From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V5 #76 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Tuesday, September 24 2002 Volume 05 : Number 076 In this issue: Liberals to overhaul Criminal Code: Column: "soft on criminals and tough on gun owners" Column: Grits let gun registry fall apart London fox hunt protest draws 300,000 Animal 'liberators' activist alleges police harassment: Father kills son in northern hunting accident ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:40:40 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Liberals to overhaul Criminal Code: PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen DATE: 2002.09.24 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A3 BYLINE: Janice Tibbetts SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Liberals to overhaul Criminal Code: hopes to send fewer people to jail, soften sentences, add more concessions for natives - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Justice Minister Martin plans to carry out a massive reform of the Criminal Code, with the aim of sending fewer people to jail and softening, eliminating or streamlining provisions that have been in place for decades. To that end, he is convening a series of round-table meetings with 20 to 30 players in the justice system, beginning in November. Many are expected to argue that Canada's criminal laws have become too confusing and that new offences are often created in a piecemeal fashion in response to calls on the government to become more hardline on crime. There are also complaints that many laws are no longer in step with modern society, such as anti-prostitution sections and provisions that allow lighter sentences for people who kill in the heat of passion. The Criminal Code is a massive document of about 1,500 pages. Its thousands of criminal offences are constantly under review, but Mr. intends to undertake the first full-scale overhaul in decades. He is doing so because it's widely believed that the Criminal Code is outdated, said Chantale Proulx, a lawyer in the minister's office. "At some point, you have to look at the whole thing and say 'does it still make sense?' " she said. "The criminal law traditionally reflects the values of society and those values evolve over time." Some of the numerous potential changes include: - - Loosening mandatory minimum sentences that require judges to impose set jail terms. - - Targeting self-defence provisions, which have become so complicated that accused criminals are routinely winning new trials because judges are giving confused instructions to juries. - - Altering potentially outdated parts that no longer reflect modern society, including anti-prostitution laws and the defence of provocation. - - Streamlining police powers, which are criticized for being too complicated. - - Adding more concessions for aboriginals to reflect the fact that there are too many in jail. The process is a massive undertaking that would take years to complete, said Ms. Proulx. Mr. already has suggested that he prefers a more left-wing approach to criminal law. His thinking appears to be more in line with that in his home province of Quebec, which favours an interventionist approach that focuses on community outreach and other social programs aimed at rehabilitation, rather than sending people to jail. He also has voiced concerns about minimum mandatory sentences, saying that judges might need more flexibility instead of being forced into a rigid sentencing regime that is too much like the American system. Pressure to revamp the Criminal Code has been building for more than 20 years. "The Criminal Code, if you think about what it represents in society, is a code of morality, it is our reference point," said Marc David, a spokesman for the Canadian Bar Association, which will be attending the round-table discussions. "I think it is a good idea to revamp it and make it coherent." Mr. David said that over the past two decades, the Criminal Code has become increasingly tough. "It's very much getting more repressive," he said. "It's not blowing in the direction of liberty and liberal values." That is because justice ministers over the years have added hundreds of tough new offences in response to political pressure, said Don Stewart, a criminal law expert at Queen's University in Kingston. "I think the public would be shocked if they knew the level of confusion," he said. Canadian Alliance MP Vic Toews says he also thinks there should be changes to the Criminal Code. But he takes issue with the prospect of more flexibility in sentencing, arguing that Canada should move toward a more structured system by setting up a grid for judges to follow. "There has to be more uniformity," Mr. Toews said. "The amount of time you serve shouldn't depend on the luck of the draw on who you get for your judge." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:43:51 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Column: "soft on criminals and tough on gun owners" PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun DATE: 2002.09.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial/Opinion PAGE: 11 SOURCE: BY LINDA WILLIAMSON, TORONTO SUN DATELINE: TORONTO - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE NEW CANADIAN IDENTITY WANTS EXCELLENCE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I was in university, pursuing a degree in the relatively new discipline called "Canadian Studies" (which at the time, at my school, essentially meant "a major for those who can't choose between French, English, History or Political Science"), many an academic discussion centred on the elusive "Canadian identity." What was it? Who were we? What made us unique? The easy answer was that we were "not Americans" - a definition that begged the question, if not for Americans, would we have any identity at all? As a child of the Trudeau era, going to university during the '80s when nuclear war was expected (by the new-wave peacenik and disarmament crowd, anyway) to erupt at any moment, I tended then to side with those who viewed America as bellicose, imperialist and dangerous. Like most people I knew, I bought into the orthodoxy that Canada was the kinder, gentler, more sophisticated neighbour. We had free health care and the Queen. They had Vietnam, Nixon, crime and guns. But today? It's a new millennium, and since Sept. 11 of last year, a new world. And I'm bone-weary of this petulant, sanctimonious identity of Canadians as holier-than-Americans. What upsets me most is self-righteous politicians who lecture the rest of us about "the Canadian way," implying that disagreeing with them is un-Canadian. They cement this concept by demonizing their opponents' ideas, be they tax-cutting, border-tightening or health care reform, as "American-style." In various encounters with these folks, I've been told it's "the Canadian way" to want to pay higher and higher taxes, to waste money on government boondoggles and on reminding Quebec what a great country this is, to let refugee claimants go free as soon as they arrive here - even if they can produce no proof as to who they are, to be soft on criminals and tough on owners, to make peace, not war (with a military that's equipped for neither), to scream against private money going into public health care, and, of course, to have a 62 cents dollar. None of this is what being Canadian means to me. The controversy this past week over Jean Chretien's remarks on the CBC's Sept. 11 special has reignited this debate, as my own e-mail from readers clearly illustrated. The following two messages arrived within seconds of each other in response to my last column on the PM's comments: "Your column is bang on. I was so disgusted by the PM's remarks. I simply couldn't believe it. I have been so ashamed to be a Canadian since Sept. 11 because of the words and actions of my government," one man wrote. "You call yourself a CANADIAN journalist?" demanded another. "Thoughts like yours would be funny if they weren't so dangerous." For many of us, if not our politicians, the border between the U.S. and Canada evaporated on Sept. 11. Our Canadian identity lay not in disavowing our American neighbours, but in identifying with them. This is part of a newer, healthier identity - one that journalist Edward Greenspon and pollster Darrell Bricker defined in their pre-Sept. 11 book on the "new Canadian mindset," Searching for Certainty. "The Can-global citizen," as they term us, "pursues excellence and insists on having an impact," they write. "Comfortable in their skins, they are much less moved than previous generations - but not unmoved - by appeals to nationalism and parochialism. While clearly preferring excellence at home, they are prepared, if necessary, to select excellence over home. Unless we lift the pursuit of excellence to a national passion, the potential for Canada to lose its most talented young people ... is very real." In other words, we think being Canadian should, and does, stand for a lot more than "not American" and "free health care." The political movement that taps into this new feeling will be the one to return Canada to greatness. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:45:43 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Column: Grits let gun registry fall apart PUBLICATION: The Halifax Daily News DATE: 2002.09.22 EDITION: DAILY SECTION: NEWS PAGE: 23 BYLINE: LORNE GUNTER, Southam News ILLUSTRATION: The government's registry is crashing. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grits let gun registry fall apart - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Something appears to have gone drastically wrong at the registry in July. No, let me rephrase that: lots of people inside and outside the registry will admit something went wrong. But there are conflicting reports over how drastic the foul-up was, and whether it was out of the ordinary. Several owners -- scores, if not hundreds or even thousands -- received letters this summer asking them to re-register firearms they had already registered. One source, a senior Liberal staffer on Parliament Hill, insists this was made necessary by a ``huge crash of the processing computers,'' sometime in early July. He also insists the crash wiped out ``thousands'' of firearms records entered into the computers around or just after Christmas -- more like tens of thousands. Another source, this one closer to the Department of Justice, which runs the registry, says there were indeed ``delay problems'' in July, but they were nothing unusual. The system is prone to ``periodic interruptions'' during which no files are lost because all registration records are kept in duplicate on separate computers systems. Plenty of owners reported an inability to get through to the firearms registry both on the phone and via the Internet at about the same time -- early to mid-July. For days on end, callers received a recorded message telling them telephone volume was so heavy no one could speak with them nor even take a message. They were advised to call back another time. The registration of firearms slowed to a crawl, too. According to the registry's own numbers, it processed only 10,000 registrations per week in mid-July, but was back up nearly to normal (40,000) by mid-August. Whether this incident was uniquely bad, or merely catastrophe-as-usual, three things are clear about the registry as it approaches its fourth anniversary and as the deadline (Jan. 1) for registering all firearms approaches: It is in turmoil. The Liberals have, for all intents and purposes, abandoned it. And, the processing of owner licenses and firearms registrations has become so perfunctory the registry cannot possibly make Canadians safer. On Sept. 9, the Yellowknifer newspaper reported that the federal firearms officers in both Yellowknife and Hay River had quit their jobs. No replacements were being sought. These resignations follow hard on the heals of resignations by firearms officers in Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg. Since spring, eight in all have left their posts. Between now and the end of the year, the government must register another 3.5 million firearms). It can't possibly meet that target -- it has taken nearly two years to register the first 4.2 million. And the registry staff continues to shrink in number. The Liberals claim this is because the peak of the registry's workload has passed. But it hasn't. It is more likely the peak political benefit the government can derive from the registry has passed. The staff is likely being downsized, too, because the nature of their work has changed, dramatically. When the registry opened, every application was going to be rigorously screened, and every registration of a firearm was going to be verified for accuracy by a government inspector. But now, there are no verifiers. Licensing owners, too, were going to keep guns out of the wrong hands. While the Liberals claim their registry is doing this -- that under the new law many more licences have been refused or revoked than under the old -- the rate of refusals and revocations has actually declined because of the rubber-stamp procedures being used to grant licenses. Between 1979 and 1999, 0.76 per cent of applications for certificates were refused. Since 1999, the refusal rate for one of the new licenses has been half that, just 0.38 per cent. It's galling the Liberals won't end this billion-dollar boondoggle, now. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:46:48 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: London fox hunt protest draws 300,000 PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal DATE: 2002.09.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: Top Copy PAGE: A3 BYLINE: Kevin Ward SOURCE: CP DATELINE: London ILLUSTRATION: Photo: AP / Protesters march through central London onSunday to defend the right of Britons to hunt with hounds. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- London fox hunt protest draws 300,000 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hundreds of thousands of rural marchers, waving banners and defiantly blowing whistles and horns, brought central London to a standstill Sunday in a last-ditch bid to peacefully block a ban on fox with dogs. Billed as the Liberty and Livelihood March, the demonstration organized by the Countryside Alliance crept its way for over seven hours in separate streams from opposite ends of the city to Parliament Square, where protesters lamented an assault on their way of life. "Are we an alien culture?" asked one banner carried amongst the protesters, who marched past the gates of 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Prime Minister Tony Blair. With at least 300,000 people taking part in the march it was one of the largest civil protests ever seen in Britain. Media reports said marchers were joined in their show of defiance by supporters from as far away as Canada, the United States and Australia. A sense of alienation was a common refrain among the marchers, who fear rural life is being eroded by attacks on such country traditions as fox , as well as the faltering farm economy. "We believe passionately in allowing people to do what they always have done in the countryside," said Judith Graham. "It's about freedom," said her husband, Robin. The Grahams gave up their farm in Gloucestershire when they retired two years ago after none of their children wanted to take it over. Farm incomes in Britain have dropped by 70 per cent since 1995 as farmers cope with the fallout from an outbreak of mad cow disease and a foot-and-mouth epidemic. The couple made the two-hour trip to London from their country home because they support the hunt, and because they believe farmers are getting a raw deal from Britain's Labour government. Although the Grahams have never hunted foxes with hounds, Judith said the impact of a ban would be economically devastating when the number of people who rely on the hunt for an income, ranging from stable hands to dog handlers, are taken into consideration. "It's always been said by urban people that it () is a class thing, it's only for the toffs (upper class), but nothing can be less true," she said. The Grahams also dispute claims made by opponents of fox that the practice is cruel, arguing that using gas or traps to control the fox population are less humane than the hunt because they are not always lethal. "The marvellous thing about foxing is that the fox is either dead or alive, they don't limp away," Judith said. At Parliament Square, a small group of counter-demonstrators banged on drums under a banner that read "Ban Blood Sports." Opinion polls suggest a majority of people oppose the hunt, but getting a bill passed through Parliament has been difficult. A series of free votes in the Labour-dominated House of Commons have come out in support of a ban, but the House of Lords has always taken the opposite view. Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael promised legislation will be ready in the next few weeks that is expected to either ban outright or severely regulate the sport in England and Wales. Scotland has already banned with hounds. Baroness Mallalieu, president of the Countryside Alliance, said the government's attempt to ban is based on misplaced class bigotry that will cost it votes in the next election by making political activists of rural people. Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith cautioned the government not to proceed with a ban on fox when farmers are struggling for their survival. "There are huge problems in the countryside," he said. "These people are saying, 'Look at all these problems and yet you are going to make criminals of us for going .' " ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:48:25 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Animal 'liberators' activist alleges police harassment: PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2002.09.24 EDITION: All but Toronto SECTION: Canada PAGE: A10 BYLINE: Mark Hume SOURCE: National Post DATELINE: VANCOUVER ILLUSTRATION: Black & White Photo: Bruce McInnis, The Vancouver Sun /David Barbarash, seen patting his neighbour's black Lab, Jasper, alleges he is being harassed by the RCMP for his role as a spokesman for the North American arm of the Animal Liberation Front, which has admitted to arson and vandalism as well as to releasing nearly 5,000 captive animals. NOTE: mhume@van.nationalpost.com - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Animal 'liberators' activist alleges police harassment: Seeking to quash search warrant for B.C. home - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANCOUVER - The spokesman for a radical environmental group that has set fires, vandalized property and released nearly 5,000 captive animals is going to court today to fight what he calls "police harassment." David Barbarash, the media representative for the North American arm of the Animal Liberation Front, will appear in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in an attempt to quash a search warrant issued to the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET). INSET is a special RCMP team that works on early detection of potential threats to national security. Last summer, INSET officers kicked in the front door of Mr. Barbarash's home in Courtenay, B.C., on Vancouver Island, looking for evidence related to the Animal Liberation Front's activities, and in particular to a 1999 event in which the group vandalized several fish and game clubs in Maine. At the time of the search, Constable Danielle Efford said the search was not part of an RCMP investigation, but was undertaken to help U.S. police. "Our involvement was as an assistance to the authorities in Maine," she said. But Mr. Barbarash said the police are simply harassing him because he frequently appears in the media, announcing and defending the activities of the Animal Liberation Front, which last year took credit for 35 attacks in North America, including the vandalism of fur stores, banks, research labs, meat stores, fur farms and animal breeders. The group says 3,000 mink and more than 1,000 ducks were "rescued or released" last year. Mr. Barbarash, who says he is contacted by anonymous animal liberation operatives, is often the first to announce that a particular attack was the work of the group. But, he says, he is not involved in any of the actions himself. "I'm not committing any illegal activities," he said. "I'm voicing my concerns about a political issue. That's all. "My role as spokesperson means that I will usually receive some form of communication from ALF activists following an action or raid.... I then draft a press release.... I am then available for media interviews to discuss the tactics and philosophy of ALF and the animal abuse being highlighted in the action. And that's it, end of story. "It is an outrage that the type of invasion and harassment which I've been subjected to can take place against a spokesperson, the messenger, who has nothing at all to do with any illegal direct actions in the role as media liaison." Mr. Barbarash said the animal liberation members contact him through e-mails bounced through a circuitous route that leaves the sender anonymous. "I have no idea of the identities of the ALF members. The police know that. My phone lines are constantly monitored. "The police understand everything that's going on in my life," said Mr. Barbarash, against whom charges were stayed in 2000 for allegedly sending letters booby-trapped with razor blades to British Columbia guides. He said when police searched his home during the summer, they seized two computers, numerous videotapes, mail and other documents that he wants returned to him. Mr. Barbarash also said police, who raided the house when he was not home, made an animal liberation of their own. "Our indoor cats were let outside to fend for themselves," he complained. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:52:14 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Father kills son in northern hunting accident PUBLICATION WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DATE : TUE SEP.24,2002 PAGE : A3 CLASS : City EDITION : - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Father kills son in northern hunting accident - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce Owen A father accidentally shot dead his 30-year-old son Saturday during a northern Manitoba hunting trip and was forced to wait several hours beside his son's body before RCMP arrived. "He had to sit there all that time by himself thinking about what he'd done," said family spokeswoman Charlotte Adolphe. The father, Wayne Galiz, apparently mistook his son, Dean, for a wounded bear as the pair hunted moose on a remote northern lake near Snow Lake. Because of the area's remoteness, RCMP had to charter a float plane and it took several hours to fly to the scene. The death of Dean Allan Galiz, the father of two girls, has shocked the small mining community and devastated a well-known family. It also has family members pleading with fellow hunters to take every precaution possible this hunting season to avoid a similar, needless tragedy. "This is so tragic," Adolphe said yesterday. "What's the outcome now for the family, the people most affected? Everyone is quite distraught. "This shouldn't have happened. If one person can be saved because of this, then maybe Dean wouldn't have died in vain." Adolphe said the hunting accident could have been avoided if Dean, an employee at the New Britannia Mine, had been wearing a bright orange vest or hat, so he could have been more easily seen. "He wasn't wearing anything like that. It's so sad." Adolphe and RCMP said the pair had driven on all-terrain vehicles into the area, on Claw Lake between Cranberry Portage and Snow Lake, Saturday afternoon to hunt moose. While hunting, the two came across a black bear and were forced to shoot it. However, they only wounded the animal and it ran into the dense bush. Adolphe said for safety reasons, Galiz and his son decided they had to kill the bear, and split up to track it down. At about 6: 30 p.m. the elder Galiz heard something rustling in the bush, thinking it was the bear. "He thought he saw something coming at him, so he turned, took aim and shot his son," Adolphe said. Seconds later Galiz realized what happened, and using a satellite phone, called for help. RCMP Cpl. Mike Zens said police believe Dean Galiz died moments after being shot. He said Wayne Galiz is not facing criminal charges. Firearm accidents among hunters are rare, mostly because of the mandatory safety courses offered to licensed hunters. The province averages nine accidents a year and even fewer fatalities, though last hunting season there were at least three -- in Lundar, Poplar River and the Jackhead First Nation. A memorial service for Galiz is planned for Thursday in Snow Lake. bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca - -- with files from Mary Agnes Welch ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V5 #76 ********************************* 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@shaw.ca 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 v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 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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