Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 18:03:42 -0600 Message-Id: <200003030003.SAA19216@broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca> X-Authentication-Warning: broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca: majordomo set sender to owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca using -f From: owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #285 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Thursday, March 2 2000 Volume 03 : Number 285 In this issue: CILA Letter to the Ottawa Citizen Editor Fact Sheet: U.S. Initiative Against Small Arms and Illicit Action or Appeasement Re: Is there a plan? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 17:59:32 -0600 From: Al Dorans Subject: CILA Letter to the Ottawa Citizen Editor CILA / ICAL Defending Canada's Heritage - --------------------------------------------- CILA Letter to the Ottawa Citizen Editor "RMS Titanic: CFC Disinformation Campaign in Damage Control" Re. "Firearms program pays dividend of safety" (Feb. 26), the continuing disinformation campaign from the Canadian Firearms Center is in full damage control over the failing gun registry and The Firearms Act. On board C-68 Titanic, David Austin is the latest spin doctor to leap to the megaphone and shout, "Folks, that little bump you felt in the night was really nothing. We were just stopping off to pick up some ice!" If the federal gun registry is such a marvellous idea, why are 9 provincial and territorial governments (57-70% of Canada's population) filing a Supreme Court Challenge in absolute opposition to C-68? Why are 7 million law-abiding gun owners rejecting the federal fiasco in droves and starving the gun registry for cash? Here are some projected non-compliance rates: Mauser and Buckner (40%); Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (80%); RCMP confidential survey (90%); Saskatchewan survey (93%); Sarnia Rally (755 people 99%); Law-Abiding Unregistered Firearms Owners of Alberta (15,000 gun owners 100%). The latter members have signed a petition and are prepared to go to jail rather than register themselves or their firearms. Why? The reason is that without any scientific evidence, whatsoever, the Liberals railroaded C-68 through Parliament using inflated statistics, bogus polls, flawed surveys, fraudulent research and invoking closure to stifle free speech every step of the way. Firearms owners know they have been absolutely cheated. C-68 is an unjust law and does not carry the support of the common people. Do you remember when Justice Minister Allan Rock promised that the gun registry would cost $85 million over 5 years and be scrapped if it ever reached $150 million? Here is another Liberal lie. Even when the Department of Justice had admitted to registry costs of $316 million, the CFC was misleading Canadians with a figure of $120 million. The $316 million figure, however, did not include the 348 pages of additional costs that were being deliberately withheld from taxpayers through Cabinet secrecy. Can you guess why? The National Post reported that the costs of the Registry would reach $720 million over 10 years. The Canadian Institute for Legislative Action (CILA) has received reliable information that the costs have already surpassed $1 billion. Expenditures are being transferred into other departments to conceal massive financial waste. CILA has learned that the DOJ has already exhausted its $60 million budget for 2000 and has asked the Treasury Board for an additional $40 million to continue operations for the remainder of the year. The Treasury Board has said "No!" The Liberals have demanded a performance of 1 million new gun registrations by the end of 2000 or the registration system will be scrapped. If you think that Calamity Jane's $1 billion boondoggle is a fiasco, wait until Canada's brightest investigative journalists zero in on Justice Minister Anne McLellan's $3.5 billion gun registry boondoggle! Another gross distortion from the DOJ is that McLellan's Bill C-68 promotes a "culture of safety". Balderdash! She presents no evidence, whatsoever, only another Liberal "faint hope" clause. Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray verified in the House that there was no evidence that Canada's 64 year-old handgun registration system had reduced crime or saved lives, despite a cost of $640 million! McLellan then advises Canadians to repeat this stupidity with rifles and shotguns at an additional $3.5 billion, again for no gain. Duh! C-68 is not about criminal control. It is about citizen control and a social engineering experiment gone berserk. Two United Nations conferences in Cairo (1996) and in Buenos Aires (1998) demonstrate conclusively that Canada, Japan and Lord Axworthy are leading a UN globalization New World Order agenda to disarm world civilians of all their firearms. Canada is the role model. Surprise! Reform M.P. Garry Breitkreuz has called this a "culture of deceit". Since the DOJ/CFC have a well-established reputation for distorting the truth, why should Canadians believe their spurious statistics or anything they have to say? The Department of Justice has a vested interest in preserving its massive and wasteful bureaucracy. Years ago, Robert Fife (National Post) wrote that the test of Anne McLellan's political career would be the degree to which she used a large broom to sweep out the senior Justice bureaucrats who had a history of issuing bad advice on the gun control issue. She has failed that test completely. RMS C-68 Titanic is down by the bow and the decks are awash. Captain McLellan is sinking with the ship. Professor Al Dorans Director of Operations, Ottawa Office Canadian Institute for Legislative Action / Institut Canadien pour l'Action Législative National Office: P.O.Box 44030, 600 Grandview St. S. Oshawa, ON. L1H 8P4 Ph: (905) 571-2150 Fax: (905) 436-7721 e-mail: teebee@sprint.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 17:59:23 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Fact Sheet: U.S. Initiative Against Small Arms and Illicit Trafficking Sender: owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Reply-To: cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca > U.S. EMBASSY ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS > From the Information Resource Center > 23 February 2000 > Fact Sheet: U.S. Initiative Against Small Arms and Illicit Trafficking > (Outlines U.S. steps to address growing international concern) (1620) > > Following is the State Department Fact Sheet: > > (begin Fact Sheet) > > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE > Office of the Spokesman > > February 23, 2000 > > FACT SHEET > > U.S. Comprehensive Initiative on Small Arms and Illicit Trafficking > > The United States is taking a wide range of steps to address growing > international concern about trafficking in small arms and light > weapons. U.S. efforts are intended to promote regional security, peace > and reconciliation in regions of conflict and to make the world safer > by helping to shut down illicit arms markets that fuel the violence > associated with terrorism and international organized crime. > > As Secretary Albright told the United Nations in September 1999, "The > international community must develop an integrated, comprehensive > response -- in countries of origin and countries of conflict, among > buyers, sellers and brokers, and with governments as well as > international and non-governmental organizations." The U.S. > contribution to this effort is summarized below. > > OAS Convention Against Illicit Firearms Trafficking. The United States > was a leader in concluding in 1997 the "Inter-American Convention > Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms," the > first international agreement designed to prevent, combat, and > eradicate illicit trafficking in firearms, ammunition, and explosives. > First proposed by Mexico and negotiated in just seven months, this > agreement strengthens the ability of the OAS nations to eradicate > illicit arms trafficking, while protecting the legal trade in > firearms. Key provisions include requiring an effective licensing or > authorization system for the import, export, and in-transit movement > of firearms, an obligation to mark firearms indelibly at the time of > manufacture and import to help track the sources of illicit guns, and > requiring states parties to criminalize the illicit manufacturing of > and illicit trafficking in firearms. > > International Protocol Against Illicit Firearms Trafficking. The > United States is working toward completion of the United Nations > "Protocol to Combat the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in > Firearms, Their Parts and Components" by the end of 2000. This > protocol would build on and globalize the standards incorporated in > the precedent-setting OAS Convention. The protocol is currently under > negotiation in the UN Crime Commission in Vienna as part of the > negotiations to conclude the Convention Against Transnational > Organized Crime. > > Arms Brokering Legislation. The President signed legislation in 1996 > amending the Arms Export Control Act to give the State Department > greater authority to monitor and regulate the activities of arms > brokers. Cornerstones of the brokering provisions are the requirements > that brokers must register with the Department of State, must receive > State Department authorization for their brokering activities, and > must submit annual reports describing such activities. The United > States is one of the few countries to have instituted such > legislation, and we are working to promote adoption of similar laws by > other nations and to incorporate such a provision into the protocol > being negotiated in Vienna. Law enforcement officials made the first > seizure of munitions under the provisions of the new legislation in > November 1999. > > Greater Accountability. The United States maintains the world's most > open arms export procedures, and is promoting greater openness in the > practices of other nations. In 1996, the President signed legislation > amending the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the annual > publication of information about arms authorized for commercial export > by the United States that fall below the previously existing reporting > thresholds for U.S. arms transfers. The report includes detailed, > country-by-country information on the numbers of firearms, ammunition, > and other "small-ticket" defense items authorized by the United States > for export, setting a world standard for transparency. The United > States has presented this report as a possible model of transparency > to the 33-nation Wassenaar Arrangement, which promotes restraint in > the export of conventional arms. The United States also publishes > reports on arms flows to regions of conflict in order to raise public > awareness of the issue. Last July, for example, the State Department > released Arms and Conflict in Africa. It is available at: > www.state.gov. > > Careful Scrutiny of Export Licenses. If arms export license > applications exceed the normal, reasonable domestic needs of a given > importing country or show other abnormalities, the United States will > audit and, if necessary, cut off exports to that country. On that > basis, the United States has suspended exports to Paraguay since 1996. > In addition, U.S. law prohibits arms and munitions exported from the > United States to be re-transferred by the recipient without prior U.S. > approval, audits are conducted if diversions or transshipments are > suspected. > > Destroying Excess Weapons. Helping other nations destroy seized or > excess firearms can be an important element in securing a lasting > peace in conflict regions. The United States has contributed experts > and funds to destroy small arms, light weapons and ammunition in > Liberia, Haiti, and the former Yugoslavia. The United States recently > agreed with 10 nations of southeast Europe on a program to destroy > illicit arms in the region. The United States is also working with the > Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), to prevent illicit weapons > shipments to the Balkans and central Africa, and to improve security > of weapons holdings. > > Cracking Down on Financing of Illicit Arms. Illicit markets in > valuable commodities such as diamonds have helped finance arms flows, > particularly to embargoed groups and nations. The United States and > other concerned countries are identifying ways to track and intercept > illicit trafficking in precious gemstones used in financing conflicts > in Africa. One possibility is legislation that would require each > diamond to be sold with a certificate of origin guaranteeing its > legality. Such an initiative would require continued close cooperation > with the diamond industry, whose participation is essential for any > dependably effective regime. > > Embargo Enforcement. The United States carefully observes sanctions > and embargoes established by the United Nations. U.S. laws permit the > prosecution of those who violate embargoes. We urge others also to > criminalize such violations. We recommend that governments find ways > to exchange information on violations to truly globalize embargo > enforcement. In addition, the United States does not authorize > commercial or government-to-government weapons transfers to conflict > areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, > and Angola, whose governments are not subject to UN embargoes. We > encourage other governments to announce and observe such voluntary > moratoria. > > Vigilance at the Borders. The Administration has made the prevention > of illicit arms trafficking across our borders a high priority. The > Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the United States Customs > Service have intensified their interdiction and investigative efforts. > The Attorney General has directed United States Attorneys along the > southwest border to make a dedicated effort to prosecute traffickers, > large and small, caught attempting to smuggle firearms. > > Possession of Firearms by Aliens. Since 1968 the Gun Control Act has > prohibited the possession of firearms and ammunition by aliens > illegally or unlawfully in the United States. In response to the 1997 > shootings at the Empire State Building in New York committed by a > nonimmigrant alien legally in the United States, the Administration > amended regulations implementing the Gun Control Act to require that > legal resident aliens provide proof that they have resided in the > United States for at least 90 days prior to purchasing firearms from > Federally licensed dealers. Due to concern over firearms violence > committed by nonimmigrant aliens, the law was amended in 1998 to > prohibit persons admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant > visa from possessing firearms. > > Africa Focus. Arms transfers and trafficking and the conflicts they > feed are having a devastating impact on Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of > the programs we are pursuing, include: > > -- Africa Baseline Survey. Support to the United Nations African > Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders > (UNAFRI) to survey the small arms legislation, regulations, and law > enforcement capacities of African countries to provide a benchmark for > future work. > > -- West African Small Arms Moratorium. Technical assistance for the > 1998 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) moratorium on > the import, export and manufacturing of small arms in West Africa. We > are also seeking congressional approval to release modest funding for > the moratorium, which was included in the Fiscal 99 Foreign > Authorizations Act. > > International Diplomacy. The United States is working with many > nations and international organizations on the problem of illicit > small arms. > > -- U.S.-EU. At their December 1999 summit in Washington, the United > States and the European Union released a statement of "Common > Principles on Small Arms and Light Weapons," in which they pledged to > observe the "highest standards of restraint" in their small arms > export policies, and took further steps to harmonize their export > practices and policies. They approved a 10-point "Action Plan," and > established a formal working group through which they will continue > their activities. > > -- United Nations. The United States was an active participant and > strong supporter of the recommendations of the 1997 Report of the UN > Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. The United States will > also take active part in preparations for the international conference > in 2001 on the "Illicit Arms Trade in All its Aspects." > > -- Norway. The United States has worked closely with a group of > like-minded nations led by Norway that is helping to set the > international agenda for addressing the problem of small arms > proliferation. The statement released by the 18 countries attending > the last such conference in Oslo in December 1999 focused special > attention on the importance of regulating the activities of arms > brokers. President Clinton and Norwegian Prime Minister Bondevik also > announced a bilateral task force on small arms and light weapons, > focusing on efforts to destroy surplus small arms in conflict zones. > > (end Fact Sheet) > > (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. > Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov) > > Visit the U.S. Embassy web site at > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 17:59:35 -0600 From: "Jim Hinter" Subject: Action or Appeasement NFA Calgary/29 Feb 2000: Danuta Tardiff, from Parliamentary Affairs for Foreign Affairs and International Trade stated today that the review of firearm export permits is almost complete She reports the Canadian government will report to the United States in the next couple of days.Foreign Affairs reports "it is now all up to the United States". Before you breathe a sigh of relief - are you really ready to count on "anti-gun", President Bill Clinton to protect our gun rights? President Clinton has nothing to lose from having this Export Permit Ban continue for a "while longer" just to be extra sure that firearms destined for Canada are not being smuggled back to the United States. "Slick Willie" as our American friends call him has been beaten by the "American Gun Lobby" a couple of times over the past few months. Right now, President Clinton is working to mark his place in history. His presidency has been plagued by scandals. He is worried that his place "in the sun" will not be what he wants it to be. Protecting Americans from "Canadian Gunsmugglers" is just the kind of "knee jerk" reaction that he may feel can protect his place in history. When First Lady Hillary Clinton placed all the "blame" for all the attacks on her husband on "a vast right-wing conspiracy". Knowledgeable observers got a measure of just how bizarre the first family really is. Right now, for a Canadian firearm owner to be placing faith in President Clinton to do the "right thing" and protect Canadian firearm businesses -- well I will leave that line of logic to you. This one is actually fairly well done by Lloyd Axworthy - as a reputed anti-firearm politician, Foreign Affairs Minister Axworthy, may be able to effective hobble the Canadian Firearm community and walk away scot-free. Of course, that is only if we let him. There is an NFA ACTION Alert available at www.nfa.ca which outlines a course of action, we suggest. For those who figure this battle is over - I would ask you to remember the words spoken by Neville Chamberlain on his return from Munich Germany in 1938. Chamberlain said: " My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.Go home and get a nice quiet sleep". Less than a year later, the world was at war. As far as I am concerned, any one of us figuring we can "go back to sleep" on this issue needs wipe the sleep from their eyes. Our sporting heritage is under attack. Years from now, when your grandchild or great grandchild is sitting on your lap, do you want to tell them you were asleep - or that you were protecting their rights? The choice is up to you. Jim Hinter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 17:59:31 -0600 From: "Alan Harper" Subject: Re: Is there a plan? > There is a bit of the chicken and egg to the entire attack on firearms > ownership in Canada. Is the Government agenda being driven by the anti gun > sentiments of the general public or is the general public being driven by > the Government’s anti gun sentiment? Does the Government truly listen to Wendy Cukier or does it promote her agenda because its really their agenda? Wendy is a stooge of the elite who would rule us and maintain the status quo. She is a talking head, pretending care for the common person, while stepping on us to elevate herself to elite status. I'm sure she feels that she is eminently qualified to tell us how to live our lives, and in plenty of detail. Also, I think a large part of the motivation of the elite is to control the aboriginals. The natives have revolted and may do it again. They made the politicians look like jackasses during the revolts. > It does not matter if these initiatives are logical or efficient but > rather > the idea is to frustrate, anger and confuse firearm owners so that they are > driven away from owning guns. > Every firearm owner that quits is a victory. > Every gun shop that closes is a win. > Every young shooter that decides not to take up hunting, collecting or target shooting will be a triumph. Excellent letter and right on the mark, Mr. Bryant. I believe you answered your own question in the subject line. The process is called gradualization, where they nibble away at our rights, in an indirect and cowardly manner, to achieve their ends. Their desired end is an unarmed and malleable flock of sheep. They are now negotiating a separate firearms settlement with the aboriginals. Divide and conquer. I hope the aboriginals see through this ploy. They should. They have been screwed by the feds often enough. Bye. Al. SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM If you seek peace, prepare for war ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #285 **********************************