From: owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca on behalf of Cdn-Firearms Digest [owner-cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca] Sent: Friday, 11 May, 2001 08:41 To: cdn-firearms-digest@broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #763 Cdn-Firearms Digest Friday, May 11 2001 Volume 03 : Number 763 In this issue: London Free Press Interactive Poll Gun centre jobs secure until fall: CEO MP snubs Alliance backer NATIVE LEADERS AIM FOR FIREARMS LAWSUIT Sportsmen miffed by ridiculous wait for gun paperwork Letter: Firearms law misfires CAVEAT Folds McLellan off hook for leaking bill information RCMP to patrol National Parks at a cost $40M United States: Film trailer teaches gun safety to children ECONOMIC COST OF THE GUN REGISTRY? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 21:48:50 -0600 From: Lee Jasper Subject: London Free Press Interactive Poll May 10, 2001. Embattled Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day: Should he stay or should he go? He should go 82% He should stay 17.9% And only 59.9% thought Tie Domi's suspension for cheap-shoting and concussing Neidermeyer was fair. Pretty definitive, eh? From the heartland of S/W Ont Reform country. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:32:30 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Gun centre jobs secure until fall: CEO PUBLICATION: The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal DATE: 2001.05.11 SECTION: Front Page PAGE: A3 SOURCE: Telegraph-Journal BYLINE: DERWIN GOWAN DATELINE: MIRAMICHI - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Gun centre jobs secure until fall: CEO - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Maryantonett came to Miramichi on Thursday with what looks like glad tidings from Ottawa. The chief executive officer of the Canadian Firearms Centre told employees that 370 people at the centre's Central Processing Site in Miramichi will keep their jobs until Sept. 1. Employment will likely drop at the Miramichi centre after that, but Ms. pledged that a large portion of the estimated 250 people it will take to run Canada's firearms licencing and registration program in the future will remain in Miramichi. "This is our Central Processing Site for the whole program, and we're taking very seriously the commitments that were made on employment in this area," Ms. said. "We're cutting back the program in general because we're past the first phase," she said, following a series of meetings all day to break the news to employees. "But I tell people there will always be a CPS and it will always be in Miramichi." The centre must gear up to register every gun in Canada before Jan. 1, 2003. Ms. said this will not take near the staff that the licensing project took because of a streamlined computerized process. Many of the people at the Miramichi site will keep their jobs at the expense of workers elsewhere as the Department of Justice consolidates much of the work currently "outsourced" to other government agencies. This includes 200 civilian employees of the RCMP in Ottawa, where layoff notices have already gone out. Ms. said that the "very robust" labour market in Ottawa means these people all found other work. So, even as much of the work done in Miramichi winds up, the Department of Justice will move enough work in from elsewhere to keep 215 people working - allowing the centre to keep 370 people on the payroll at the Miramichi site at least until Sept. 1. Others will keep jobs here because the firearms centre will place advertisements for the firearms registration program as soon as Parliament passes the bill to set the next step in motion. The advertisements will generate calls from gunowners seeking information, creating work for call centre operators. The consolidation towards a "steady state" operation after the end of next year means most of the people at the Miramichi centre will have a new employer effective May 18. They will work directly for the Department of Justice rather than Human Resources Development as they do now. The employees will keep their pay and benefits as federal civil servants. Ms. said the government will continue its plan to issue a request for proposals from private sector firms that might wish to operate parts of the system in the future, but said this does not pose a threat to jobs at Miramichi. She said the request for proposals will not affect the gear-up for the registration crunch, because it would take a year or year and one-half to negotiate, sign and seal a deal with the successful bidder - far too late for the Jan. 1, 2003 deadline. Further, she said that federal civil servants will always have to do parts of the work under the firearms law - things like investigations and other functions that involve protection of privacy. Union officials were not available to comment on Thursday evening. Reach our reporter tjmira@nb.aibn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:32:49 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: MP snubs Alliance backer PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal DATE: 2001.05.11 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Letters PAGE: A19 BYLINE: Bob Lickacz ILLUSTRATION: Photo: Journal Stock / (Tom) Wappel; Photo: Journal Stock / (Anne) McLellan - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- MP snubs Alliance backer - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Journal readers shouldn't be shocked at the shameful behaviour of Liberal MP Tom Wappel. This type of behaviour is standard procedure for Liberal MPs. I know because I considered running for the Canadian Alliance in Justice Minister Anne McLellan's riding, where my corporation is also located. I have been having a problem with an aspect of the Act as it pertains to my environmental consulting business. I have called and written McLellan's riding office several times for help and received no response. I have visited her office 12 times requesting an audience with Her Royal Highness to no avail. The last time her assistant told me, ``We don't know if you will be allowed to see Anne.'' This is is the political reality for white, 50-ish, heterosexual, gun-owning Canadian Alliance supporters in the riding of Edmonton West. Bob Lickacz, Edmonton ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:32:43 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: NATIVE LEADERS AIM FOR FIREARMS LAWSUIT PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun DATE: 2001.05.11 SECTION: News PAGE: 21 SOURCE: Edmonton Sun BYLINE: Doug Beazley KEYWORDS: Federal Government; Weapon; Legislation; Opposition; Canada - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- NATIVE LEADERS AIM FOR FIREARMS LAWSUIT - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Some Alberta native leaders are looking at getting out from under Ottawa's new gun registry law by suing the federal government. Last week, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations announced it has a mandate from the province's chiefs to sue Ottawa over the gun law, which they call a violation of their members' treaty rights. If Saskatchewan files suit, Alberta chiefs are likely to do the same. Mel Buffalo, president of the Indian Association of Alberta, said his group has already started sketching out legal arguments for a court challenge. "It's a treaty right, to be able to subsistence hunt. The gun law infringes on that right, absolutely," he said. "We're getting legal advice." The FSIN chiefs voted last week to give the feds two months to negotiate their way out of a lawsuit. The FSIN told The Sun back in January that federal gun registry officials had agreed at one point to separate registration rules for treaty natives. Those rules would have allowed natives to own guns and buy ammo with a treaty card, instead of a federal licence. According to the FSIN, the feds subsequently withdrew the offer of a separate gun registry system for natives - right around the time the offer was drawing the attention of media and Canadian Alliance firearms critic Garry . Chief Adrian Stimson of the Siksika Blackfoot Nation, 50 km east of Calgary, called the gun law "crazy" and a clear violation of native treaty rights to hunt and buy ammunition without interference. "White guys make all the laws. They broke every other treaty obligation. Why shouldn't we sue?" he said. said he thinks a successful challenge could lead to other court challenges of the gun registry by non-natives. "The First Nations might be at the forefront of getting rid of this law altogether," he said. "You can't have a criminal law applied in different ways to different segments of society." CFC spokesman David Austin said federal firearms officials continue to "consult" with First Nations about the gun law. "If the act is challenged (in court), we will defend it at that time," he said. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:32:59 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Sportsmen miffed by ridiculous wait for gun paperwork PUBLICATION WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DATE : FRI MAY.11,2001 PAGE : C4 CLASS : Sports EDITION : - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Sportsmen miffed by ridiculous wait for gun paperwork - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Mel Dagg Outdoors WE continue to receive calls from sportsmen who have long since applied for their new firearm paperwork and have yet to receive notification or forms. In a nutshell, the system is totally bogged down and countless applications remain to be processed. Personally, we submitted the necessary forms last Oct. 20. The ten-dollar application fee was cashed Jan. 10 but, six months later, I still await registration. I continue to take into the field under the coverage of my existing FAC but, for those who do not have such backup, taking any firearm out of a residence can give authorities various opportunities for legal action. Apparently it is standard procedure for the government to cash application fees well before mailing the required forms. It would be interesting to see the results of a class action case from applicants requesting interest payment on submitted fees, some for periods longer than six months. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:32:36 -0600 From: Subject: Letter: Firearms law misfires PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2001.05.11 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Opinion PAGE: A14 BYLINE: Peter Kearns SOURCE: Calgary Herald - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Firearms law misfires - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Are the new liberal laws working? I suggest they may not be. On Oct. 26, 2000, I purchased a target pistol from a local store. We went through the registration system, and I was assured that everything proceeded normally. That was seven months ago. The law says I can't possess a firearm without holding a registration, and that is my problem. They haven't sent me one, and my target pistol is still languishing at the retailer's where I bought it. I hear the system will be privatized soon. Perhaps the private sector may be able to provide better service. I guess this is another example of government serving the people. Peter Kearns Fort Saskatchewan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:33:10 -0600 From: CILA / ICAL National Office Subject: CAVEAT Folds CILA / ICAL Defending Canada's Heritage - ---------------------------------------------- Friday, May 11, 2001 Victims' group folds CAVEAT has been a success, founder says By BRIAN GRAY, TORONTO SUN Calling it a job well done, victims' rights group CAVEAT will close its doors at the end of the month. Priscilla de Villiers -- who founded CAVEAT in the weeks following her teen daughter Nina's murder by a man on parole -- said the landscape for victims' advocacy has changed "totally" in the past 10 years. "We've had a lot to do with it," she said yesterday. "Not alone, I can tell you, but we did have a part to play." The writing was on the wall for Burlington-based CAVEAT -- Canadians Against Violence -- when Ottawa and the province began to incorporate victims of violence into the policy-making process. The group played a significant role in the establishment of Ontario's Office for Victims of Crime and Justice Canada's Police Centre for Victim Issues, de Villiers said. The completion of its objectives and a lack of stable public and corporate funding is behind CAVEAT's decision to close, but de Villiers doesn't rule out a comeback some day. "I'm not saying there isn't a need for a watchdog advocacy group -- there absolutely is, but that doesn't pay the bills and that doesn't get the job done," she said. De Villiers, who was a Tory candidate in a provincial byelection last year, will take the rest of the summer to contemplate future plans but has ruled out another run at politics. - ---------------------------------------------- Distributed By: 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 Ottawa Office: 27 Cedar Grove Crt. Nepean, ON. K2G 0M4 Ph: (613) 828-8805 Fax: (613) 828-6967 e-mail: aldorans@magma.ca Home: http://www.cila.org A proud member of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities / Forum du Monde sur le Futur d'Activités des Sports des Armes à Feu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:40:26 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: McLellan off hook for leaking bill information PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2001.05.11 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: News PAGE: A4 SOURCE: The Canadian Press DATELINE: OTTAWA - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Minister off hook for leaking bill info - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Justice Minister Anne McLellan won't be punished for releasing details of a bill to the media before tabling it in the Commons. The Commons committee on procedure and House affairs ruled earlier this week that while the Justice Department's actions violated parliamentary privilege, won't face any sanctions. The matter stemmed from a complaint from a Canadian Alliance MP who objected when the Justice Department held a briefing on March 14 on changes to the Criminal Code -- before they were tabled in the Commons. Vic Toews said Alliance staff were barred from the briefing. The committee agreed that his rights were violated. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:40:33 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: RCMP to patrol National Parks at a cost $40M PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2001.05.11 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: News PAGE: A1 / FRONT BYLINE: Wendy-Anne Thompson SOURCE: Calgary Herald ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo: Calgary Herald Archive / A union official says Ottawa is poised to hire for park warden duties. - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Warden plan to cost $40M: union - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Ottawa is prepared to spend $40 million to pay officers to patrol Canada's national parks and do park wardens' jobs, says a high-ranking union official representing park wardens. Doug Martin, assistant regional vice-president for Alberta and the North of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said the money would pay for hirings, housing and new office space in a two-year-interim plan. He said the proposal was presented last month by Parks Canada officials to union executives. A Parks Canada official confirmed the agency is in the process of working out a plan with the and is expected to officially announce the strategy next week. The plan has outraged park wardens and animal preservation groups who say the wardens should be permitted to carry guns as part of their jobs. Bruce Amos, Parks Canada director general, national parks, would not confirm the number of hirings or the $40-million figure. But he said any officers hired for work in the parks system would be new hires and would not cause a depletion of resources in Canadian communities. ``The main point is that we are working with the to take the responsible steps to ensure public and employee safety while we open our parks for the visitor season and that the park resources are protected,'' he said. ``The responsible thing to do is work with the , get additional support so the public is safe, our employees are safe and the resources are protected.'' He said the strategy will be in place before the 2001 park season, which begins on the May 21 long weekend. Meanwhile, the wardens will continue to do work unrelated to law enforcement, such as enforcing park rules to do with camping and fire regulations. Liz White, a spokeswoman for the Animal Alliance of Canada, an animal protection group, said that Parks Canada should ``give the wardens the tools they need to do the job for which they are already paid.'' ``Our primary concern with the whole thing is that we want the best protection of species in national parks. We think the park wardens should do this and they should be issued sidearms,'' she said. Park wardens have been prohibited from performing law enforcement duties since January after Martin complained he and his colleagues could not do their jobs properly because they could not carry sidearms. A Canada Labour Code directive ordered Parks Canada to either issue sidearms to park wardens or to remove them from unsafe working conditions. Parks Canada prohibited park wardens from patrolling parks, seizing evidence, interviewing violators, dealing with poachers and any activity that would require law enforcement. It also appealed the labour code directive. But Martin said the money would be better spent on park maintenance. ``Everything from picnic shelters to highways -- you have a system that is deteriorating,'' he said. Martin wants park wardens to be able to carry guns because they continually run into hunters and campers who are armed with guns and camping equipment like axes and knives. Other workers in similar jobs, such as conservation officers, carry guns. Jim Abbott, the Canadian Alliance's deputy critic for parks, called the idea ``lunacy.'' ``We already have people who understand all of the conservation issues and they are important in terms of the enforcement,'' he said. Abbott said the is already understaffed. Most detachments are five per cent understaffed. A detachment in his riding of Kootenay -- Columbia, B.C., is 25 per cent understaffed. ``It's not only lunacy, it's also a pipe dream they are going to be able to achieve this in the period of time they want,'' he said. ``In the meantime there are enforcement issues that have to be dealt with.'' ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:40:40 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: United States: Film trailer teaches gun safety to children PUBLICATION: The Kingston Whig-Standard DATE: 2001.05.11 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Entertainment PAGE: 23 / Front COLUMN: Showcase SOURCE: The Kingston Whig-Standard - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- United States: Film trailer teaches gun safety to children - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------- - ---- Moviegoers in the United States will soon get a 30-second lesson in safety along with their popcorn. Beginning May 18, a trailer featuring Arizona Senator John McCain talking about safety will play on 2,500 screens in 44 states. In the ad, McCain, standing on a school playground, urges adults to keep guns locked up and encourages children to tell a parent or a teacher if they hear someone talk about using a . ``Because what you do today may save a friend's life tomorrow,'' McCain says. ``In this great country, owning a is a right that carries responsibilities,'' the former presidential candidate says. Americans for Safety, a nonprofit group, is paying $250,000 to run the ad for one month in 210 cities. Jonathan Cowan, president of Washington-based group, said the message is being taken to movie theatres to catch the attention of kids and parents as the summer movie season kicks off. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:40:47 -0600 From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: ECONOMIC COST OF THE GUN REGISTRY? http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreuzgpress/Guncontrol41.htm NEWS RELEASE May 11, 2001 For Immediate Release GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO TELL US THE ECONOMIC COST OF THE GUN REGISTRY "The economic cost of the gun registry will make the actual operating expenditure of $600 million seem like small potatoes," said Breitkreuz. Ottawa - Today, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville released the results of his attempts to try and quantify the impact and cost the Liberal gun registration scheme will have on jobs and the economy. "Flawed government policy has driven 80 per cent of licenced firearms retailers out of business in less than twenty years - down from 8,931 in 1979 to 1,787 in 1998," reported Breitkreuz. "Now the tourism industry is about to feel the same kind of pain!" Federal Government Responses June 14, 1999 - Dept. of Justice (ATI File: A98-00283) - Denied 172 pages of gun registry budget documents by declaring it a Cabinet secret. August 16, 1999 - Dept. of Justice (ATI File: A99-00034) - Denied the entire 115-page report on economic impact of the gun registry by declaring it a Cabinet secret. January 13, 2000 - Dept. of Justice (ATI File: A-1999-00125) - Denied 61 pages on how user fees will cover the entire cost of the gun registry program by declaring it a Cabinet secret. January 31, 2001 - Environment Canada (ATI File: A-2000-0248) - Responded, "no records were found" to show how migratory bird hunting and bird populations will be affected by the new firearms licencing and registration regime. February 8, 2001 - Industry Canada (ATI File: A-2000-00417) - Responded they have "no records" that document how the Tourism Industry will be affected by the new requirements for visitors bringing firearms into Canada. March 7, 2001 - Foreign Affairs and International Trade (ATI File: A-2000-00375) - Responded that they could find "no records" to show how the implementation of the Firearms Act will affect imports and exports. April 12, 2001 - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (ATI File: A-2000-0301) - - Responded they needed thirty more days to try and find records that show how the Firearms Act will affect aboriginal businesses and employment. May 7, 2001 - Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan in a letter to Garry Breitkreuz, MP: "Please assure Mr. _______ that this government values the tourism business that [4,000] outfitters bring to Canada and that this new legislation [Bill C-68] does not change our goal to attract hunters to Canada." [Note: Full text of Anne McLellan's letter is available on request] Provincial Government Responses January 24, 2001 - President and CEO of Tourism British Columbia, Rod Harris, in a letter to Garry Breitkreuz, MP: "Tourism British Columbia has not conducted any specific research with respect to the new requirements for visitors bringing firearms into Canada, and as such, do not have any reports or studies that we could provide." January 26, 2001 - Yukon Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dan Brennan, in a letter to Garry Breitkreuz, MP: "The Department of Tourism is very concerned about the possible effect the new regulations could have on our big game hunting industry, but we are unaware of any studies that may have been done to identify that effect." February 26, 2001 - Alberta Minister of Economic Development, Jon Havlock, Q.C., in a letter to Garry Breitkreuz, MP: "Alberta Economic Development has not conducted any studies to determine the effect this new legislation [Bill C-68] will have on our tourism industry." "The economic cost of the gun registry will make the $600 million out-of-pocket expense to taxpayers seem like small potatoes," said Breitkreuz. "For six years, the Liberals have kept the gun registry's true costs a secret. Sooner or later every taxpayer will know the truth as it starts to affect the businesses and jobs in their communities." - -30- ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V3 #763 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:acardin33@home.com List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v03.n198 end (198 is the digest issue number and 03 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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