From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V6 #183 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, June 19 2003 Volume 06 : Number 183 In this issue: Letter to the Winnipeg Sun published Editor: re Grizzly bear viewing more valuable Make cops vital part of schools: principal Gun law rolls back Inuit rights: NTI Re: Police Out Of Control Dundas Star News Police Blotter Grit donors were sold access to ministers: retiring senator 'Lives at risk' HEAT's on car thieves Re: Advisory Committee announced as part of Firearms Program Improvements Drive-By Shooting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 09:48:43 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Letter to the Winnipeg Sun published They did edit out the last line, though. http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegSun/editorial.html Winnipeg Sun Letters to the Editor Thursday, June 19, 2003 Mustard a cannibal Mustard shows his true anti-human colours quite distinctly in his response to me in his July 17 column. He'd rather kill and eat me than one of his furry little animal buddies. There's a word for that kind of behaviour. Bruce N. Mills Dundas, Ont. (Laurie calls it snacking.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:01:44 -0600 (CST) From: Rick Subject: Editor: re Grizzly bear viewing more valuable To: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca Editor: The study released by the Rainforest preservationists was predictable simply because it was intended to arrive at a predetermined result. Through some strange oversight, no mention whatsoever is made of the economics of resident hunting and its' contribution to the provincial economy. Yet revenues from resident hunters in this province greatly exceed revenues from guided hunts. One can only assume that including resident hunting revenues in the study would have eliminated the ability to justify the intended result. "Grizzly bear hunting more economically valuable" simply would not have worked. No real mention is made in the report of another side of the grizzly hunt - the issue of wildlife management. Grizzly numbers do not simply increase while the peaceful bears happily coexist, living beside each other. Grizzlies demand a certain amount of turf, and surplus bears do not fit into that picture. Grizzlies kill smaller grizzlies they encounter in their territory on a fairly regular basis. Bears killed by other bears rather than hunters are also "not available for viewing". Equally important from a management standpoint, what is also not addressed is the impact of increasingly subjecting grizzlies to "viewing" and the effect that has on grizzly behavior and populations. There is also the issue of grizzly predation on young of the year in some areas. While the grizzlies are a minor part of the larger predator problem in areas like the East Kootenays where predator numbers are high and species recruitment is being affected, they do require management. The only realistic management tool we have for predators is resident/non-resident hunting. The Raincoast preservationists have seized on these poorly done financial numbers not out of concern for the economy. Now that the scientific studies they hoped would justify their position have instead repudiated their protests, they have pinned their hopes on the financial angle. Their aim is simply to eliminate as much hunting as possible, and economics really doesn't have anything to do with it. Conservation implies management, and indeed, hunting and grizzly viewing can and do co-exist. But to preservationists such as the Raincoast crowd, hunting is simply unacceptable even when it is scientifically and economically sound. And while Dean Wyatt says his British clients object to grizzly hunting, many resident conservationists and conservation organizations object to the widespread proliferation of wilderness tourism tenures such as Wyatt's being handed out in this province. The presumption is that wilderness tourism has neglible effect on the environment, but that is simply not correct. As we have learned from the whale watching business, viewing can and does have an effect on some species. Grizzlies are relatively intolerant of human activity, and bears who end up becoming habituated to human activity usually end up being shot by the government. The belief that we can simply continue to pile more and more wilderness tourism tenures into this province, generating greater revenues while the wilderness is unaffected, must come to an end. When you have wall to wall wilderness tourism operators out there making camps and dragging tourists through the back country, it isn't wilderness any longer. Grizzly hunting by residents as well as guided non-residents is an activity that is already carefully examined and conservatively managed. What we really need to conservatively examine and manage in this province is the growing number of wilderness tourism tenures such as Dean Wyatt's - and their effect on the environment. Rick Lowe President Kimberley Wildlife and Wilderness Club ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:30:53 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Make cops vital part of schools: principal http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegNews/ws.ws-06-20-0031.html Make cops vital part of schools: principal By Ross Romaniuk Police have a vital role to play at Winnipeg high schools and should become part of the study environment, a local principal says. As a councillor strives to bring a successful Alberta policing plan to classrooms citywide, St. John's High School principal Dushant Persaud is promoting the concept. At Persaud's North End institution, a pilot project has led his teen charges to view cops as an integral part of their surroundings. "This is not about policing schools. It's about providing a police resource at schools. There's a big difference," Persaud told The Sun yesterday. "All of a sudden they have a police officer who says 'hi' and 'hello' and goes to their classes and talks to them. And their notions of police change." Parents, students and others will get a chance today to hear first-hand what the Calgary School Resource Officer initiative has done for that city over nearly 30 years. Sgt. Tim Loucks is one of two Calgary officers being flown in by Coun. Garth Steek to field questions from citizens worried about Winnipeg's increasing youth violence. The Calgary model doesn't come cheap. But for more than $1 million annually -- 98% of that paid by the city -- 17 officers are stationed at 26 schools, many of them for every hour students are on campus. With offices on site, Loucks says he and his colleagues are a crucial resource for student advice, guidance and lectures -- and to quickly investigate when crimes occur. "They feel they can talk to us," Loucks said, "whereas a street crew may not have that same rapport for them." The Calgary officers will be at River Heights School for two hours early this afternoon and at Grant Park High School from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:31:33 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Gun law rolls back Inuit rights: NTI http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=june18firearms-act06182003 >From CBC North Gun law rolls back Inuit rights: NTI WebPosted Jun 18 2003 04:17 PM CDT IQALUIT, Nunavut - Nunavut Tunngavik says the Firearms Act is contrary to the self-government rights guaranteed to Inuit under the land-claims agreement. John Edmond says Inuit with tendencies toward violence must be prevented from having guns NTI hopes to fight the gun legislation in a court case, but first it has to convince a Nunavut judge to deny the federal government's motion to have the case dismissed. The motion is being heard in the Nunavut Court of Justice this week in Iqaluit. The territorial government is an intervenor, backing NTI. The lawyer for the federal government says there are cultural differences in the North and in the way Inuit see firearms. But John Edmond argues it's important that all areas of Canada be covered by the act and the licensing scheme it puts in place. "It's very important because if the plaintiff succeeds in having no licenses, then the difficulty is that any Inuit beneficiary could obtain a firearm without any screening as to tendencies to violence, criminal record, tendencies to domestic abuse – all of the things that the Firearms Act was designed to guard against and screen out." Dougald Brown says the gun law tramples on hard-won Inuit rights Dougald Brown says the gun law tramples on hard-won Inuit rights Nunavut Tunngavik's lawyer says Inuit signed the 1993 land-claims agreement to strictly limit Ottawa's ability to interfere in their lives. Dougald Brown says the land claim clearly ensures that Inuit have a right to hunt, trap and fish without a permit, license or fee. He says the federal Firearms Act ignores that. "The requirement for possession licenses under the Firearms Act, and the requirement of everyone to register their weapons, is contrary to the rights of Inuit under the Nunavut land-claims agreement," he says. "We're asking the court to declare that the (federal) government has taken a contrary position." Brown says the case is complicated and should be decided in a full trial. NTI and the federal government will continue to present their arguments to Justice Robert Kilpatrick. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:31:35 -0600 (CST) From: Rick Subject: Re: Police Out Of Control > from: http://www.geocities.com/liberalgunfarce/ > > POLICE OUT OF CONTROL > > The following atrocity took place in the small village > of Baxter, approximately 8 miles south west of Barrie. Can somebody point me at a source for this directly linked to Ed Burlew? I know he posts here occasionally. Presuming the account is accurate, given the fears for our children with the well publicized school shootings we've all heard of, I can understand police precautions and reaction right up to the point they had his movement and actions controlled. Everything beyond that is utterly unacceptable and seems to border on criminal if in fact it was not criminal. Using the threat of withholding medical treatment from a three year old child to obtain permission to search sure sounds criminal to me. The implication that there was also a body cavity search also sounds like assault to me. Interceding with potential employers to ensure he stays unemployed doesn't sound any better. I am a strong supporter of the police in general. But I am also of a view that when they abuse their position or use their position to abuse others, that abuse must be immediately and forcefully dealt with. If the facts of this case are complete and accurate as stated, this must be widely publicized and those responsible either for the initial actions or the continuing abuse - or allowing to continue - severely dealt with. This fellow not only needs financial support, he needs a website to publicize what has been done and continues to be done to him. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:32:58 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Dundas Star News Police Blotter Two rifles were stolen overnight June 9 from a Pleasant Avenue home. The culprits gained entry by smashing open a basement window, then pried open the gun locker. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:50:18 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Grit donors were sold access to ministers: retiring senator http://www.nationalpost.com/utilities/story.html?id=4DACDD67-0599-4B1D-BB49-D27EF8B04A2C Grit donors were sold access to ministers: retiring senator Kolber was Trudeau's 'bagman' Ian Jack National Post Thursday, June 19, 2003 CREDIT: Fred Chartrand, The Canadian Press Leo Kolber, who will retire in November after 20 years in the Senate, says, "everybody wants to become a senator. This maligned institution, everybody wants in." OTTAWA - The Liberal Party of Canada routinely offered meetings with Cabinet ministers in return for corporate donations during the 1970s and 1980s, Leo Kolber, the party's former chief fundraiser, said yesterday. Mr. Kolber, a senator since 1984, was for more than a decade before that the Liberal party's chief fundraiser in Quebec. After John Turner became party leader in 1984, Mr. Kolber was chief national fundraiser for two years, a time when the party was in opposition. Mr. Kolber said in his years of fundraising -- or, as he repeatedly put it, being the party bagman -- he was often asked by potential donors what they got for their money. "I said, you get the privilege of supporting the two-party system, and if we're in power, I can probably get you an appointment with a minister, although once you're in there, you're on your own. I guaranteed nothing." Mr. Kolber, a multimillionaire businessman from Montreal, gave interviews yesterday ahead of his November retirement -- which he scheduled three months ahead of his mandatory retirement date in February, 2004, so Jean Chrétien, the outgoing Prime Minister, can fill the spot rather than leaving the patronage plum to the next leader. He said he began his career as "chief bagman for Quebec" when Marc Lalonde, Quebec minister for Pierre Trudeau, the former prime minister, phoned and told him the Montreal Jewish community was not giving enough to the party. Senator Kolber said he agreed to help, and Mr. Lalonde suggested $50,000 a year would be a reasonable sum. "I kind of giggled inside because that I could do with my left hand," he said, and promptly collected $125,000. His method was to invite 125 couples to his house and have them pose for a photo with the guest of honour, Mr. Trudeau. Each couple was asked to give $1,000. The Prime Minister showed up in jeans, carrying a change of clothes and asking if he could take a shower, having spent the afternoon sanding floors at his new Montreal house. "To this day, when I walk into people's homes, what's sitting on their table? Them and Trudeau. It's unbelievable what a marketing tool that was," Senator Kolber said. He said he took to fundraising because of his connections, his dislike of running for office and because "I had a drive to give something back and I thought the Liberal Party was the right place to be." An unsuccessful 1953 run for Montreal city council cured him of the desire to be an elected politician. "Thank God I lost. Otherwise I would have been a junkie politician and never made all the money I did, worked for the Bronfmans and had a wonderful life." In the early 1980s, growing weary of the corporate life, he sought a Senate appointment by calling and asking Mr. Lalonde and Michael Pitfield, the country's top civil servant at the time and another confidante of Mr. Trudeau. "I didn't know much about the Senate, except it was a marvelous club and it was very prestigious," he said. "I lobbied to become a senator. It was a very tiny lobby." Senator Kolber had a rival for the Senate seat traditionally reserved for a member of Montreal's Jewish community. Phil Vineberg, a lawyer and friend, offered to take the seat for two years and then quit so Mr. Kolber could succeed him. But Senator Kolber said he thought, "I don't know what was going to happen in two years," and so he declined the deal. The call to the Senate came from Mr. Trudeau in December, 1983. "So I said to him, and this is the truth, how often do I have to show up? He said, 'Ah, once in a while. It's no big deal.' " That has changed in the Senate in 20 years, where attendance is now taken and, Senator Kolber said, he has heard Mr. Chrétien tells new senators they are expected to show up every day for work. The Senator, considered a hardworking chairman of the banking, trade and commerce committee over the past four years, said on the whole, his colleagues do good work, but some are a little lazy. "Most people don't show up, or they show up for a few minutes and they leave," he said of committee work. "I think we need a refreshment, a renewal of some talented appointments." Still, he said, "I think the Senate generally does superb work," pointing to recent studies on health care chaired by Senator Michael Kirby and on transportation safety by Senator Colin Kenny. "It's a sort of love-hate relationship we have with the Senate. People take cracks at us, and that's OK. But everybody wants to become a senator. This maligned institution, everybody wants in," he said. "The Prime Minister once told me making appointments to the Senate is the worst decision he has to make. You make one person happy and 200 are totally dinged off at you." Mr. Kolber, 74, said his plans for retirement include playing more golf and "a few appointments" he's waiting to hear from the Prime Minister about. ijack@nationalpost.com © Copyright 2003 National Post ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:50:47 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: 'Lives at risk' Can you say "fearmongering" boys and girls? These politicians in cop's clothing are only concerned about the bottom line of their budgets. http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2003/06/19/114337.html Thu, June 19, 2003 'Lives at risk' Pot warning: Top cop By ALAN CAIRNS, TORONTO SUN Ontario should brace itself for a long, hot and violent summer of legal pot smoking, Ontario police chiefs warn. "Lives are being put at risk," Ontario Association of Police Chiefs president Tom Kaye said after the annual meeting of top cops in Richmond Hill. An Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision that effectively decriminalized pot possession laws and the refusal of Ontario courts to hear possession charges is "disturbing," said Kaye, police chief in Owen Sound. "It leaves police no legislative authority to fulfil their duty to serve and protect communities," he said. Kaye said police have no power to stop a motorist smoking a joint, nor can they stop a 12-year-old kid from toking up in elementary school. Noting that impaired drivers claim the lives of hundreds of innocent victims annually, Kaye said there is "no satisfactory" tool to identify marijuana-impaired drivers. Unless the driver shows "classic signs of impaired driving," then officers cannot demand blood without first obtaining a search warrant, which would take a greater amount of time and effort. Kaye slammed the federal government for taking its summer break while the provinces are in chaos over weed laws. He said once pot smokers realize the risk of arrest is almost nil, use will become commonplace, and organized crime will meet the increased demand for marijuana. Hydroponic homegrow labs are already an "epidemic" in Ontario, Kaye said, adding that government also needs to give police more cash to shut them down. In an "open letter" to Ontarians, the chiefs urged citizens to press Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Premier Ernie Eves for a "speedy resolution to this critical public safety issue." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:51:15 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: HEAT's on car thieves Gee, targetting and monitoring the actions of criminals actually works! Whooda thunkit? http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2003/06/19/114355.html Thu, June 19, 2003 HEAT's on car thieves Police stakeouts bring 32 arrests By Rob Lamberti A police project staking out known dumping grounds for stolen cars has so far netted 32 alleged car thieves and recovered 105 vehicles. Det.-Sgt. Joe Peroni, in charge of HEAT, an acronym for Help Eliminate Auto Theft, said the project was launched June 5 and uses uniformed officers to stake out areas which have become popular for thieves to dump stolen cars. He said 80% of all car thefts are "destination driven," done by people who just want to get to a specific spot. They dump vehicles in areas like the Yorkdale Mall, Fairview Mall, U of T, and housing projects. "They pick them up in certain areas and they dump them in certain areas," he said. And if a thief has to go back to where he started, he'll steal another car. Peroni said the remaining 20% of stolen cars are used in criminal acts or shipped overseas to underworld markets. More than 12,000 vehicles are stolen annually in Toronto, and Peroni said the most popular vehicles with thieves are Hondas and Chryslers. Peroni said officers have checked 1,500 vehicles. "We're finding a pattern with these auto thieves and there'll be a lot more arrests in the near future," he said. There are two nine-person HEAT teams, one based in east Toronto and other in the west. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 10:52:37 -0600 (CST) From: Rick Subject: Re: Advisory Committee announced as part of Firearms Program Improvements > Ottawa, June 18, 2003 -Federal Solicitor General Wayne Easter today > announced the establishment of a Program Advisory Committee for the Canadian > Firearms Program. > > The new Advisory Committee is a key element of the Action Plan announced > in February by the Solicitor General of Canada and the Minister of Justice. > It is comprised of experienced individuals external to government who will > provide ongoing advice on quality of service, and a continuous improvement > plan for the Firearms Program. > > "Canadians have said they want a well run, fiscally responsible program > that will promote public safety in this country. I am confident that this > distinguished group of Canadians will help us to focus on the key objectives > of this important program," said Minister Easter. "We have already made some > important service improvements since the program was moved to the portfolio > of the Solicitor General in April, but there is much more to be done." Interesting, but predictable. While they aren't termed as "firearms community representatives", it is obvious that the two who are there because of faint affiliations to the firearms community ain't much. I don't recall seeing lots of letters or activism from Steven Torino in relation to the Firearms Act - in fact his most significant achievements relating to the new laws is getting certificates of appreciation for his efforts in helping with the implementation of various programs. Then we have a guide/outfitter from the Yukon. Again, his name is not exactly a reoccurring theme as the issue of the Firearms Act has been before us these last eight years or so. That doesn't surprise me because people living in Nowhere, YT usually have a hard time keeping up to speed with the news - and their way of life usually doesn't bear any reality to life down south. Chances are the only reason he's on this panel is to ensure that Foreigners can quickly and easily get into Canada with their firearms to spend their money - without going through the stringent "safety precautions" Canadians have to, as that would tend to turn them off and drive them to spend their money elsewhere. It's not like he has to realistically fear the "local" firearms officer showing up to "inspect" one of his camps, after all. On the other side of the table however... ahhhh, that is much different. Lots of familiar anti-firearm activists there. Griffin, Cukier, McPhedran, Westwick, and Simon. Over 30% of the table already operating as anti-firearm activists. The rest... mostly career bureaucrates who have occupied their lives with the details of how you manage the unwashed masses. Some "advisory committee"... once again, Canadian firearms owners are being assured their voices WILL NOT be officially heard. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 11:00:58 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Drive-By Shooting http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20030619-001/page.asp Pulse24 Street Beat June 19, 2003 Drive-By Shooting Police are searching for suspects and a motive in an overnight drive-by shooting that sent one man to hospital. It happened just before 1am Thursday at a Lawrence and Midland bus stop. The unidentified victim was hit once in the foot when someone opened fire from a grey Caravan passing by slowly. The wounded man was treated and released from hospital. He was cooperative with detectives but the reason for the attack remains a mystery. There have been no arrests so far. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V6 #183 ********************************** 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".) If you find this service valuable, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the freenet we use: Saskatoon Free-Net Assoc., P.O. Box 1342, Saskatoon SK S7K 3N9 Phone: (306) 382-7070 Home page: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/ These e-mail digests are free to everyone, and are made possible by the efforts of countless volunteers. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this digest as long as it not altered in any way.