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 #983 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 Thursday, April 17 2003 Volume 05 : Number 983 In this issue: Gun case 'wrecked' life; instructor guilty; Liberals admit West 'fed up': 'Firewall' calls reflect dissent Ottawa ready to discuss Senate reform after Klein's firewall proposal Weapons charges laid after armed standoff LANDOWNERS LAUNCH FIGHT FOR RIGHTS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY DEATH THREATS LEAD TO ARREST OF CITY EMPLOYEE Editorial: Any seal hunt must be based on science: Police gun stolen from marked car air rifles ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 06:57:46 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Gun case 'wrecked' life; instructor guilty; PUBLICATION: Toronto Star DATE: 2003.04.17 SECTION: NEWS PAGE: D04 SOURCE: Toronto Star BYLINE: Nick Pron - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gun case 'wrecked' life; instructor guilty; Cache of weapons found at house Taught safety at U of T club - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A safety instructor at a University of Toronto gun club has pleaded guilty to weapons charges, later complaining that publicity in his case has wrecked his life. "The media certainly has had their day with me," a grim-faced Michael Brassard said, moments after he pleaded guilty to three counts of weapons offences at Old City Hall yesterday. "My life has been wrecked over this." He refused to elaborate. Brassard, a 49-year-old instructor at the Hart House gun club, had been facing 74 weapons offences after he was stopped by Toronto Transit Commission peace officers Oct. 8, 2001, for urinating in public at the Lansdowne subway station, court was told. Prosecutor Chris Punter told court a plea bargain had been struck. The first-time offender was convicted on three charges: Careless transportation of a firearm; careless storage of firearms; and careless storage of ammunition. The other charges were dropped. He'll be sentenced next month. Punter told the Ontario Court of Justice that Brassard was intoxicated when he got into a brief struggle with the TTC security officers around midnight and police were called in. No one was hurt in the scuffle. He was searched and police found a loaded handgun in a knapsack, along with extra ammunition for the weapon in his jacket pocket, Punter said. As a gun club instructor, Brassard had a certificate to carry a weapon from his home to the shooting range at the downtown campus. Hart House is a popular student complex. It's an athletic and cultural facility featuring everything from art galleries, a stage theatre, dining hall and chapel to a swimming pool, squash courts and gymnasium. The gun club was founded just after World War I. Punter told court that the law says the weapon should have been unloaded and be safely stored when moved from home to club. As well, the weapon should have had a trigger lock. The loaded handgun, with no trigger lock, was in a zippered pouch in a knapsack. Court was told that when officers went to Brassard's house they found a cache of weapons: 42 firearms, including two semi-automatic weapons, and 31,000 rounds of ammunition. Punter said that weapons must be stored in a safe place, such as a locked vault, adding that the guns and ammunition in Brassard's home were kept in a second-floor closet that was locked but was not secure. "An intruder into the house would have had easy and ready access to a substantial amount of ammunition and weapons." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 06:59:17 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Liberals admit West 'fed up': 'Firewall' calls reflect dissent PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2003.04.17 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A1 / FRONT BYLINE: Rick Mofina and Tom Barrett SOURCE: CanWest News Service DATELINE: OTTAWA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Liberals admit West 'fed up': 'Firewall' calls reflect dissent - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The suggestion Alberta create a "firewall" of independent programs separate from the rest of Canada may be radical, but it reflects growing discontent with the federal government that must be addressed, say Liberal and Opposition politicians. "Albertans are just fed up," Canadian Alliance MP Jason Kenney said Wednesday. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, in Calgary on Wednesday, admitted relations have soured while laying the groundwork for improving dialogue between western interests and Ottawa. "No doubt, the federal government has not managed to dialogue sufficiently with Albertans," Dion said. He said the federal government "is committed to a more intensive and sustained dialogue with you on the choice and consequences of federal policies." Dion said he was surprised by Premier Ralph Klein's recent musings on a firewall concept that would assert provincial authority in a number of areas, including pension planning, policing and taxation. "Two years ago, he rightly said that it was not Albertan mentality . . . he used the word defeatist mentality, and I think he was right," he said. Dion added that he was not aware having to fill out two tax forms and the desire for a provincial police force were bones of contention. "Is it an issue?" Dion asked. "If it's not an issue, why is he writing it? And if it is one, why did he not raise it with us before?" But he also said Klein wants to help the country. "I want to be concrete. I think he's a concrete man and he's got good solutions to build within to be concrete." Ralph Goodale, the lone Liberal cabinet minister from Saskatchewan, said feelings of western alienation have been flourishing for too long. "No government has yet grappled with this issue successfully and I think it's time," Goodale said. He added that Klein was right two years ago to dismiss the "firewall" idea. On Wednesday, Klein said the idea is back on the table, although he added that studies concluded the proposal would be too costly. "We will consider it; we will have an evaluation and we will have a response to you," Klein said. The proposal was made in February 2001 in a letter by a group that included Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper, who was then president of the National Citizens' Coalition. The letter called on the premier to build a firewall against intrusion into Alberta affairs by the federal government by creating a provincial pension system, starting a provincial police force, collecting income taxes, forcing Senate reform onto the national agenda, and risking financial penalties under the Canada Health Act. "It represents a lot of solid ideas to assert Alberta's rightful role in Confederation," Kenney said. Kenney pointed to the Kyoto protocol, the gun registry and the war in Iraq as areas where Albertans disagree with Ottawa. "But the way to tackle the problems of that nature is not to retreat behind these so-called firewalls," said Goodale. "Make western issues national issues." Provincial frustration with the federal government is longstanding, said Winnipeg MP John Harvard, chair of the Liberal western and northern caucus. "I'm not interested in picking a fight with Mr. Klein," said Harvard, who suggested Klein was "protecting his turf." "We in Ottawa always have to take a national perspective and that doesn't some times go down well with a particular province," Harvard said. "(Klein's) always turning up heat, of course, that's part of the tug-of-war," Harvard said. "It doesn't come as a thundering surprise . . . he's always been known as a crafty guy." Alberta's cabinet ministers have mixed opinions about a "firewall." Environment Minister Lorne Taylor called the federal government "dictatorial" and supports the proposal, while Justice Minister Dave Hancock suggested it was not economically viable. Hancock said it was appropriate for caucus to review the firewall proposals, but suggested that's not the way most Albertans want their tax dollars spent. With a file from Graeme McElheran, Calgary Herald ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:00:22 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Ottawa ready to discuss Senate reform after Klein's firewall proposal PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2003.04.17 EDITION: National SECTION: Politics PAGE: A6 COLUMN: Federal-Provincial Relations BYLINE: Charlie Gillis SOURCE: National Post DATELINE: CALGARYpolicy; Canada; Alberta CORPORATION: Canada Senate NOTE: cgillis@nationalpost.com - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ottawa ready to discuss Senate reform: Dion revelation day after Klein's firewall proposal - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALGARY - Stephane Dion, the federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, opened the door yesterday to Senate reform, sympathizing with Albertans who favour the move and saying Canada needs to decide what kind of Upper Chamber it wants. ''Do we want a Senate that will be regional, or by province?'' Mr. Dion asked reporters following an appearance in Calgary. ''Do we need one that will suffocate partisan politics, or not? What do we know about the experience abroad, in the United States, Germany and Australia? ''Let's talk about this. Let's convince all governments, because the Government of Canada cannot change it alone.'' Mr. Dion's remarks echoed those of Ralph Klein, the Alberta Premier, who recently called for Senate reform as a means of easing separatist sentiment building in his province. Mr. Klein is supporting a campaign by a cadre of politically active Albertans to transform the upper house into an elected -- rather than appointed -- body that would speak for the provinces in Parliament. The group hopes enough provinces will back an elected, regionally representative Senate to obtain a constitutional amendment. Mr. Dion expressed doubt about those prospects in the short term. As things stand, he noted, the provinces disagree on the formula for change. Some support equal representation by region, while others want representation by province. Still others favour the status quo. He also argued against the idea of Ottawa simply appointing candidates elected in the provinces. ''I have a great deal of sympathy for that position, which has been defended with conviction by the Government of Alberta,'' he said in his speech. ''But the problem is the unequal distribution of senators per province ... the under-representation in this influential elected Senate would be very prejudicial to [Alberta].'' Ottawa and the provinces should instead devise a reform model they would all accept, he said, then proceed with a constitutional amendment. Mr. Dion was speaking to a joint luncheon of the Canada West Foundation and the Canadian Unity Council in Calgary. His theme for the afternoon was ''Respecting the voices of Alberta'' -- a nod to the recent surge of anti-federal feeling in the province attributed to Ottawa's policies on the Kyoto accord, the gun registry and the war in Iraq. At their convention two weeks ago, the governing Conservatives held a debate on Alberta's place in Confederation, where several speakers urged Mr. Klein to threaten separation to get more co-operation from Ottawa. The Premier demurred. But on Tuesday, he revealed his caucus will consider equally controversial strategies advocated two years ago by a group of Calgary conservatives. The so-called ''Firewall Letter,'' whose authors included Stephen Harper, who has since become the leader of the Canadian Alliance, advised Alberta to adopt policies to shut out federal influence and interference. They included an Alberta-only pension plan, a provincial police force and a provincial taxation plan along the lines of that adopted by Quebec. Mr. Klein, who dismissed the letter at the time, said he was resurrecting it strictly as a favour to Lorne Taylor, Alberta's Environment Minister, who liked the ideas. That was enough to incite Mr. Dion, who said the letter suggests solutions for problems that do not exist. ''Frankly, I was not aware there was a public debate in Alberta about the need to remove the RCMP from the province,'' he said. ''I was not aware that the Canada Pension Plan has no place in Alberta ... I was not aware that Albertans want to have two forms for their income tax returns like we do in Quebec. ''Premier Klein was right two years ago,'' he added. ''It's a defeatist theory and Albertans are not defeatist people.'' Mr. Dion's call for dialogue between Alberta and Ottawa did little to impress the polite crowd of about 200, some of whom pursed their lips in exasperation as they listened to his message. Roger Gibbins, president of the Canada West Foundation, said disgruntled Albertans are looking for proof, not assurances, that Ottawa hears them. ''The test of respect is seeing concrete actions,'' said Mr. Gibbins, a political scientist. ''I think that's what some in the crowd were looking for. ''You can only say 'we're listening' for so long before people demand some concrete evidence.'' ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:01:23 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Weapons charges laid after armed standoff PUBLICATION: Toronto Star DATE: 2003.04.17 SECTION: NEWS PAGE: D07 Durham Region Weapons charges laid after armed standoff An Oshawa resident was arrested early yesterday after a man held police at bay for several hours with a replica gun. Neighbours saw a man outside a residence on Marquette Ave. on Tuesday night waving an assault rifle in the air and yelling. When police arrived, the man retreated into a home and came out occasionally wielding other weapons and yelling at the officers. More than four hours later, the tactical team entered the house and arrested a man. Laurie Anthony Woods, 46, is charged with possessing weapons dangerous to the public, unauthorized possession of a firearm, pointing a firearm and mischief under $5,000. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:03:34 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: LANDOWNERS LAUNCH FIGHT FOR RIGHTS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun DATE: 2003.04.17 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 22 ILLUSTRATION: photo by Tom Van Dusen, SUN JOHN VANDENSPANK stands with Randy Hillier, Ken Barr and Merle Bowes. They are holding a sign that lets the government know exactly how strongly they feel about what they view as their threatened property rights. BYLINE: TOM VAN DUSEN, OTTAWA SUN DATELINE: CARLETON PLACE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GROUND WAR SPREADS LANDOWNERS LAUNCH FIGHT FOR RIGHTS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- They're not quite reaching for their rifles, but the natives are getting very restless and unusually defiant in Lanark County. A "Back Off Government" sign and rally campaign which took root in Renfrew County has now spread to Lanark, with indications it'll soon move from here into neighbouring Leeds and Grenville counties. Some Lanarkites are so frustrated, they're advocating civil disobedience. With a rally called for Apr. 28, 7 p.m., at the community hall at Blacks Corners, some rural dissidents have gotten together to launch the non-profit Lanark Landowners Association dedicated to fighting for the rights of private-property owners. Their campaign slogan reveals what LLA is about: "This Land Is Our Land ... Back Off Government!" For $20, new members get a slogan sign to mount at home. A second meeting is being planned in May for Westport in the Rideau Lakes. Organizers say the purpose of the campaign is to remind all concerned that for hundreds of years, private landowners have been the best custodians of agricultural and forested lands, "without interference, mismanagement or control by government." According to LLA president Randy Hillier, an electrician currently doing contract work for the federal government and owner of 100 acres in the county, "powerful disobedience and judicial means" will be used to resist injustice against law-abiding rural residents. PRIVATE VS PUBLIC Hillier complains that by using tax dollars, governments have "perfected the art of confusing private property with public ownership" and replacing individual rights with collective responsibility. He cites such intrusions as mining claims stripping away owners' land rights; the "stench" of the new Nutrient Management Act; wildlife mismanagement resulting in loss of crops, profits and livelihood; aggregate buffer zones denying land use and privacy; and the national gun registry which "shoots down our lifestyle and freedoms." Pointing to the wording of recent Ministry of the Environment job opportunity ads seeking "SWAT inspectors" to enforce compliance, Hillier claims the bureaucracy clearly sees landowners "as the enemy." The way Hillier sees it, the Liberal government in Ottawa has created a "culture of control for the common good." Using such weapons as environmental legislation, the Criminal Code, municipal plans, public apathy and "provincial bribery," the government's intention is to overwhelm with "the weight of red tape, the hand of unfair tax collectors, and the threat of jail to coerce law-abiding citizens." The united members of LLA have a moral obligation -- and they'll meet it, Hillier insists -- to protect rural culture and traditions for themselves and future generations. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:04:43 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: DEATH THREATS LEAD TO ARREST OF CITY EMPLOYEE PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun DATE: 2003.04.17 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 20 ILLUSTRATION: photo of PIERRE LEBRUN Killed co-workers BYLINE: ANDREW SEYMOUR, OTTAWA SUN - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEATH THREATS LEAD TO ARREST OF CITY EMPLOYEE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A city employee was taken into police custody at a west-end home yesterday after allegedly uttering death threats to a co-worker. Ottawa police tactical officers arrested the 55-year-old man at his home on Churchill Ave. at about 1:30 p.m. after learning about the threat, which had been made some time earlier in the day at the city works yards on Hurdman Rd. The employee was sent home from work before police were called. "He made a death threat against another employee," said Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Eric Martinat. Tactical officers were sent to the man's home because there was a possibility he could have had access to a firearm. He was arrested without incident. A spokesman for the city would not comment on the arrest yesterday. Charges were pending against the man last night. It is not the first incident where a city employee has been arrested for making threats and police treat such cases seriously. In February 2002, an OC Transpo employee was arrested for making death threats at the St. Laurent bus garage, the same building where Pierre Lebrun killed four employees -- Clare Davidson, 52; David Lemay, 44; Brian Guay, 56; and Harry Schoenmakers, 44 -- before taking his own life in April 1999. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:05:31 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Editorial: Any seal hunt must be based on science: PUBLICATION: Vancouver Sun DATE: 2003.04.17 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial PAGE: A14 SOURCE: Vancouver Sun - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any seal hunt must be based on science: The case has not been made to revive the West Coast hunt - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To save wild salmon stocks and provide work for band members, the Skidegate Indian band on the Queen Charlotte Islands wants to revive the seal hunt. Animal rights activists are adamantly opposed. Both sides have some powerful emotional arguments to make. But the decision on whether to resume the hunt should be based on science, not the PR campaigns and polling data generated by either proponents or opponents. The concern in the 1970s for dwindling stocks that led to a ban on West Coast seal hunting is no longer an issue. And Roy Jones, the hereditary chief of the Haida Nation, says most parts of a seal have economic value and his community needs the money people could make from a hunt. Chief Jones argues that seals are predators and their increasing population threatens salmon stocks. And he asks why there can't there be a seal hunt here when Ottawa has just authorized a kill of up to 975,000 seals over the next three years on the East Coast. His arguments have convinced local Liberal MLA Bill Belsey and Canadian Alliance MP Andy Burton. They're supporting the band's bid to resume the commercial harvest. Looking at each of Chief Jones' arguments in turn, we don't think the case has been made. More research is needed, for example, to determine how big a seal hunt would have to be to make it economically worthwhile. And while there's evidence that seals did contribute to the decline in cod stocks in the East Coast, there's no systematic evidence to suggest that's the case with salmon stocks here. And the chief's assertion that Ottawa should allow the seal hunt on the West Coast just because there's one on the other side of the country simply doesn't make sense. These are two different eco-systems requiring different approaches. Only a careful review of the scientific evidence can provide politicians with solid information to make a reasonable decision. On the East Coast of Canada the science is clearer. The seal population there is now five million, up from just two million in the late 1980s, and it has been shown to have an adverse impact on cod stocks. The House of Commons fisheries committee recently released a report suggesting that in some critical areas seals have eaten about 22,000 tonnes of cod out of total of 32,000 tonnes. If that kind of problem can be demonstrated on this coast, a hunt might be justified. Until then, however, it is not. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:06:17 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Police gun stolen from marked car PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette DATE: 2003.04.17 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A6 COLUMN: In Brief SOURCE: The Gazette; CP - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Police gun stolen from marked car - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Longueuil police officer had his gun stolen from a police cruiser while eating lunch in a Montreal restaurant yesterday afternoon. The officer and a partner parked their car in a lot outside the restaurant at 2901 Sherbrooke St. E. in Rosemont about 1 p.m. While they were inside, thieves smashed the back window of the marked car and fled with a briefcase containing a 9-mm handgun and several rounds, Montreal police Constable Miguel Alston said. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 07:19:05 -0600 (CST) From: "Michael Federchuk" Subject: air rifles Hello, If you are looking for a powerful air rifle, I can recommend either the Diana 34 (break-barrel) or Diana 48 (side-cocker) in either .177 or .22. Haven't priced them lately, they used to run in the $350-450 range. For all day shooting, I prefer the model 48. Sadly, I sold mine to finance another pet project. Both rifles are capable of +1,100fps in .177 cal., 800-900fps in .22 cal (by spec, not chrono!). The model 34 can (could) be purchased with both .177 and .22 barrels. Due to its fixed barrel design, the model 48 is either one or the other. Both are high quality air rifles, have Monte-Carlo style stocks and come with a grooved receiver for tip off .22 mounts. Iron sights are good; front hooded, rear tangent. If using a scope, you will need one specialy constructed for a "spring-piston" air rifle. These rifles recoil forward when the shot is released, and then "backward" when the mass of the piston slams into the chamber venturi face. This "whip-lash" like effect can tear a regulare scope apart. I can recommend the Bushnell 72-0038. Mike Federchuk, Burlington, Ontario ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V5 #983 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.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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