the people and the experience to be the breadbasket to the world.
All farmers, from beekeepers to wheat producers, need government help — not interference — to move forward.
Decentralizing government services must come sooner rather than later. Instead of building highways that just become bigger parking lots in places such as Toronto, the government needs to look at the Lindsays, New Liskeards and Cobourgs as places to set up shop.
Then there’s rural health care; the need for Trudeau to hold Kathleen Wynne at arm’s length; renewable energy forced on the backs of rural constituents and on and on.
Allan Thompson, who was defeated as a Liberal candidate in Huron Bruce in the October election, has his work cut out for him. Let’s give them all the help we can muster.
See the story: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2016/01/25/rural-outreach-effort-worth-fullresponse
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New outdoor magazine launch –
INAUGURAL ISSUE OF WESTERN WOODS & WATERS MAGAZINE
This is Western Canada’s best outdoor magazine: created for anglers and hunters in Western Canada. Created by Western Canadian writers, photographers and editors.
WE SHARE THE PASSION so grab a copy, sink into your favourite easy chair, and share the dream.
EDITORIAL LINE-UP FOR THE INAUGURAL ISSUE: Best bear hunting across the West; hunting western wild turkey; step into the ring with Red River catfish; revisit trout fishing on the Bow; get insider info on finding deer sheds; test drive Honda’s Pioneer side by side; get the dope on Liberal plans for our guns; get the inside scoop on binoculars; and much, much more
DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE!
See us at the following outdoor shows: Abbotsford, BC Interior – Kelowna, Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Parkland and Regina.
Visit us at: http://westernwoodsandwatersmagazine.com
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LOOKING FOR UPCOMING GUN SHOWS AND MATCHES? Visit our website at: https://cssa-cila.org/upcoming-events-matches/
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From the Quebec media …
FORTE HAUSSE DE LA POPULARITÉ DES ARMES À AUTORISATION RESTREINTE (By Maxime Corneau | Radio-Canada | January 26, 2016)
Les Canadiens sont de plus en plus amateurs d’armes à feu à autorisation restreinte, qui comprennent notamment les armes de poing. Au Canada, depuis 2010, le nombre de détenteurs de permis pour la possession et l’acquisition de ce type d’arme a bondi de 75 %.
Selon des données obtenues de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada, près de 470 000 Canadiens détiennent actuellement les permis nécessaires pour posséder des armes à autorisation restreinte. Ce nombre était de 266 000, il y a 6 ans.
Les provinces qui ont connu les augmentations les plus significatives sont la Saskatchewan, l’Alberta et le Manitoba, avec des hausses respectives de 101 %, 92 % et 86 %.
Au Québec, cette hausse représente 44 % pour la même période. Selon les dernières données de la GRC, en 2014, 726 705 armes à autorisation restreinte étaient sur le territoire canadien.
Qu’est-ce qu’une arme à autorisation restreinte?
Toute arme de poing qui n’est pas prohibée;
Toute arme à feu dotée d’un canon de moins de 470 mm qui peut tirer des munitions à percussions centrales en mode semi-automatique;
Toute arme qui peut tirer lorsqu’elle est réduite par repliement ou emboîtement à une longueur totale de moins de 660 mm.
Source : Gendarmerie royale du Canada
Augmentation des permis de possession et d’acquisition d’armes à autorisation restreinte entre 2010 et 2015
101,03 % Saskatchewan
92,27 % Alberta
86,36 % Manitoba
79,24 % Colombie-Britannique
78,87 % Nouvelle-Écosse
76,55 % Nouveau-Brunswick
76,17 % Canada
75,02 % Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
68,97 % Ontario
55,84 % Île-du-Prince-Édouard
44,55 % Nunavut
44,32 % Québec
41,23 % Territoires du nord-ouest
33,22 % Yukon
Quelle province a le plus de permis de possession et d’acquisition d’armes à feu à autorisation restreinte?
Nombre pour 1000 habitants. Plus la province est foncée, plus le nombre de permis est élevé. Passez votre souris sur les provinces pour plus d’information.
4.9 à 12.6
12.6 à 20.2
20.2 à 27.9
27.9 à 35.6
35.6 à 43.2
(See the story for this graphic)
Source : Gendarmerie royale du Canada
L’effet Harper
La sénatrice Céline Hervieux-Payette rage lorsqu’elle constate l’augmentation de la popularité de ces armes à feu au pays. « Ça prouve bien que les lois permissives du gouvernement conservateur ont eu un effet dramatique dans cette question », estime-t-elle.
Elle déposera d’ici quelques semaines un projet de loi sur le contrôle des armes à feu qui traitera notamment des armes à autorisation restreinte. La sénatrice espère que la majorité libérale lui permettra de faire adopter son projet de loi.
Actuellement, les propriétaires d’armes à autorisation restreinte ont l’obligation de les utiliser seulement dans des clubs de tir autorisés. Il faut également détenir un permis dûment émis pour transporter l’arme depuis une résidence jusqu’à un club de tirs.
Dans son nouveau projet de loi, Céline Hervieux-Payette souhaite interdire qu’une arme restreinte soit entreposée dans une résidence. Elle proposera qu’elle soit maintenant conservée uniquement dans les clubs de tirs. « Tout ce qui s’appelle arme à possession restreinte ne doit pas entrer dans le foyer de personne. Il n’y en aura pas. »
La sénatrice va encore plus loin. Selon elle, le transport d’armes à autorisation restreinte devrait être confié à une compagnie tierce, spécialisée dans le transport d’arme à feu. Le transport de ce type d’arme représente un risque trop élevé de vol, selon elle. « Le transport doit se faire par des gens compétents dans le domaine, et non par la personne. »
« Ridicule! »
Martin Léger s’affaire derrière le comptoir de son armurerie de Québec, spécialisée dans le commerce d’armes à autorisation restreinte. Il confirme qu’il y a bel et bien un engouement pour ce type d’arme sans pouvoir chiffrer ses ventes.
Il est révolté d’entendre que la sénatrice Hervieux-Payette souhaite contrôler davantage la circulation de ses armes.
« On est vu comme des criminels potentiels, mais pourtant, on est des gens qui ont dû passer une multitude d’enquêtes, on a des références, nos conjoints ou conjointes vont valider qu’on n’est pas des gens dangereux, on n’a pas d’antécédent criminel », s’exclame le commerçant.
Il explique que l’utilisation d’une arme à utilisation restreinte nécessite plusieurs permis, qui sont tous assujettis à des enquêtes d’antécédents. Il doit d’ailleurs faire approuver toutes les ventes effectuées à son magasin directement à la Sûreté du Québec.
Martin Léger qualifie de ridicule la mesure d’entreposage proposée par la sénatrice. « Si un client a 40 armes restreintes, il va falloir qu’il paye pour chaque emplacement que ses armes restreintes vont prendre au club? C’est n’importe quoi. »
Selon lui, ses clients sont des gens ordinaires passionnés de tir à la cible et qui respectent les lois. « On est loin du redneck dans son pick-up avec son 12. Ce sont des gens scolarisés avec un travail », conclut-il.
See the story: http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/quebec/2016/01/26/001-armes-restreinte-canada-popularite.shtml
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CALIFORNIA: LEGISLATURE GOES FOR SEMI-AUTO BAN TRIFECTA (By Justin Stakes | California Rifle and Pistol Association | January 21, 2016)
Millions of Common Firearms Could be Banned by Three Pending New Bills!
Fullerton, CA – (Ammoland.com) – The California legislature is back in session, and politicians are wasting no time seeking media attention by introducing ill-conceived gun bans that would ban millions of commonly owned firearms.
On January 14, 2016, Assembly Member David Chiu introduced AB 1663 (coauthored by Members Levine and Ting and backed by current California Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris). Immediately thereafter Assembly members Levine and Ting introduced AB 1664 (coauthored by Assembly Member Chiu).
Not to be outdone by the Assembly, State Senators Hall and Glazer introduced a similar bill, SB 880, on Friday, January 15, 2016 in the California Senate.
AB 1663 (which is a retread of vetoed SB-374 from 2013) will turn all “semiautomatic centerfire rifle[s] that do not have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept no more than 10 rounds” into “assault weapons.” Generally speaking, if you have a semiautomatic centerfire rifle and you can remove the magazine by pushing the magazine release button or your rifle has a “bullet button,” the rifle will be considered to be an “assault weapon” and you will be required to register the rifle as an “assault weapon” with the California Department of Justice. (A “bullet button” is a magazine disconnect locking device that replaces or covers the standard magazine release mechanism. The device forces a shooter to use a tool to remove the magazine. Under current law, the use of a “bullet button” prevents certain firearms from being classified as “assault weapons.”)
AB 1664 and SB 880 do roughly the same thing. They either redefine or rephrase the current definition of “assault weapon” to include firearms that are affixed with a “bullet button.”
All of these bills have one purpose: to redefine the phrase “assault weapon” in a way that will ban millions of commonly owned and lawfully possessed firearms. The term “assault weapon” is a legal term only, it has no technical meaning in firearms parlance. That’s why the gun ban lobby loves it. It means whatever they want it to mean. So the gun ban lobby is using these bills to expand the definition of “assault weapon” to affect widely popular and lawfully owned firearms. By redefining and expanding the meaning of the legal term “assault weapon,” these bills would dramatically expand the already byzantine legal definition of “assault weapon” and would ban millions of conventional firearms used by hunters, target shooters, boy and girl scouts, and men and women who choose to own a firearm to defend themselves and their families.
In almost all instances, any one of these bills would require those who possess firearms equipped with a “bullet button” to register the firearm as “assault weapons” or face confiscation, arrest, prosecution, and jail. In almost all situations, gun owners would never be able to sell their firearms or pass them on as an inheritance.
Under each of these bills, the process of registering the firearm will require the owner to pay a fee and provide the following information to the state:
A description of the firearm and unique identifiers;
The date the firearm was acquired;
The name and address of the individual from whom, or business from which the firearm was acquired;
The registrant’s full name, address, telephone number, date of birth, height, weight, eye color, hair color, and;
California driver’s license number or California identification card number.
Registered “assault weapons” may never be sold or passed down in the family in California. Those who fail to comply face having their homes searched and their all guns confiscated. They could also face arrest, prosecution, and sentencing ranging from probation to jail. These bills will make another class of accidental felons out of law abiding people who, like the DOJ’s own experts, often can’t determine what an “assault weapon” is!
If any of these bills are enacted, then unless folks realize that their guns are now considered “assault weapons,” and unless they register their guns and pay a fee (tax) to the state, millions of guns that have been owned safely for years will become illegal to possess and their unsuspecting owners would become felons at the stroke of a politician’s pen. That has happened many times in the past, because the state never allocates sufficient funds to educate gun owners about the requirements of new laws.
Are you mad enough yet? Well, add this to the mix: Harris’ support for these bills is the height of hypocrisy! It was her very own DOJ that, in 1999, defined “detachable magazine” as it is currently defined in the California Regulations and allowed magazine disconnect locks like the “bullet button” to be used to slow down the reloading process. That definition took almost a year for DOJ experts to finalize, after considering tens of thousands of public comments, including multiple letters submitted by lawyers for the NRA and CRPA. Now, sensing an opportunity to get attention she can use in her senatorial campaign, she doesn’t like it. But if she was serious about reducing gun violence, she would clean up her own messes. Not one but two California Auditor reports confirm that Attorney General Harris has failed miserably to maintain the databases and records that she claims are critical to keeping guns out of the wrong hands. [See Kamala Harris: Another Gun Control Hypocrite by C.D. Michel.] Her support for these bills is an effort to distract attention away from her abysmal failures, rather than a legitimate effort to protect us from violent felons and determined suicidal terrorists who can get any gun they want.
Needless to say, the passage of any one of these bills would be disastrous for millions of California gun owners. Are you registered to vote and to permanently vote by mail? You will get a chance to show some politicians what you think of these bills in the June 2016 primary. The critical November election will then follow. With the stakes this high in the legislature, and with anti-gun initiatives looming, shame on any gun owner who isn’t. DEMAND that your gun owning friends register and vote! The state has made it easy: Register on line RIGHT NOW at www.sos.ca.gov/elections
Assembly Members David Chiu, Marc Levine, and Phil Ting and Senators Hall and Glazer must hear from all of California’s Second Amendment supporters opposing these erroneous bills. It is IMPERATIVE for you to forward this CRITICAL alert to your family, friends, fellow sportsmen, gun owners, and Second Amendment supports to contact the authors of these bills NOW.
Contact information can be found below:
Assembly Member David Chiu (D-17)
(916) 319-2017
assemblymember.chiu@assembly.ca.gov
Assembly Member Marc Levine (D-10)
(916) 319-2010
Assembly Member Phil Ting (D-19)
(916) 319-2019
Senator Isadore Hall, III (35th District)
(916) 651-4035
Senator Steve Glazer (7th District)
Phone: (916) 651-4007
TAKE ACTION NOW! Subscribe to NRA-ILA and CRPA alerts to help fight back as the legislative session continues!
About California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA):
The California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA), founded in 1875, is a non-profit membership and donor supported organization with tens of thousands of members throughout California and the nation. CRPA’s members include police, professionals, firearm experts, the general public, and loving parents. CRPA is dedicated to promoting and defending the shooting sports, and to providing safety information, education, and skills training. CRPA also organizes and sanctions competitive shooting activities for both adult and junior shooters. For more information, please visit www.CRPA.org.
See the story: http://www.ammoland.com/2016/01/california-legislature-goes-for-semi-auto-ban-trifecta/#axzz3yP9qj9yy
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THE CSSA THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada’s firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competitions, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor youth programs and competitions that promote these Canadian heritage activities.
To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://www.cssa-cila.org
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To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE to the CSSA-CILA E-News, please contact us at enews@cssa-cila.org
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CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION | CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
116 Galaxy Boulevard, Etobicoke ON M9W 4Y6
Phone: 416-679-9959 | Fax: 416-679-9910
Toll Free: 1-888-873-4339
E-Mail: info@cssa-cila.org
Website: www.cssa-cila.org
