Nothing stops violent criminals from getting guns faster than an army of paper-pushing Ottawa bureaucrats. That’s the word from Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. New Liberal gun control laws are coming, just as we predicted two years ago.
“The new Firearms Advisory Committee is in place.They are hard at work at examining other ideas and I would expect to have a legislative package consistent with the commitments that we made during the election campaign with respect to firearms before the House of Commons before the end of the year.” quoted a spokesperson for Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale to CSSA’s Tony Bernardo early last week.
That election platform included such criminal-stopping measures as:
We will ensure that Canada becomes a party to the international Arms Trade Treaty.
Canada’s stringent firearms control system already meets (or exceeds) the measures proposed by the UN Arms Trade Treaty and, let us not forget, criminals quake in their stolen boots at the mere thought of a United Nations treaty on guns. However, the review process abdicates Canada’s sovereignty to the UN.
Require enhanced background checks for anyone seeking to purchase a handgun or other restricted firearm;
While you’ll never hear it from a Liberal (or it’s Firearms Advisory Committee stacked with anti-gun advocates), Canada already requires background checks for anyone purchasing a restricted firearm. These background checks were already beefed up just a few short years ago.
For those non-gunnies that may be reading this, before you can legally purchase a restricted firearm in Canada, you must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, The Canadian Firearms Restricted Safety Course and pass an extensive RCMP background check before you are granted a Possession and Acquisition Licence for firearms. At the time of purchase, the Chief Firearms Office will vet you all over again. Only if they give you their stamp of approval will you be allowed to purchase the gun.
But why let facts get in the way of a good anti-gun soundbite?
* Immediately implement the imported gun marking regulations that have been repeatedly delayed by Stephen Harper
Those regulations, created by Paul Martin’s Liberal government in 2004, were repeatedly deferred by successive governments, including Justin Trudeau’s own Liberal government. But why tell the truth when you can blame Stephen Harper instead?
* Repeal changes made by Bill C-42 that allow restricted and prohibited weapons to be freely transported without a permit
No such change existed in Bill C-42, but it sure sounds great to uninformed voters. The permit merely moved from being a paper permit to an electronic permit. Why? Because it’s 2017, right?
If evidence exists that the contents of Bill C-42 endangered public safety, where is it? And if Bill C-42 endangered public safety, why did the Liberal government wait two full years to take action?
Our personal favourite:
* Require anyone buying a handgun to show their licence, and require the seller to confirm the validity of that licence.
Forgive us for stating the obvious but… that has been the case since 1977. Have the Liberal’s been living in a cave for 40 years?
* Ensure sellers keep records of their inventory and sales in order to help police investigating firearm trafficking or other gun-related crimes.
Ah yes, the old green ledger system. The famous back-door gun registry. But didn’t the Liberal’s pledge they would not introduce a gun registry. Isn’t a list (incomplete or not) of individual firearms being transferred to individual owners a registry? Sounds like a gun registry to us, but apparently we’re unenlightened. It also sounds like the Liberals lied. Again. What a surprise.
* Provide $100 million to provinces every year to help get illegal guns off streets.
* Invest in tools to help border guards to intercept illegal guns from the U.S. entering Canada.
Holy cow! We can actually get behind these measures, measures that actually might prevent crime.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau guaranteed Canadians he would usher in a new era of openness and evidence-based policymaking. From the Liberal platform:
“Government should base its policies on facts, not make up facts based on policy. Without evidence, government makes arbitrary decisions that have the potential to negatively affect the daily lives of Canadians.”
Instead of simply focusing on concrete action to stop violent criminals from obtaining guns, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will, in true Liberal fashion, attack the root of the problem in their eyes – Canada’s law-abiding firearm owners.
Adding layers of bureaucratic red tape, they insist, will put an end to gangs shooting up our major cities, stop terrorists from getting guns and solve all our nation’s problems with violent crime.
The rumour mill is alive with allegations of new magazine laws, new prohibitions and many other nasty and unnecessary anti-gun strokes. Is it possible? You bet! The Liberals and the RCMP brass hate us and have been burning the midnight oil inventing new creative strategies to attack our community.
Always remember: the constant attacks of the Liberals are not directed against guns, they are directed against gun owners. YOU. Canadian citizens. The most vetted group of individuals in Canada.
That’s the full extent of Justin Trudeau’s evidence-based policy on firearms. Once again, the Liberals have declared war on Canada’s lawful and trustworthy firearms community for no good reason.
Not a single shred of evidence for any of it.
Source:
An Open Letter to Matt Gurney from a CSSA Member