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The Great Gun Control Debate

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Well, it was more of a comment on the veracity of the blogger's claims.

As for AdScam, didn't Gomery clear Martin?  BUt anyway, lets not sidetrack this thread.
 
Gomery "exonerated" Martin in the areas the Gomery Commission was permitted to investigate.  About matters the Gomery Commission was not permitted to investigate, we have no idea.
 
Its not the blogger's claims but a statement by the new Justice Minister Stockwell Day.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=c60d961a-ec99-4923-aef4-625b30cafe1c&k=6634
 
I was talking about the bloggers claim that the Liberals used the Gun Registry to hide their so-called criminal enterprises...


Why is that so significant? Americans may not relate to this, but in Canada's parliamentary system, the government only gets checked by the Commons and the RCMP, which has the power and resources to investigate government malfeasance -- under normal circumstances. However, the government exists because it controls either a majority of seats or the support of a coalition of parties that comprise a majority. Unless and until that majority decides that the government has acted so egregiously that MPs are willing to throw their own party or coalition out of power, the only political check comes at mandated election times.

The RCMP, as the national law-enforcement agency, can act independently to investigate corruption and malfeasance. However, it needs the time and resources to do that. A government that wanted to avoid having the RCMP looking into its actions -- say in Adscam or other hidden scandals -- could handicap the agency by burdening it with a populist but massive new program, selling it as a low-cost civic safety program, and then underfunding it so that it ate up all of the agency's resources. That would leave the agency with no time and no people for other efforts, including political investigations.
 
I think they had a theory about how a political party in power might keep the RCMP from being too busy to investigate possible crimes committed by that party. Its a plausible scenario, but time will tell.
 
I wonder how many 'professional  mandarins' in Ottawa are dividing their time between shredding/deleting files and plotting the downfall of their new masters (who they no doubt call "the transients").

Tom
 
[
The Canadian Association of Cheifs of Police support the Gun Registry saying it is a valuable tool in ensure the scene is safe for officers. Reference my latter paragraph. Looks like the brass is out of touch with the lads again. Happens outside the Army too! If you do some research (sent to me by a family member), This Association was heavily funded by the Liberal Government. Just like Wendy Cukier!!!!

Pretty neat trick of the liberals to get tax payers to pay for the lobby to support laws the will burden the tax payer.

Sorry, I'm a little bitter
[/quote]

I wonder if any of these cops are involved with the ones in Edmonton that have just been reigned in on a Camera / Radar/ Contractor scam ?
 
I think they had a theory about how a political party in power might keep the RCMP from being too busy to investigate possible crimes committed by that party. Its a plausible scenario, but time will tell.

Yeah, I highly doubt that, in fact I'd even venture to say that it most likely isn't even plausible... but what do I know?  I'm not a blogger
 
Sheerin said:
Yeah, I highly doubt that, in fact I'd even venture to say that it most likely isn't even plausible... but what do I know?  I'm not a blogger

It was implausible that the Gun Registry could cost over a billion dollars, that the government could contract national flags from China and neglect to mention these flags needed fittings in order to be flyable (Flagscam), that several billion dollars were used to fund foundations which are not accountable to parliament, the auditor general or seemingly anyone (and which havent produced ANY visible results), that HRDC could hand out three billion (or more) dollars in grants without proper applications or audits (the Billion Dollar Boondoggle), that Alberta gets threatened and fined for having the same private medical clinics which operate openly in Quebec, that the former Prime Minister was a great champion of public healthcare while using a private doctor......I know that just from reading newspapers, since many of the scandals were discovered before blogging was even invented.

Bloggers are simply the new media of the 21rst century.
 
TCBF said:
Even if long guns are the firearm of choice, registering the gun instead of the criminal is NOT holding at the defile.  The choke point is the criminal - not the weapon. 

Bang on, when I own a gun "Legally" within 30 days of moving I have to report a change of address or I'm breaking the law.  The police have the right to come into my house to just check to see if it's stored properly.

Now if I'm a member of the hells angels I get treated a lot nicer by the police???

Ewatsky in Winnipeg was on the air the other day saying how great the registry is.  A few days before that someone was shooting a sten gun at an innocent bakery and got out the next day.  Course that isn't a threat like a legal rifle owner.

Plus the first full year of the registry the murder rate went up by 70 dead.


And if you buy ammo at some stores they leave the list on the counter so any criminal droppping by can see where you live and who is buying 308 rounds.  Plus the clerks are often absent. 

A far bigger threat than legal gun owners is the youung offenders act.
 
"shooting a sten gun at an innocent bakery"

A STEN Gun?  The only time I have heard of a Sten Gun being used was when two guys knocked over the Yorkdale Eaton's with a Sten Gun concealed in a Simpson's Sears shopping bag, and that was forty years ago.

Tom
 
GUN REGISTRY 'FULL OF HOLES', CRITICS SAY

by Janice Tibbetts

OTTAWA- A former webmaster for the federal firearms center says the online
registration system is so easy to hack a computer-savvy gun thief could
easily obtain the names and addresses of Canadians who own weapons.

Anyone with a basic knowledge of computer applications could break into the
system and steal personal information, says John Hicks, an Orrillia computer
consultant. The revelation prompted a gun collector's group to complain in a
lteer to Prime Minister Harper that the potential breach poses a threat to
Canadians.

"This is like a shopping list for criminals," says Greg Farrant, government
relations manager for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. "This
reinforces what we've been saying all along that the registry is full of
holes like Swiss cheese."

Mr. Hicks said he warned the Firearms Center about the web site's
vulnerability in 2002, but officials did little to fix the problem.

"They have taken steps to make it better, but unfortunately they are not
implemented properly in my opinion," he said. He added he also complained to
the federal Privacy Commisisoner, who refused to investigate because Mr.
Hicks is not a gun owner. He was the center's webmaster for three years
before he lost his job to outsourcing in 2003.

This appeared in today's National Post, not really news, to gun owners at least.....
 
It is clear that if it is a dumb idea to register rifles and shotguns, then it is also a dumb idea to register handguns and other firearms for the same reasons.
 
Old thread, same subject......

Tories quietly extend long-gun registry deadline
Updated Tue. Apr. 10 2007 10:17 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

The Conservatives are giving hundreds of thousands of long gun owners in Canada a reprieve -- exempting them from having to register their firearms for another year, CTV News has learned.

The Harper government, which has long been trying to abolish the federal gun registry, says long gun owners now have until May 2008 to register their weapons.

The move is being applauded by firearms advocates who have opposed the registry for years.

"I think it says that the government has realized that the firearms control system is a big failure -- and they're buying time to make a major change in firearms control that makes sense," David Tomlinson, national president of the National Firearms Association, told CTV News.

The Tories introduced the regulation change quietly over the Easter weekend. Instead of issuing a press release or official statement, the government published its Amending Order in the April 7 issue of the Canada Gazette -- the government's "official newspaper."

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day was unavailable for an interview on the issue. His officials pointed CTV News to the posting on the Canada Gazette website, refusing to comment on why the order wasn't made more public.

The Firearms Act brought in by the Liberals more than a decade ago is still the law of the land. The Tory move essentially buys the government some time, allowing it to ignore the long gun registry for another year, and possibly through another election.

Day brought in regulatory changes in May, 2006 that included a one-year amnesty for any rifle and shotgun owners facing prosecution for failing to register their weapons.
More on link
 
And, for those of you wanting to read the bureaucratese version, with contact information in case you have questions...

Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2006)
Canada Gazette, Vol. 141, No. 14, 7 Ap 07

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Description

The proposed Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2006) [the Amending Order] would extend for one more year the amnesty period created under the original order, the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2006) [Amnesty Order 2006]. The Amnesty Order 2006 came into force May 17, 2006, and will end on May 16, 2007, unless it is extended by the Amending Order. The Amending Order would be made pursuant to subsection 117.14(1) of the Criminal Code, just as the original order was. Also like the original order, the Amending Order would apply to owners of non-restricted firearms (commonly known as ordinary rifles and shotguns or long guns) whose licences expired or will expire during the period from January 1, 2004, to May 16, 2008, and/or owners who have not obtained registration certificates for these firearms. It would allow these owners to take positive steps, as set out in the Amnesty Order 2006, to come into compliance with the Firearms Act without, while doing so, attracting criminal liability for being in unauthorized possession of the firearms in question.

The purpose of extending the amnesty period for an additional year would be to enable the Government, through renewed public communications efforts, to clarify the scope of the protection provided by this extended amnesty period, to explain what individuals must do in order to avail themselves of the time-limited protection, and to underline the potential consequences for non-compliant long-gun owners, during and after the extended amnesty period, if they do not take the necessary steps to bring themselves into compliance with the law. Questions and comments from stakeholders (owners of non-restricted firearms) since the Amnesty Order 2006 took effect suggest that some members of the public are confused about the protection that this Order actually provides. The extension of the amnesty period would provide time to clarify misunderstanding of the Amnesty Order 2006 and to allow law-abiding long-gun owners to take advantage of the protection from criminal liability that would only be available for the duration of the extended amnesty period.

Alternatives

The Amnesty Order 2006, declaring an amnesty period under subsection 117.14(1) of the Criminal Code, was the only means for individuals to bring themselves into compliance with the Firearms Act without attracting criminal liability during the amnesty period. The only means to extend the time-limited protection offered by the Amnesty Order 2006 would be to extend the time period provided for in that original order.

Taking no action to extend the Amnesty Order 2006 is an alternative. However, the benefits of the Order would expire with the Order.

Benefits and costs

Those individuals who could be protected from criminal liability for unauthorized possession of a non-restricted firearm under the Amended Order will only benefit from that protection during the extended amnesty period if they take the necessary steps, outlined in the Order, to renew their licence and/or obtain a registration certificate for their non-restricted firearms or if they take advantage of other options to become compliant with the Firearms Act that are set out in the Amnesty Order 2006. Individuals who are not in compliance, and who do nothing during the amnesty period to become compliant, will be subject to Criminal Code illegal possession offences in sections 91 and 92, as well as offences and enforcement measures available under the Firearms Act.

A positive contribution to the Canadian firearms licensing system is achieved whenever non-compliant long-gun owners renew their licences and thereby support this important aspect of firearms regulation. In addition, by registering their non-restricted firearms, as is currently required by law, or by taking other steps as provided for in the Amnesty Order 2006, these individuals are acting within the law. Furthermore, by obtaining licences and/or registration certificates they increase the accuracy, and add to the completeness, of firearms program data in the Canadian Firearms Information System.

The Amended Order would not affect the authority of a chief firearms officer to refuse to issue a licence to a person who is considered not to be eligible. So the public benefits that licence eligibility requirements have for public safety would continue to be unaffected.

Consultation

Feedback from the public suggests that the application, scope and purpose of the Amnesty Order 2006 has not been well-understood by some stakeholders (potential beneficiaries of the amnesty period) or the public at large.

Correspondence sent to the Minister of Public Safety and calls from the public to the Canada Firearms Centre since the Amnesty Order 2006 took effect suggest that many owners of long guns have been confused about the protection that the Amnesty Order 2006 provides to them. Owners of long guns whose licences have expired after January 1, 2004, or for which the registration certificate has expired, in a number of cases seem to have failed to understand that police can seize any long guns for which the owner does not have a valid licence or registration under the Firearms Act. They do not seem to have realized that the only protection that the Amnesty Order 2006 provides to them is protection from liability for certain offences under the Criminal Code and that even that protection is only available if they are taking certain steps to bring themselves into compliance with the Firearms Act.

Compliance and enforcement

Under federal legislation currently in force, to be in lawful (authorized) possession of a non-restricted firearm, an individual must hold a licence issued under the Firearms Act as well as a registration certificate for each non-restricted firearm. In June 2006, the Government tabled a legislative proposal in the House of Commons to remove the requirement to register non-restricted firearms (Bill C-21, which received first reading on June 19, 2006). That Bill proposes to amend the Firearms Act to repeal the requirement to obtain a registration certificate for firearms that are non-restricted (i.e. for firearms that are neither prohibited nor restricted) as well as the related illegal possession offences in the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code. Bill C-21 remains before the House of Commons, and should it come into force in the future, there would no longer be a legislative requirement to register long guns. The current legislation remains validly enacted. The Amending Order does not have the effect of suspending the requirement in the current legislation, which requires long-gun owners to be licensed and to hold registration certificates.

Possession by an individual of any firearm without a licence or without a registration certificate for each firearm is an offence contrary to sections 91 and 92 of the Criminal Code. The proposed Amnesty Order extension would continue to only protect individuals against criminal liability for unauthorized possession of non-restricted firearms. At the same time, however, those owners would be able to take positive steps, as set out in the Amnesty Order 2006, to come into compliance with the Firearms Act and would do so without attracting criminal liability.

Contact

Legal Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Firearms Centre, 10th Floor, 50 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1M6, 1-800-731-4000, extension 7799 (telephone), amnesty-amnistie@cfc-cafc.gc.ca (email).

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to subsection 117.14(1) (see footnote a) of the Criminal Code, proposes to make the annexed Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2006).

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Order within 15 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Legal Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Firearms Centre, 10th Floor, 50 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1M6 (tel.: 1-800-731-4000, extension 7799; e-mail: amnesty-amnistie@cfc-cafc.gc.ca).

Ottawa, March 29, 2007

MARY O'NEILL
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

ORDER AMENDING THE ORDER DECLARING AN AMNESTY PERIOD (2006)

AMENDMENTS

1. (1) Subparagraphs 2(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2006) (see footnote 1) are replaced by the following:

(i) that expired during the period beginning on January 1, 2004 and ending on May 16, 2006, or

(ii) that will have expired during the period beginning on May 17, 2006 and ending on May 16, 2008.

(2) Subsection 2(3) of the Order is replaced by the following:

(3) The amnesty period begins on May 17, 2006 and ends on May 16, 2008.

COMING INTO FORCE

2. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

[14-1-o]
 
To summarize: The law has not changed, you merely have a little longer to get around to obeying it.

:D

Tom
 
The conservatives will need to do a lot of work and some of what is going on is not all that helpful.  Consider this report on what our reps are telling them at the UN:

This responsibility belongs to Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, House of
Commons, Ottawa ON, K1A 0A6. If you don't like what he is doing, TELL HIM!!

Excerpts from Canadian statement - important parts highlighted.
__________________________________________________________
http://www.maximsnews.com/107mnunapril10canadaunchrisgoutundisarmamentcommission.htm
STATEMENT BY CHRIS GROUT, REP. OF CANADA TO U.N. TO U.N. DISARMAMENT
COMMISSION (MaximsNews.com, UN)
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com <http://www.MaximsNews.com>, UN/ -
10 April 2007 -- The following is a statement to the U.N. Disarmament
Commission during the General Debate by Chris Grout, Representative of
Canada to the United Nations, before the United Nations Disarmament
Commission during the General Debate in New York earlier today ("Check
Against Delivery"):
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
I am honoured to join the distinguished representatives here today in
this session of the UN Disarmament Commission. The Canadian delegation
looks forward to a productive discussion over the coming weeks. We will
do our part to work towards a successful outcome....
Mr.Chairman,
*Combating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is also a
priority for Canada. Canada supports full implementation of the UN
Programme of Action on Small Arms and welcomes the adoption at First
Committee last fall of the omnibus resolution on small arms and light
weapons which, among other things, has scheduled a Biennial Meeting of
States to be held no later than 2008. The humanitarian impact of the
proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons requires
concerted attention at the global level. To this end, as announced at
the conclusion of the 2006 UN Review Conference, Canadais working
with other countries to host an informal meeting which will take place
from August 27-31 2007 in Geneva. The informal meeting will complement
the UN process on small arms by strengthening implementation of the
Programme of Action and serving to increase the effectiveness of the
next Biennial Meeting of States.*
**
*One recent measure that could build a considerable amount of confidence
in the field of conventional arms is the important and historic step
taken by UN Member States in voting to begin a process which will lead
to the negotiation of a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty covering the
international trade of all conventional weapons. Canada fully supports
this initiative and calls on States to work together creatively and
cooperatively to establish common parameters for the trade in
conventional arms.*
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, the Canadian delegation looks forward to
participating in the discussions and negotiations in both working
groups. We are committed to working in cooperation with yourself, the
Bureau and fellow Member States in ensuring that the Commission produces
concrete recommendations that advance the goals of non-proliferation and
disarmament of nuclear weapons as well as establish confidence-building
measures in the field of conventional weapons. (Emphasis added.)
Thank you.

 
It's insulting how the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' almost seems to take a 180 as soon as it's firearms involved.

I see it as a civil liberties issue, personally- part of my mild libertarian slant. The government's got very little business being involved until a person has abused their privileges.
As long as citizens are required to get appropriate safety classes, let them own guns. I consider myself very responsible with firearms, and don't see why most other people (with basic safety training) can't be either.
 
It's certainly beating a deadhorse here... but this is a horse that must be beaten into oblivion if we're to protect our rights. I hate the liberal logic that banning or restricting ME is going to affect the guy who bought the smuggled pistol.

I sometimes go to blueline.ca and the logic here and there are totally different, most of those guys being police officers and all. They all support a country-wide ban, thinking that banning guns will ban gun-toting criminals. So wrong. Lately I"m hearing that the LIEberals are trying to impose a semi auto ban, or at least have them stored at the range. Are they nuts?? Where's my rifle/shotgun more safe... in my home locked behind quarter steel, or down in some shed on the Elliston range which is km's away from the nearest dwelling, out in the middle of nowhere?

To be honest, I would support concealed carry. If you're qualified, you're qualified... law enforcement or civillian... doesn't matter.
 
Most of the gunowning LE I know gave up on Blueline a long time ago. 
 
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