From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #921 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 Saturday, March 26 2005 Volume 07 : Number 921 In this issue: Man gunned down [LETTER] Worse than useless Use of police checks increases PM announces new senators Re: [LETTER] End this hunt permanently Re: [COLUMN] Take the club to seal hunt Re: PM announces new senators ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 14:34:23 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Man gunned down http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/03/26/972755-sun.html Man gunned down By Jonathan Jenkins HOMICIDE detectives were monitoring a shooting last night after a man was gunned down at a downtown highrise. Police would not confirm if the victim had died. The gunfire broke out at 10 p.m. on the 10th floor of 40 Gerrard St. E., between Yonge and Church Sts. Police did not release any suspect descriptions but kept a tight security cordon around the building. About an hour after the shooting plainclothes officers escorted a young blonde, about 10 years old, from the building wrapped in a pink blanket who was crying. They were followed a few moments later by uniformed officers who escorted an adult couple to an awaiting squad car. Officers also taped off two cars parked on the street east of the building. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 14:37:43 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: [LETTER] Worse than useless From: Halifax Herald Saturday, March 26, 2005 http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2005/03/26/fLetters184.raw.html Worse than useless I would like to know whether or not the RCMP made a registry request for info about the presence of guns at the Roszko property before they went in there. The way I see it, there are three possibilities: 1) They knew he was prohibited, so they did not make an info request. They then went in, unfortunately unprepared, despite foreknowledge of his nature and the allegations by townspeople that he had several illegal guns; 2) They did make a request, but the system told them he was prohibited and therefore had no guns. They then made the fatal error of staking their lives on this information, or; 3) The system told them that there were in fact guns there, but they went in casually despite knowing his demeanour, and suffered the violent consequences of trusting him to not be there simply because they had not seen him. We lawful gun owners have been saying for years that the Firearms Act, as written, is worse than useless and that it would lead to increases in violence and death, not reductions. This is because it spends all its time focusing its attention on the several million harmless law-abiding sportsmen and women who pursue excellence in the shooting sports while totally ignoring the 150,000 known violent offenders under gun prohibition orders. They are neither tracked nor checked up on, but we certainly are! While it may be possible for the Liberals to deny the rising tide of inner-city gun violence taking place while the registry continues to ineffectually flush hundreds of millions of our dollars down the toilet every year, they simply can't hide the fact that, in this case, their Precious did nothing to prevent tragedy, and has quite possibly significantly set the stage for it. M.J. Ackermann, MD, Sherbrooke ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 15:08:55 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: Use of police checks increases http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Law/2005/03/26/973001-cp.html Use of police checks increases By BRUCE CHEADLE OTTAWA (CP) - It's been almost three decades since John was busted with half a gram of hash at a Carlos Santana concert. It was the second such conviction of his troubled 16th year. Since then, he's raised a family, built a successful communications career, volunteered in his community and attracted nothing more untoward than the odd parking ticket. But over the past three years, John estimates his teenaged antics have cost him up to $80,000 in forgone contractual opportunities and countless hours of hassle negotiating his way through what have become ubiquitous police background checks. "My situation, I imagine, is quite common in that I have a summary conviction that is ancient history and only now is that a concern," said John, who did not want his real name published. "Criminal record checks are becoming so much more common in determining somebody's credibility or appropriateness to be hired or consulted or involved . . . . "Certainly it's never been an issue in the past for me." Now, says John, "this is a big issue in my life." He's not alone. About three million Canadians - one in 10 - have criminal records, according to the National Parole Board. Since 1970, when Canada became the first (and still virtually the only) country in the world to offer full pardons for most offences, some 330,000 pardons have been granted. The numbers have been surprisingly stable at about 20,000 applicants a year, even after Sept. 11, 2001 as growing U.S. border restrictions make more Canadians aware of the need for a clean slate. In 2002-03, the most recent year for which numbers are available, the parole board processed 17,000 pardon applications and accepted 90 per cent of them. "It doesn't erase the fact that you have a criminal conviction," said John Vandoremalen of the National Parole Board. "What it does is sets that record aside and seals it - at least in Canada." That means whether you're applying for a job, volunteering as a soccer coach or filling out a rental agreement, a police check won't reveal your past. In John's case, a pardon would erase many headaches. Standard background checks reveal he has a criminal record, says the father of two, but not his crime: "Might be a mass murderer, could be a pedophile . . . . It's up to me to give out that information. "But before that happens, they may write you right off. That's the real danger." What a pardon will not do is clear Canadians for travel in the United States, although it may help. It's an issue fraught with ambiguity. Canadian pardons are not recognized by the United States. The parole board recommends that individuals tell U.S. border officials they have a record but have been pardoned. Since Sept. 11, increased cross-border sharing of criminal databases means the Americans may already know your past. If they do, and you lie, you're in for greater trouble. But if they don't, "the risk is that all of a sudden you're telling them you have a criminal record," Vandoremalen concedes. That record will go into your permanent U.S. file and will likely force you to seek a travel waiver from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS. There are a number of private companies that assist Canadians in applying for pardons, offering services similar to income tax specialists. Their advice on the U.S. border is more nuanced. "Whether you tell someone or not, that's up to you," said Ian Levine of Pardons Canada, a Toronto-based not-for-profit organization. "That's a moral decision. We can't counsel people to lie but we can also tell them (their record) is not in the RCMP database anymore. "You kind of have to read between the lines." Vandoremalen treats the private pardon services with a certain disdain. Anyone can apply on their own, he says, and you won't get your pardon any faster if it's prepared by a professional. The names, websites and advertising of these services often make them appear as if they are government agencies, which they are not, said Vandoremalen. Levine counters that the complexity of the application, which requires retrieving time-sensitive documents from local courts and police, makes it difficult for average citizens to properly prepare. His service charges a flat $420 fee, plus $55 for RCMP-certified fingerprints. Some for-profit agencies charge up to $900 per application. Levine is a passionate promoter of the pardons system and says Pardons Canada fields about 200 calls a day, of which only about five result in applications. "Most people are so embarrassed or shy or humiliated that they don't actually want to activate a file," he said. "The reality is it's quite easy to get a pardon if you just know what you're doing. It's not invasive. You don't have to talk to your neighbours. Your boss is not going to find out . . . . "Responsible people should always erase their record as quickly as possible. You can only benefit from it, and I think it's one of the best gifts this country still offers its people." Like John, Levine sees evidence of a growing North American security mentality in which greater numbers of Canadians are finding their criminal past a liability. He expects pardon applications to climb 20 per cent over the next year. "There's a time lag between people getting caught, understanding that their old records hurt them, then applying for a pardon," said Levine. "The National Parole Board hasn't seen those yet." Some facts about the Canadian pardons system: Established: The Criminal Records Act, 1970, under auspices of National Parole Board. Pardons granted: 330,000 to date. Success rate: Variable: 90 per cent of 17,000 applicants pardoned in 2002-03; 66 per cent of 22,000 in 1996-97. Eligibility: Applicants must have completed full sentence, including community service, and paid all fines, restitution and levies. After that, three-year waiting period for summary convictions, five years for indictable offences. Exceptions: Records of pardoned sex offences flagged in RCMP database and may be accessible in case of applications to work with children or other vulnerable groups. Permanence: Can be revoked if person is convicted again. Cost: $50 to National Parole Board, plus cost of getting certified fingerprints and record searches by RCMP, local police, courts. Contact: www.npb-cnlc.gc.ca; or toll-free 1-800-874-2652. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 15:09:11 -0600 (CST) From: "Bruce Mills" Subject: PM announces new senators http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2005/03/24/971261-cp.html PM announces new senators By ALEXANDER PANETTA Dallaire now a senator Klein, senators-in-waiting, grumble OTTAWA (CP) - The first senate appointments of the Paul Martin era include a decorated military hero, a disgraced fellow Liberal and three opposition members who were instantly rejected by their supposed parties. The sudden flood of prime ministerial appointments Thursday after 15 months of inertia didn't include any of the three Albertans who won unofficial provincial senate elections. So-called Alberta senators-in-waiting were excluded from a patronage potpourri that included military icon Romeo Dallaire and erstwhile defence minister Art Eggleton. Dallaire led the ill-fated international mission against the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Eggleton was booted from the federal cabinet for handing a government contract to his ex-girlfriend, and did Martin a favour later by stepping aside to let star candidate Ken Dryden take his Toronto-area seat. "I picked them because they're outstanding Canadians (with) a long record of accomplishment," Martin said of his nominees. "These are people who will serve their country very well." The prime minister's nine appointments came after he allowed the Senate to dwindle; the 16 vacancies since he took office left nearly one-fifth of its seats empty. He moved to short-circuit criticism for his appointment of Eggleton and five other Liberals by nominating three opposition members too. The unusual step sparked confusion as the party affiliation of each was immediately dismissed by the Conservatives and NDP. Evelyn Dyck, a prominent scientist and aboriginal activist, would be the first-ever NDP senator - but the party says the Senate should be abolished and it doesn't want members there. The NDP is asking Dyck to sit as an Independent and has refused to let her join the party's larger caucus. They point out that she's no longer a card-carrying NDP member. "You need to be a member of our party to be a New Democrat and you need to be elected by the citizens - that's how you become a legislator," NDP Leader Jack Layton said. "This unelected Senate . . . (is) a crony-based system, there's no accountability to the Canadian citizens and that's why we have never supported positions in the Senate." The two Tories named Thursday will call themselves Progressive Conservatives - a federal party that no longer exists but still lists five members in the Senate. Conservatives accused the prime minister of appointing Liberals under any other party name. "I just think this is incredibly intellectually dishonest and insulting to people," said Tory Leader Stephen Harper. "There is no federal Progressive Conservative Party. This is usually a euphemism now for people who support the Liberal party federally." Dyck has been a card-carrying member of both the federal and provincial NDP but has let both memberships lapse. Still, she said she was surprised at the party's reaction. The neuroscientist and psychologist said she was asked which party best reflected her views, and she chose to sit as a New Democrat. "It was my personal choice," Dyck said. "The values that I stand for are basically those the NDP stands for, but if that doesn't match what the party line indicates with regards to the Senate then I guess we will have to make a choice." Her appointment did get some NDP support: Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert said Dyck is highly qualified for the job. The prime minister had already indicated he would ignore the results of the unofficial Alberta senate elections. He has dismissed the legitimacy of elections for a federal institution in just one province. The opposition fumed at Martin for instead appointing two women - Alberta's Elaine McCoy and Claudette Tardif. McCoy will join the three remaining Progressive Conservatives in Parliament. "Why is this prime minister so arrogant that he feels he knows better than the people of Alberta who should represent them?" Conservative MP Jason Kenney said. There are still seven vacancies in the upper chamber and Martin said he'll announce more appointments "in the upcoming weeks." Thursday's appointees: - -Dallaire, who promised to be an active senator on international issues like military intervention, Third World development, and child soldiers. - -Eggleton, a former Toronto mayor and defence minister who was kicked out of the Chretien cabinet over an ethics breach. Did not seek re-election last year, clearing the way for Liberal star candidate Ken Dryden to run. - -Jim Cowan, a Martin backer in Nova Scotia, a lawyer, chair of Dalhousie University's board of governors. - -Elaine McCoy of Alberta, former provincial cabinet minister under Tory premier Don Getty. She will sit as a Progressive Conservative. - -Grant Mitchell, former Alberta Liberal leader, currently an investment adviser with CIBC Wood Gundy. - -Robert Peterson, a Saskatchewan Liberal and the party's campaign chairman in the last election, an engineer and business executive. - -Nancy Ruth of Ontario, social activist, feminist, two-time Ontario provincial candidate who will sit as a Liberal. - - Claudette Tardif, Alberta academic, promoter of bilingualism, former dean of the Faculte St-Jean at University of Alberta. She will sit as a Liberal. - -Evelyn Dyck, a prominent scientist and aboriginal activist, would be the first-ever NDP senator - but the party says she is no longer a card-carrying party member and has asked her to sit as an independent. Mitchell, at 53, was the youngest senator named Thursday. Dallaire is among the youngest at 58. Senators are eligible to sit until age 75; they earn $116,000 plus other benefits. Perhaps no other batch of Senate appointments has been the subject of such drawn-out, protracted strategizing. Martin aides have been besieged by scores of requests from people who helped the prime minister during his two-decade bid for the Liberal leadership. While Martin delayed making nominations for over a year, 16 of the Senate's 105 seats opened up. Martin has said the Senate should be overhauled to make it a more democratic institution, but that won't happen soon because it would require another wrenching round of constitutional negotiations. Alberta's stop-gap solution of holding elections for senators won't fly, Martin says, because it would lead to a balkanized upper chamber where only a handful of appointees could claim democratic legitimacy. Just one elected senator - Stan Waters - was ever appointed, in 1990 by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 15:09:32 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: [LETTER] End this hunt permanently - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Mills" To: Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 3:33 PM Subject: [LETTER] End this hunt permanently > http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Artic > le_Type1&c=Article&cid=1111704609885&call_pageid=970599119419&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7 > ChAX&tacodalogin=yes > > End this hunt permanently > Our Prime Minister must act according to the will of the majority of > Canadians and stop the killing > > > Annual seal hunt > votes From what i understand the seals eat cod which have been decimated byCanadian government mismanagement of the cod fisheries and allowing foriegn vessels to fish our internationally recognized waters in the past. I dont beleive that any human being would be so cruel and inhumane as to skin an animal whilst alive .This I think is anti propaganda. Also we must look at how many cod (which is/are on the brink of extinction and will never come back in my lifetime and perhaps that of my grandchldren ?)These seals eat ? "As for the seals, there is no conceivable justification for the mass slaughter of 975,000 seal pups over a three-year period. " If the destruction of close to a million seals will help bring back the cod , why not hunt them ?Otherwise if left to flourish they will certainly finish off the cod with absolutely no chance of recovery. I personally cant see Europeans boycotting Canadas fish products. For one thing what would replace it ? For another whatever did replace it would be so exhorbitantly expensive for them so they would soon migrate back to Canadian products/ ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 15:12:59 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: [COLUMN] Take the club to seal hunt - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Mills" To: Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 3:33 PM Subject: [COLUMN] Take the club to seal hunt > http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/03/26/972760-sun.html > > > Take the club to seal hunt > Slaughter of pups is brutal, demeaning to advocates > > > By PETER WORTHINGTON, TORONTO SUN > > ALTHOUGH conventional "conservatives" tend to support the annual seal > "hunt," to me it is not only wrong, but unnecessary and uncivilized. For > starters, it should never be called a "hunt." It is not a "hunt," but an > annual slaughter of baby seals in front of their mothers. > > This year, the government has authorized the killing of more than 300,000 > seal pups starting March 29 on the ice floes off Newfoundland. > > The occasion is a call to arms for animal activists. > > Animal rights advocates who protest the slaughter and urge boycotts of > Canadian seafood products make millions in donations to their various > organizations from emotional sympathizers. > > I'm not keen on them, either, but the clubbing to death of helpless baby > seals is brutal and demeaning to the people who do it. > > There's no question a sharp blow on the eggshell-thin skull kills a baby > seal quickly and probably painlessly. When done right. > > But there's too much evidence from veterinarians who have attended the > ritualistic orgy of killing that some seals are skinned alive while > conscious. > > Even that's not the point. > > Supporters of the seal slaughter argue that it culls the number of seals > who > deplete the fishing industry. > TRUE > If this is true it is because we humans have over-fished the Atlantic > coast, > not because seals eat fish. > ALSO TRUE, UNDER THE AUSPICES AND APPROVAL OF THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT > One, two and three hundred years ago there was no shortage of cod fish -- > and abundant seals in competition with fishermen. The shortage of cod > today > has nothing to do with too many seals. > FALSE: THE SHORTAGE TODAY IS EXACERBATED BY THE EATING OF COD BY SEALS THERE BY DEPLETIONG AN ALREADY DEPLETED BREEDING STOCK. > Sealing is an off-season activity for Newfoundland fisher folk. A spring > pastime, perhaps, a kind of holiday from boredom that may add 5 or 6% to > their annual incomes. > WELL THEN PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS AND THEY WILL STOP HUNTING SEALS A PASTIME ? YA RIGHT YOU TRY LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE BEFORE YOU START SHOOTING OFF YOUR MOUTH. > The seal pups skins aren't used for food, but for mittens, toys, > decorations, frivolities. There is no need for seal pup products that > bring > in something like $15 to $20 million in sales. > > When advocates of the annual seal slaughter insist that it isn't cruel, > any > one of hundreds of available photographs are available to refute that > claim -- photos of menacing men, hooked clubs raised to smash the head of > a > barking seal pup. > > A case can be made that if Inuit feel it is part of their tradition to > kill > baby seals, well, limit it to them as a right, like killing whales. > > In the past, the likes of Brigitte Bardot and European activists have > sponsored boycotts that have twinged the Canadian economy -- and curtailed > the annual slaughter. It is uncertain if that tempo can be picked up > again. > > Those who favour the seal slaughter have difficulty being persuasive, and > mostly present the animals rights gang as being mercenary and using > animals > to enrich themselves through donations. > > While it's true that an emotional worldwide campaign can raise big money, > it's also true that people in the animal movement are sincere and do their > best for animals, albeit often misguidedly. > > In the Toronto Star, Eugene Lapointe, president of the IWMC World > Conservation Trust, is quoted saying: "Most of us in the sustainable use > field have always known that economics and personal wealth were the > primary > motivator in the animal rights industry." > > ETHICAL GUIDANCE > > In individual cases he may be right but, in general, I would argue he is > very wrong. > > But are motives more important than results? > > Any meat-packing plant or commercial abattoir is a horror house for most > people. We don't like to think of how appetizing packaged meat in Loblaws > got that way. But we need to eat. > > We don't need to have baby seals slaughtered in front of their mothers, > and > any who don't see the obscenity of this may need ethical guidance. > Theyre animal;s for crying out loud put here for our use . For those who decry the hunt ? Let them make up the so-called 5-6 % they claim is the income derived from the hunt....I dont see these types?, including Worthington ,putting his money where his mouth is. what a hypocrit!! When you live at or below the poverty line which I`M SURE HE DOESNT ?any INCOME IS WELCOME? .AT LEAST ITS AN HONEST LIVING. ed/ontario ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 15:14:16 -0600 (CST) From: "mred" Subject: Re: PM announces new senators - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Mills" To: Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 4:09 PM Subject: PM announces new senators > http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2005/03/24/971261-cp.html > > PM announces new senators > By ALEXANDER PANETTA > Dallaire now a senator > Klein, senators-in-waiting, grumble The only appointee I have any respect for is Dallaire ,the rest are a bunch of trained seals. ed/ontario ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #921 ********************************** 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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