Cdn-Firearms Digest Thursday, February 14 2008 Volume 11 : Number 214 In this issue: Cops bust Papineau, Prescott grow ops- The Ottawa Sun Street crime crackdown nets 225 charges- The Ottawa Sun 'Chaotic' sea life defies scientists' predictions- The Citizen Armed robbery at Alfredo's Pub Liquor Store-Prince GeorgeFreePress Reference re Firearms Act - SCC decision of 2000 Editorial: Ottawa crime on the run- The Ottawa Citizen Fwd: This was on the Fishing Forum FYI Lewis Mackenzie Column: Not in my worst nightmares ... Victims' rights ignored: OPP- The Ottawa Sun Man brought gun into LaSalle school- The Gazette (Montreal) Reports: Several people shot at Northern Illinois University- CNN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:36:02 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cops bust Papineau, Prescott grow ops- The Ottawa Sun Cops bust Papineau, Prescott grow ops http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/02/14/4846686.html By Sun Media February 14, 2008 A home used for a marijuana grow operation in the Papineau region had a hydro bypass to hide the amount of electricity being used, Quebec provincial police say. Police found 353 marijuana plant seedlings Thursday morning after searching 2168 Lac Gagnon Rd. W. in Duhamel, about 120 km northeast of Gatineau According to police, officers found plants in the basement and on the first floor of the residence. Police arrested a 54-year-old man who arrived at the residence during the investigation. He was charged with production of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. In addition to the plants, police also seized equipment and a quantity of bulk marijuana. On Wednesday, Ontario Provincial Police arrested two people after finding a marijuana grow op in a Prescott residence. OPP searched 323 Henry St. W. and seized 84 marijuana plants, dried marijuana, two long guns, two stolen signs and evidence of an indoor grow op. Police said the estimated value of the plants at maturity is $42,000. Michele Blair, 39, and John Fox, 22, were charged with production of marijuana and possession of property under $5,000 obtained by crime. They were released on a promise to appear in Brockville court. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:30:33 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Street crime crackdown nets 225 charges- The Ottawa Sun Street crime crackdown nets 225 charges http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/02/14/4846529.html By The Canadian Press Thu, February 14, 2008 Forty-seven people in Ottawa are facing a total of 225 charges in an ongoing crackdown on drug dealers and prostitution-related crimes. "Unfortunately there's a lot more to do," Insp. Alain Bernard said. The Ottawa Police Service Street Crime Unit was formed in mid-November 2007 and since then has charged 112 people. The unit also says it has either disrupted or closed seven known crackhouses over the past six weeks. Two occupants of one of them are in custody and facing several charges, including drug trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime and breach of undertaking. Of the 47 people recently charged, 14 are females who were arrested on prostitution-related charges. Bernard said police aren't seeing displacement of drug dealers. Instead, police are identifying dealers who previously weren't on their radar. "It's telling us that there's a whole bunch of different players," he said. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:53:52 -0600 From: "David R.G. Jordan" Subject: 'Chaotic' sea life defies scientists' predictions- The Citizen 'Chaotic' sea life defies scientists' predictions http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=421478eb-e0e6-4ecb-a13d-38961063ef06 Study casts doubt on ability to forecast future conditions Tom Spears, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Thursday, February 14, 2008 An eight-year study of ocean life shows a "chaotic" balance of nature, and Dutch scientists say this chaos makes it impossible to predict the rise and fall of wild species -- anywhere, ever. Ecologists and politicians often want computers to show how nature will react if we bulldoze a forest or change the global temperature, but the Baltic Sea study now argues this kind of modeling may not be worth much. If so, it raises doubts about how we can ever preserve a healthy environment, except through good luck. The small Baltic creatures such as plankton were isolated from the rest of the ocean and studied for eight years. Each member of the "food web," or network of who eats whom, took turns multiplying and becoming scarce, even though the scientists kept the outside conditions constant. And they could never figure out a pattern that allowed real predictions of how any species would fare. "Advanced mathematical techniques proved the indisputable presence of chaos in this food web," they conclude in the journal Nature," adding that "short-term prediction is possible, but long-term prediction is not." Lead scientist Jef Huisman said it's like trying to forecast the long-term weather: all their forecasts broke down beyond a few weeks. This is already causing a stir in some biology circles. At Duke University in North Carolina, Stuart Pimm called the work "an outstanding job" and said it raises the possibility that nature just can't be crammed into computer models. But he adds: "In an important way it's even more interesting than that. "One of the classic chaotic systems is the weather," he said. "We have computer models that do a good job of predicting the weather in the short term." But the best supercomputers can't stretch that forecast beyond a week or 10 days, echoing the Baltic Sea models that failed. "It's the way in which they fail that's interesting," Mr. Pimm says. "They fail spectacularly badly over longer and longer periods of time." Beyond that short-term forecast, "you simply can't do better than treating it as a game of chance," he says. Past that short-term run of accuracy, the errors shoot up exponentially. © The Ottawa Citizen 2008 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:49:25 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Armed robbery at Alfredo's Pub Liquor Store-Prince GeorgeFreePress Armed robbery at Alfredo's Pub Liquor Store http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/pgfreepress/news/15508812.html Prince George Free Press February 11, 2008 Thursday, 2/14/2008 3:40 pm An armed robber hit Alfredo’s Pub Liquor Store Sunday. The incident occurred at about 10:20 p.m. when a man wearing a ski mask entered the store and demanded money from the clerk. The man was said to be holding an automatic handgun and was given an undisclosed amount of cash. The man was wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants. Police are asking anyone who may have information about this robbery to call the Prince George RCMP or Crime Stoppers. © Copyright Black Press. All rights reserved. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:03:06 -0700 From: "Richard A. Fritze" Subject: Reference re Firearms Act - SCC decision of 2000 COLONEL SAM STEELE OF THE ROYAL NORTH WEST MOUNTED POLICE : "We had the detestable prohibitory liquor law to enforce, an insult to free people. Our powers under it were so great, in fact, so outrageous, that no self-respecting member of the corps, unless directly ordered, cared to exert them to the full extent. We were expected, on the slightest grounds of suspicion, to enter any habitation without a warrant, at any hour of the day or night, and search for intoxicants; no privacy need be respected. Yet owing to the pressure of a lot of fanatics who neither knew nor cared to understand the situation, parliament would not repeal the law ...." from "Forty Years in Canada: Reminiscences of the Great North-West 1915" ( reprinted in 2000 by Prospero Books, 90 Ronson Drive, Toronto, Ontario M9W 1C1) Does this look like the powers the police have regarding firearms in Canada? You bet it does. The reason, in part, is the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in 2000 when the Alberta government challenged the new federal firearms law. Alberta's position was that, since the law involved the "regulation of property and civil rights" [ie., registration of firearms], it properly was within the exclusive sphere of jurisdiction of the provinces, per the British North America Act [see BNA s.92(13)] of 1867. BNA now called The Constitution Act, 1867; see: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/const/const1867.html The SCC ruled unanimously in 2000 that such power fell under federal jurisdiction [since it was criminal law]. Here's a quote from the SCCs decision [para 45] that still galls me to this day: " . . . while ordinary guns are often used for lawful purposes, they are also used for crime and suicide, and cause accidental death and injury. Guns cannot be divided neatly into two categories - those that are dangerous and those that are not dangerous. All guns are capable of being used in crime. All guns are capable of killing and maiming. It follows that all guns pose a threat to public safety. As such, their control falls within the criminal law power." Now substitute the word "cars" for "guns" and you get: " . . . while ordinary cars are often used for lawful purposes, they are also used for crime and suicide, and cause accidental death and injury. Cars cannot be divided neatly into two categories - those that are dangerous and those that are not dangerous. All cars are capable of being used in crime. All cars are capable of killing and maiming. It follows that all cars pose a threat to public safety. As such, their control falls within the criminal law power." By this logic, there is hardly a product that the feds, via the Supreme Court, could not declare to be under federal [criminal] jurisdiction. If something is "dangerous" or "capable of being used in crime" --- voila! The feds can criminalize it. Also, and even more strangely, this logic attributes volition to an object - - something that is impossible. Guns, cars, &c., are inanimate objects. Inanimate objects do not "cause" anything. A human actor/agent is required. Richard Fritze Organization: Barrister & Solicitor ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:07:20 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Editorial: Ottawa crime on the run- The Ottawa Citizen Ottawa crime on the run http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=a144e192-49aa-4233-8e80-bdef239c8d39 Image: A Crime Display Photo of a Walther PP/PPK Caption: The extent of Ottawa's guns and gangs problem can be difficult for lay-people to judge. - -Pat McGrath, The Ottawa Citizen The Ottawa Citizen Published: Thursday, February 14, 2008 Take your finger off the panic button; the streets of Ottawa are safe. There is no youth gang epidemic in Ottawa. In fact a report released by Crime Prevention Ottawa this week places it near the bottom of major Canadian cities when it comes to gang activity. Only Calgary and Montreal, among the country's biggest cities, have fewer gang members per capita, according to estimates by Michael Chettleburgh, who wrote the report. "Ottawa's gang problem is ... real, but cannot be judged to be beyond control, or of 'epidemic' proportions," Mr. Chettleburgh concluded. According to the report, Ottawa has an estimated 600 gang members (defined as three or more people under the age of 21 involved in criminal activity). That's up significantly from 250 members in 2002, but the latest numbers are estimates and will not be confirmed until this spring when a report on youth gangs is released by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. Even so, 600 gang members means there are .53 for every 1,000 Ottawa residents, compared with 4.32 gang members for every thousand people in Winnipeg, which tops the list of gang activity in Canadian cities. Yes, there are gangs in Ottawa, but they are largely limited to a few areas, they are not huge and they are under control. Which should put an end to the hyperbole and plain silliness that sometimes surrounds discussion about gangs in our community. Over-blowing the problem in Ottawa does a disservice to the residents of the city and to law-abiding youth, in particular, who might be considered guilty simply by virtue of their age or the way they dress. It lessens peoples' enjoyment of their community and makes for bad policy that is less likely to work where it is really needed. The extent of the problem in Ottawa remains somewhat controversial. There was not even clear consensus among the "key informants" - mainly people who work with youth - interviewed for the study. Some called the problem significant and growing, while another person expressed a sense that the extent of gangs are sometimes exaggerated as a lever to get more money into the police budget. Despite that, the study is a first step in getting a clearer understanding of who in Ottawa joins gangs and why. And that will, eventually, create a factual basis on which to develop preventative policies. Among the report's recommendations is that police and Crime Prevention Ottawa try to identify hotspots for gang activity in Ottawa. Police and community organizations should focus on those neighbourhoods with programs that motivate teenagers to stay on the straight and narrow and give them other options. They may find some of that work is already being done by groups such as the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club who have long worked with youth throughout Ottawa. Maybe that is why Ottawa's streets are among the safest in the country. © The Ottawa Citizen 2008 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:24:04 -0500 From: br8boss@xcelco.on.ca Subject: Fwd: This was on the Fishing Forum FYI QUOTE: > > Dear Mr. Minister, > > > > I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot > >believe this. > > > > How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone > >number and knows that I bought a t.v. cable from them back in 1997, and > >yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what > >date. > > > > For C sakes, do you guys do this by hand? > > > > My birth date you have on my social insurance card, and it > >is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years. It is on > >my health insurance card, my driver's license, on the last eight > >passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had > >to fill out before being allowed off the planes over the last 30 years, and > >all those insufferable census forms that are done at election times. > > > > Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my > >mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely > >astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!! > > > > > > I apologize, Mr. Minister. I'm really p off this > >morning. Between you and me, I've had enough of this bull****! You send > >the application to my house, then you ask me for my address. What > >is going on? You have a gang of assholes working there! > > > > Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I don't > >want to dig up Yasser Arafat, for ...sakes. I just want to go and park > >my.... on a sandy beach. > > > > And would someone please tell me, why would you give a s > >whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the > >urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure > >as hell not want to tell anyone! > > > > Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end > >of the city and get another copy of my birth certificate, to the > >tune of $60 !!! > > > > Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the > >same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day?? > > > > Nooooo, that'd be too damn easy and maybe make sense. You'd > >rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our > >heads cut off, then find some a... to confirm that it's really me on the picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! > > > > Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're totally p...off! > > > > Signed - An Irate Canadian Citizen. > > > > P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and > >getting someone to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this > >country since 1776 when one of my forefathers took up arms against the > >Americans. I have served in the military for something over 30 years and > >have had security clearances up the yingyang. > > > > I was aide de camp to the lieutenant governor of our > >province for ten years and I have been doing volunteer work for the RCMP > >for about five years. > > > > However, I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I > >am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN COMMUNIST CHINA!!! > > > > > > Hamilton, Ontario Canada ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:43:07 -0700 From: Dennis & Hazel Young Subject: Lewis Mackenzie Column: Not in my worst nightmares ... From Wednesday's Globe and Mail February 13, 2008 at 6:20 AM EST Not in my worst nightmares ... by LEWIS MACKENZIE http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080213.wcorules13/BNStory/specialComment/ Imagine, in a close election, the Liberal Party led by Stéphane Dion regains power with a slim plurality. Within 24 hours, Chief of the Defence Staff Rick Hillier is issued new Rules of Engagement (ROE) for the Canadian Forces serving in Afghanistan. These are immediately passed to the Canadian commander in Kandahar and on to the battle group commander. The Lieutenant-Colonel tells his soldiers the ROE are effective immediately, and adds his comments: Rule 1. You will no longer attempt to eliminate the insurgency threat to the vast majority of the local population in Kandahar province. "That will be left to soldiers from other countries yet to be identified. You will redirect your efforts to being nice. Your commander will explain how this will be achieved." Rule 2. You will provide security for the local population and construction projects but you will not engage in combat to do so. "If you served in Bosnia, you will know how to do this. If not, others will show you how to place yourself in a dangerously exposed position between the attacker and the people you are protecting. That way, the attackers will have to go through you and you will be allowed to fire at them in self-defence. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but remember, the people who gave us this order must know something we don't. Rule 3. There will be no more "search and destroy" missions by Canadians. "You will note the order says no more search and destroy missions. That being the case, I interpret the order to permit us to conduct "search" missions on even days of the month and "destroy" missions on odd days. To make this easy to remember in the heat of battle - sorry, I meant while observing the enemy ... darn, I meant our nemesis, the Taliban - you will receive colour-coded ammunition. "Search days" will have blue bullets, with 50 per cent of them being blanks spread randomly in your magazines. Our superiors feel this gives the Taliban a more level field on which to fight. On "destroy days," there will be red bullets and even though you can only fire them for two hours in any 24-hour period, we will at least have some opportunities to disrupt the Taliban's strategic objective, which is to retake Kandahar city. Rule 4. Don't count on assistance from tanks and artillery or allied air-to-ground fire if you get into difficulty. "Those weapon systems are much too warlike and really turn off the NDP who are supporting the new government. It's going to be hard working around this caveat, but I promise to give it some thought and get back to you. Rule 5. You are precluded from engaging in aggressive combat operations. "We are serving as one of 11 national military contingents under NATO. The commander's mission is to defeat the insurgency and expand the secure areas in southern Afghanistan. When he tasks us to assist in such operations, I will be the one to give him the bad news that we don't do things like that any more." Rule 6. As usual, politics, religion and sex will not be discussed during quiet periods. This rule also applies to these Rules of Engagement. "No comment and stop snickering!" When soldiers put their lives on the line, they expect the political direction they receive to make sense and be achievable. During the times I reported to the United Nations as a field commander, I was appalled at the incomprehensibility of some of the orders issued from that organization. Never in my wildest nightmares did I believe a political party in my own country could conceive of options equally bizarre. Training the Afghan army and protecting development and reconstruction operations without the security provided by pro-active military operations by Canadian soldiers significantly increases the risk to life and limb. Retired Major-General Lewis MacKenzie was the first commander of UN peacekeeping forces in Sarajevo ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:37:51 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Victims' rights ignored: OPP- The Ottawa Sun Victims' rights ignored: OPP http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2008/02/14/4845761-sun.html By CP Thu, February 14, 2008 BARRIE -- The Ontario Provincial Police Association is hoping an online petition will convince legislators to change the law to include the rights of victims and their families in determining where a criminal will be jailed. Association president Karl Walsh says he's pushing to have amendments made to legislation to have the rights of victims and their families outweigh those of criminals. He says the move comes in the wake of a Federal Court decision to move a convicted cop killer to a medium-security facility despite objections by the officer's widow. Allan MacDonald was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1997 shooting death of OPP Const. Tom Coffin in a bar in Penetanguishene. MacDonald was originally jailed at a medium-security facility in Gravenhurst, but was transferred to Joyceville Penitentiary near Kingston. He appealed the decision, and the court ruled that he could be transferred back to the Gravenhurst facility, which would place him closer to his family and Coffin's family. "This is an outrage, for all victims and their families, in fact, all Canadians," Walsh said in a release. "Once again the rights of criminals outweigh those of all victims and their families." The 8,100-member association says the petition is available at; www.oppa.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:46:47 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Man brought gun into LaSalle school- The Gazette (Montreal) Man brought gun into LaSalle school http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=c5ef5bc7-8d24-4ab2-95c6-3748c5877f6a&k=68853 The Gazette Published: 2 hours ago Police arrested a 19-year-old man who brought a gun to a school in LaSalle on Tuesday. The man came to Cavalier de LaSalle school after classes had let out for the day, after his younger brother was involved in a fight with another student earlier. A community relations officer who was told about the fight went to the school and was there when the man walked in. Police told him not to come into the school, but he entered the building anyway. He was stopped and searched, and police found he was carrying a handgun. Muklek Amrov was charged in court yesterday with possession of an illegal weapon. Police are still looking for a man who punched a gym teacher at John Rennie High School, also on Tuesday. Montreal police confirmed Sandor Finkelstein indicated he wished to press charges against the parent who hit him, apparently angry about his son's gym mark. Finkelstein's nose was broken during the incident. jmagder@thegazette.canwest.com © The Gazette (Montreal) 2008 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:13:44 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Reports: Several people shot at Northern Illinois University- CNN Reports: Several people shot at Northern Illinois University http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/02/14/university.shooting/index.html Image & Caption Ambulances line up at Northern Illinois University after a shooting. Story Highlights - -Chicago Sun-Times says gunman, who opened fire in a lecture building, is dead - -Local hospital says it expects to receive 15 patients, has treated at least two - -University had ordered student body to seek shelter, and it cancelled classes - -Law enforcement official says that shooter used at least a shotgun updated 1 minute ago (CNN) -- A person who shot 13 people Thursday at Northern Illinois University's DeKalb campus outside Chicago has died, local reports said. Most of the 13 wounded were shot in the head, said Theresa Comitas, spokeswoman for Kishwaukee Community Hospital, located about 10 minutes from the school. According to the Chicago Tribune, the DeKalb County coroner's office said no fatalities had been immediately reported. A local hospital tells CNN affiliate CLTV that it expects to receive 15 patients and has so far treated at least two. CLTV reports that Kishwaukee Medical Center in DeKalb is treating six people with head wounds. A woman named Corrine described the scene to CLTV, saying she was "carried out" of Cole Hall by a "wave" of students running for their lives. "When one of the kids said, 'This guy is shooting!' I just ran to the next building as fast as I could and hid in an empty classroom." Officers responded to a call of shots fired on campus around 3 p.m., DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott told the Tribune. A professor at the school said there was a person with a gun in Cole Hall, a large lecture hall in Watson Hall. Scott said it was possible the assailant may have taken his own life. The university had ordered its student body to seek shelter, and it cancelled classes Thursday. "Its has been confirmed that there has been a shooting on campus and several people have been taken away by ambulance," the school said in a posting on its DeKalb campus Web site. "All classes are cancelled on the DeKalb campus. People are urged not to come to campus." A law enforcement official being briefed on the situation tells CNN that the shooter used at least a shotgun. The official declined to be identified further because the incident was still developing. An spokesman with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tells CNN that some of its agents are on the scene -- strictly in an assistance role. He says one of the things ATF agents would do is help trace the weapon or weapons used. An FBI spokesman says several of that agency's agents were also en route to the scene to assist. DeKalb is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and 45 minutes southeast of Rockford. © 2008 Cable News Network. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V11 #214 *********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:d.jordan@sasktel.net 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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