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COMMENTARY – RCMP CLAIMS POWER TO DECIDE WHEN C-42 LAWS COME INTO FORCE
(Excerpt from Bill C-42) COMING INTO FORCE
- (1) Subsections 4(4), (7) and (8) and section 37 come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
(2) Subection 2(1), sections 6 and 11 and subsection 13(1) come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
(3) Sections 10 and 15 come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
(4) Sections 14 and 35 come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
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It’s not every day that you learn about sweeping new powers assumed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police but yesterday, June 18, 2015, is a day to mark in our history books.
Contrary to both current law and Parliamentary tradition, some RCMP bureaucrats decided they, not the Governor in Council, now have the power to tell Canadians when laws come into force.
The law at issue is, of course, Bill C-42, the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act. Clearly there are some that are distinctly unhappy this legislation received Royal Assent yesterday. Those unhappy bureaucrats issued an official RCMP press release dictating the terms of when and how the relevant changes to law would be made.
The Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) must make significant system and process changes to implement certain elements of the legislation. The following legislative amendment will come into force three months after Bill C-42 receives Royal Assent:
- Streamline the licensing system by eliminating the Possession Only Licence (POL) and converting all existing POLs to Possession and Acquisition Licences (PALs).
The following legislative amendments will come into force nine months after Bill C-42 receives Royal Assent:
- Provide a six-month grace period at the end of the five-year licence period; and
- Make Authorizations to Transport (ATTs) a condition of a licence for certain routine and lawful activities.
The following legislative amendment will come into force 21 months after Bill C-42 receives Royal Assent:
- Authorize firearms import information sharing when restricted and prohibited firearms are imported into Canada by businesses.
These statements stretch the limits of incredulousness. Even if they had the legal authority to do what they claim, and they do not, what could justify taking nine months to make virtual Authorizations to Transport a condition of existing firearm licenses?
The truth is that it doesn’t. The RCMP is torquing this up to try and maintain control over this useless, expensive mess. It is the ugliest kind of power politics, pure and simple. It’s simply more evidence that this power-mad bureaucracy wants to believe it runs Canada, not Parliament.
The bureaucrats are trying to run the clock on the Harper government in the hopes that Canadians will elect a different government in the next election, one that will be more friendly to the RCMP’s naked attempt to disarm Canadians. And of course, we can expect the usual cadre of “useful-idiot” ninnies to back the ‘crats with moronic statements like “the police know best.”
And let’s get it straight here and now. The problem is not the dedicated men and women that police our land, it is a few self-serving officials that exists at the top of our national police force, a bureaucracy that believes the exercise of power is their exclusive right, not the democratically elected Parliament of Canada.
Do these elitists actually believe the world as we know it will end if there is one less piece of paperwork for gun owners to deal with? From yesterday’s CSSA release,
“Like the ending of the long gun registry, the sky will not fall. Public safety will be just as intact as before. Just as Canadians came to realize that the registry was a waste of time and money, we believe they will come to accept additional cuts in red tape in the spirit of fairness to responsible firearms owners. These are changes that the general public would never even notice, but responsible Canadian sport shooters will be much better off.”
Thank you to Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney and Prime Minister Stephen Harper for pushing this legislation through before the summer recess. You’ve kept your word to Canada’s most law-abiding citizens, our licensed firearm owners, and we applaud you for that. Given the current political climate it would have been very easy for you both to let this bill slide. You didn’t, and we greatly appreciate that.
Now, about those RCMP bureaucrats usurping your Parliamentary powers…
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COMMENTARY: FIRST SHE WAS TERRIFIED OF POLICE FIREARMS …
First it was firearms in the hands of her police guardians that terrified Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette.
“Every time I enter the Senate Chamber, I see two armed police officers at the door, one with a handgun and one with an automatic firearm. must admit that this does not make me feel safe. On the contrary, I am frightened by the thought that a police officer armed with an automatic weapon could shoot it on the Hill.”
Then she decided it was time to ban all guns she doesn’t like.
She’s put forward a bill disingenuously titled “Strengthening Canadians’ Security and Promoting Hunting and Recreational Shooting Act” (SEE BELOW), with which she intends to accomplish the following:
* Prohibit all firearms in Canada except hunting firearms;
* limit the definition of hunting firearms to the arms that really used for the purposes of hunting;
* limit the transport of circumscribed firearms to transporters, thus controlling the movement of firearms in Canada; and
* undo all the provisions of Bill C-42, except for the prohibition on obtaining a licence to possess and acquire firearms following a domestic violence conviction.
That means banning all guns except the few she would “allow” hunters to possess. Of course the criteria for which guns she deemed acceptable for hunting remain thoroughly and purposefully unclear.
Not only would she ban all firearms but hunting rifles, if you are a target shooter you would no longer be permitted to drive to the shooting range with your firearms. You would be forced to use an authorized “transporter” instead.
Since Senator Hervieux-Payette, an advisor to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau regarding firearms issues, cannot fathom why armed police would guard her life, it’s hard to believe she is objective about what guns Canadians will be “permitted” to keep should she get her way.
Let’s put some things in perspective for our confused Senator Hervieux-Payette.
Nor is she interested in any facts. For example, there are very few murders committed with firearms by ordinary people in Canada. The vast majority are gang and drug related.
Despite the foregoing, almost 3 times as many Canadians die each year by drowning as they do by being shot. According to research by the Canadian Red Cross, 525 people (on average) die from “water-related fatalities” each and every year. That is a horrific number by any standard made even more horrific by the fact that these are all innocent Canadians, unlike the violent gang members who comprise the majority of those who die from being shot.
If Senator Hervieux-Payette truly wants to prevent people from dying then she ought to advocate banning swimming pools and boats of all kinds nationwide. After all, almost 3 times as many people die each year from drowning than they do from gunshots.
without any doubt, if Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette wants to protect the lives of Canadians there are many things she could do that are more effective than banning the firearms of the law abiding.
But that’s real-world thinking. Apparently, it has little place in the Liberal corner of the hallowed house of “sober second thought” we call the Canadian Senate. Thanks heavens for those rare level headed senators like the Hon. Lynn Beyak.
It’s time for Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette to put away her childish fears. The armed RCMP and Hill Security officers on Parliament Hill are there to protect her. Banning guns nationwide will not stop our gun crime problem but will, once again, create millions of “paper criminals” overnight, just like her own Liberal government did with the gun registry.
That exercise in futility failed miserably after wasting over 2 billion taxpayer dollars, but who cares, let’s do it all over again, right Senator Hervieux-Payette?
If you would like to express your thoughts on Senator Hervieux-Payette’s plan to ban all firearms in Canada except her definition of “hunting rifle” please contact her using the information below:
The Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette, P.C.
Senate of Canada
Centre Block – Room 585-S
Ottawa ON K1A 0A4
Main Line : 613-947-8008
Toll Free : 1-800-267-7362
celine.hervieux-payette@sen.parl.gc.ca
https://www.facebook.com/celinehervieuxpayette
http://twitter.com/HervieuxPayette
Senator Hervieux-Payette Press Release:
http://eurekablog.ca/index.php?cID=666Senator
Red Cross Research:
http://www.redcross.ca/crc/documents/What-We-Do/Swimming-Water-Safety/ws-boating-infographic-EN-2014.pdf
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DEFINITIONS MATTER (By Gary Mauser, Professor Emeritus Simon Fraser University | May 30, 2015)
The following is a Powerpoint presentation given by Dr. Mauser to the Canadian Shooting Sports Association AGM: http://www.sfu.ca/~mauser/papers/StatsCan/statistics.pdf
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“Allan Rock said he came to Ottawa with the belief that only the police and military should have firearms. I believe that firearms ownership is a right, but a right that comes with responsibilities.” – The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety
HELP SUPPORT THE GREAT WORK THE CSSA DOES TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. DONATE HERE
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UPCOMING CSSA TRAINING COURSES – The CSSA is teaching Club Level Safety/Train the Trainer and Range Safety Officer courses at its headquarters: 116 Galaxy Boulevard, on the following dates:
- June 27th and 28th
- July 25th and 26th
- August 22nd and 23rd
Room is still available and the only requirement is that anyone attending be a CSSA member. Book your space now as class size is limited to 20 students! To RSVP, please phone Monday to Friday at (416) 679-9959.
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HARPER SAYS GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGED RCMP TO DESTROY LONG-GUN DATA (Bruce Cheadle | The Canadian Press | June 16, 2015)
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledges his government pressured the Mounties to swiftly destroy long-gun registry records, even though they’d been warned it was illegal.
An exchange in the House of Commons on Tuesday marked the first time the Conservative government has flatly asserted that it was actively encouraging the RCMP to delete the registry data in 2012 — notwithstanding an ongoing investigation by information commissioner Suzanne Legault and a written promise from the public safety minister to respect the law.
The matter is now being investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police, after Legault recommended charges because the Mounties knowingly destroyed records that were protected under the Access to Information Act.
Legault is also in Federal Court, seeking to preserve a remaining copy of Quebec gun registry data while championing the right of access to government records under an act of Parliament.
An affidavit filed in Federal Court by one of her investigators presents evidence the RCMP was being pressured by the public safety minister’s office and the Prime Minister’s Office to swiftly destroy the records at the same time the government was assuring Legault they’d be preserved until her investigation was complete.
During question period Tuesday, Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale accused the government of “counselling illegal behaviour and cover-up.”
“It was this Parliament and this government that passed legislation explicitly to destroy that registry,” Harper responded, referring to the April 2012 bill known as the “Ending the Long-gun Registry Act.”
“The RCMP is acting upon that legislation. We obviously encouraged them to do that, Mr. Speaker. I know that the Liberal party wants to bring back the long-gun registry but that is against the wishes not only of this Parliament, but against the wishes of Canadians.”
The Mounties also said this week that they were under government orders when they deleted all the non-Quebec records.
“The destruction of the registration records in 2012 and more recently for Quebec in 2015 was done according to a government-approved implementation plan,” Sgt. Harold Pfleiderer told the CBC Monday.
The acknowledgment may help explain why the Conservatives are taking unprecedented steps to protect the RCMP from prosecution under the Access to Information Act.
After being informed this March of Legault’s case for laying charges, the Conservatives responded by retroactively rewriting the 2012 law, backdating it to October 2011 when the long-gun bill was first presented in Parliament, and burying the amendments in a 167-page omnibus budget bill.
Legault has called the government’s move a “perilous precedent” and a history-denying “black hole” that sets the stage for retroactive cover-ups of more serious government wrongdoing, including electoral fraud and spending scandals.
In an interview, Goodale said the issue is not about gun registry records — which would have been destroyed by now, regardless — but about a government that thinks it is above the law.
“We’ve made it absolutely clear we have no intention of resuscitating the long-gun registry,” he said, accusing the PMO of “paranoia.”
“What they’re basically saying is they cannot achieve their policy objectives without violating the law. That’s just not true.
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LOOKING FOR UPCOMING GUN SHOWS AND MATCHES? Please visit: https://cssa-cila.org/upcoming-events-matches/
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CANADA IN THE ROUGH – RAINFOREST GHOSTS
Kevin Beasley will be hunting the Queen Charlotte Islands located on the coast of British Columbia. He will be hunting Sitka Blacktail deer, better known as the Pacific Ghost as they are hard to spot in the thick rainforest that the island has to offer. This is a deer hunt you will not want to miss as the deer come to a call like Kevin has never heard before!
See the teaser: http://www.canadaintherough.com/rainforest-ghosts/
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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STRENGTHENING CANADIANS’ SECURITY AND PROMOTING HUNTING AND RECREATIONAL SHOOTING (By Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette | Liberal Senator | June 11, 2015)
I oppose the Conservative philosophy and the gun lobby’s belief that better access to firearms ensures better security. It’s just the opposite. However, I respect the hunters and sports shooters.
I tabled Bill S-231 to promote the activities of hunting and sport shooting while strengthening the security of Canadians.
Through my bill, titled “Strengthening Canadians’ Security and Promoting Hunting and Recreational Shooting Act”, I intend to accomplish the following:
- overhaul the current firearms program by prohibiting all firearms in Canada except hunting firearms;
- redefine the three classes of firearms by making all firearms illegal except hunting firearms and by localizing the prohibition of restricted firearms (circumscribed firearms);
- limit the definition of hunting firearms to the arms that really used for the purposes of hunting;
- replace restricted firearms class with a circumscribed firearms class and the arms of this class will be only usable at or in shooting clubs;
- replace the registration certificate with an inscription certificate;
- reinforce the role of the RCMP and the Commissioner of Firearms under a statutory provision.
- limit the transport of circumscribed firearms to transporters, thus controlling the movement of firearms in Canada; and
- undo all the provisions of Bill C-42, except for the prohibition on obtaining a licence to possess and acquire firearms following a domestic violence conviction.
In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously in R. v. Wiles that in Canada to acquire or possess a firearm is a “privilege” and not a right.
See the story: http://eurekablog.ca/en/articles/politics/national/strenghtening-canadians-security-and-promoting-hunting-and-recreational-shooting/
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NATIONAL POST VIEW: A GUN REGISTRY WOULDN’T HAVE PREVENTED THE TRAGEDY IN EDMONTON (By Amber Bracken | The Canadian Press | June 11, 2015)
On Monday night, Edmonton police officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant on Norman Raddatz, a man alleged to have been involved in a sustained and vicious online bullying campaign. As the officers tried to enter the home, dozens of shots were fired at them. Constable Daniel Woodall, a nine-year veteran of the force, a husband and a father of two young sons, was shot and died at the scene.
Such a senseless end to a good life is heartbreaking. It is especially troubling because this is the second time in recent weeks that an Edmonton police officer has been shot in the line of duty. Last month, during what was expected to be a routine traffic stop, a man opened fire on police officers, seriously injuring one, before being killed by the cops. On Tuesday, an emotional Don Iveson, mayor of Edmonton, said, “I do have a concern with gun violence and I will say that the loss of the gun registry may be related to this. I think every opportunity our police have to have knowledge of where firearms are in the city would be to their advantage, and the chiefs of police have been consistent about that.”
The mayor’s comments were not received well in Ottawa, where Justice Minister Peter MacKay quickly replied: “The comments by the mayor quite frankly are unhelpful, inappropriate and ill timed.… Making that kind of declaration, that somehow this might have been prevented by gun registry data, frankly, I find absurd.”
Iveson, it seems, came to agree with MacKay: he quickly took to social media to apologize for his speculation. “Speculation about gun registry this morning was premature. Focus should remain our condolences & safety of EPS members & public. Apologies,” he tweeted.
That was good of him. It is worth respectfully noting, however, that his comments about the gun registry weren’t simply premature. They were wrong.
The registry was intended, in part, to inform officers preparing to enter a home that a gun was present inside. We know, however, that Edmonton police were already on the alert. Local news reports have established that no fewer than eight armed officers, at least some of whom were wearing body armour, were sent to the scene. The officers had also anticipated some degree of resistance — they had prior judicial authorization to breach the front door of the home with force, if necessary, and had already called for backup when the shooting began.
It’s true that, if police had known with certainty that Raddatz had a gun, they may have approached the situation differently. But the gun registry, always incomplete and riddled with errors, would never have offered that certainty. Police never put their trust in a database known to be error prone and incomplete: even a negative return on a gun-registry search was never any proof that no guns were in the home.
The second, and more critical issue, is that Raddatz did not legally possess his firearm. The CBC reported on Tuesday night that Raddatz had previously possessed a firearms licence, but that it had expired. That means Raddatz was not legally permitted to possess a rifle or any other firearm. How could the registry have warned police about a gun that did not exist within Canada’s legal gun-control framework?
It couldn’t, of course. And that’s the point. Canada’s law-abiding gun owners are not the problem; criminals are. The registry only ever concerned itself with the former. That’s why it failed. Mayor Iveson, and others who believe the registry was more than the mess it always was, would do well to remember that.
See the story: http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/national-post-view-a-gun-registry-wouldnt-have-prevented-the-tragedy-in-edmonton
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BASC WELCOMES AUSTRIAN DECISION TO HALT LEAD PHASE-OUT PLANS (The British Association of Shooting and Conservation | June 8, 2015)
BASC has welcomed the decision of the Austrian Ministry of the Environment to stop pursuing a phasing out of lead ammunition.
The Austrian government had been urged to phase out lead ammunition because of the pollution caused by lead ammunition at rifle ranges, the dangers to raptors feeding on carrion and the potential contamination of venison.
After considering the proposal to phase out lead ammunition the Environment Ministry has announced that it will not proceed for the following reasons:
- There is a lack of ammunition with similar or better performance than lead
- The change would have a massive economic impact on industry which would require 15 years to get rid of current stocks of lead ammunition.
- There are no alternative loads for a whole range of calibres, as a result 30% of privately owned firearms in Austria can only be used with lead ammunition
- This would have the damaging effect of reducing the value of private property.
Other arguments are estimates of a threefold increase in price of ammunition and the fact that lead dispersed in the environment through ammunition represents only two per cent, the rest being caused by the illegal disposal of car batteries.
Alan Jarrett, chairman of BASC, the UK’s largest shooting organisation with a membership of over 140,000, said: “We are pleased that Austria has decided to call a halt to these plans. Thorough consideration has obviously been given to the decision and the right outcome has been achieved.”
See the story: http://basc.org.uk/blog/press-releases/latest-news/basc-welcomes-austrian-decision-to-halt-lead-phase-out-plans/
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HOUSE BILL TO PROTECT GUN OWNERS FROM BEING FRAMED (By Gun Owners of America | Ammoland | June 15, 2015)
Bill to rein in ATF, safeguard gun owners from “secret tests”
Last week, Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) introduced a bill that will protect many gun owners from being framed by Obama’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
H.R. 2753, or “The Fairness in Firearms Testing Act,” would require the ATF to make a videotape of any guns they test and to make those recordings available to everyone.
Rep. Hice — an A+ rated freshman who was strongly supported by Gun Owners of America in his initial bid for Congress — wants to protect gun owners from official harassment. His bill would require the ATF to visually document (via recordings) any of its gun testings. This is extremely important, given their controversial decisions where they’ve classified semiautomatics as full automatics.
Gun Owners of America has worked with law-abiding Americans who have been victimized by ATF’s “secret tests.” And we are disgusted by the bureau’s refusal to release testing information which does not comport the results ATF desires.
The Obama administration claims to value transparency. But ATF has been less than transparent when it comes to testing that affects the livelihood of thousands, the constitutional rights of millions, and the potential criminal liability of many.
You can help by urging your Congressman to cosponsor H.R. 2753.
ACTION: Please urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 2753, a bill that will protect innocent gun owners from getting railroaded by the ATF.
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THANKS 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 competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.
To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://store.cssa-cila.org/cart.php?target=category&category_id=24
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CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION | CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
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