Cdn-Firearms Digest Tuesday, March 18 2008 Volume 11 : Number 284 In this issue: "British Shooting Chairman: "lack of facilities and handgun..."" Liberals win 3 of 4 Column: Don't smile yet -- your privacy is exposed Harper intervenes in Martin case Cdn. Criminal Justice Assoc. on Bill C-10 Ammunition Tracking - proposed legislation in some US States US Supreme Court - 2nd Amendment Wordsworth quote Police getting rich on Caledonia, Former Dryden gunsmith sentenced to 5-year jail term 18 Months for Bruce Montague "BCWF ALERT#51/2008: Support required for gov't firearm amnesties" Montague Sentenced ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, March 18, 2008 8:37 am From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 2" Subject: "British Shooting Chairman: "lack of facilities and handgun..."" Subject: "British Shooting Chairman: "lack of facilities and handgun legislation"" PUBLICATION: The Daily Telegraph DATE: 2008.03.18 SECTION: Sport PAGE: 014 BYLINE: Tom Knight NOTE: London 2012 Olympics WORD COUNT: 318 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shooting told to fire up progress for 2012 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHOOTING was handed another problem to deal with yesterday when it was identified as the Olympic sport causing greatest concern in the build up to London 2012. The public unveiling of UK Sport's Mission 2012 programme, which measures the progress of each of the Olympic and Paralympic sports on a traffic light system, saw shooting graded with a red light. It means that the sport has "significant obstacles to overcome'', particularly those that could affect its performance and medal potential. The sport that already has to deal with firearms laws, which dictate that pistol shooters have to train abroad, and the ongoing wrangle over the 2012 venue, will now have to convince UK Sport, the biggest distributor of lottery funding to elite sport, that it can shape up to win medals in London. Shooting is run by more than 30 governing bodies and Liz Nichol, the head of elite sport at UK Sport, said: "There are governance challenges. The overall environment is not as conducive to performance as it should be.'' Peter Keen, UK Sport's performance advisor, said: "If Britain is to achieve fourth place in the medals table in London, shooting is a sport that has to step up.'' Phil Boakes, the British Shooting chairman, responded: "We know that there are problems that need addressing and we are working closely with UK Sport to resolve them. These include lack of facilities in the UK and handgun legislation. "Clearly the decision not to have a permanent facility for the London 2012 Olympics with legacy for the future does not help and is a lost opportunity.'' High achievers, cycling, rowing, equestrianism and sailing were among 11 sports awarded green lights. Athletics, another sport rated as having high medal potential, remains on amber, however. Keen said that the sport still needed to undergo more changes in order to match the success of those that have adopted a team approach to their preparations. "Athletics is on amber because it knows it is not where it needs to be in four years' time,'' he said. Keen stressed that Britain was still on course to achieve its ambition of a fourth place finish in 2012. "It is a much brighter picture than it was going into the Athens Olympics,'' he said ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:55:59 -0500 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Liberals win 3 of 4 Liberals claim victory in three of four byelections Joyce Murray wins in Vancouver Quadra by slim margin By Doug Ward and Juliet O'Neill; Vancouver Sun; March 17, 2008 > http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c498e901-478f-4e93-a748-5a99339613b9&k=46329 Liberal leader Stephane Dion declared Monday "a great day for Liberals" as Toronto lawyers Bob Rae and Martha Hall Findlay claimed victory in two of four federal byelections. In Vancouver Quadra, Liberal candidate Joyce Murray, a former provincial environment minister, defeated Conservative Deborah Meredith in a close race in a riding that has been held by Liberals since former prime minister John Turner won there in 1984. However, Liberals were denied a sweep of the four ridings, three longtime Liberal strongholds, and all won by Liberals in the last general election. Conservative Rob Clarke, an RCMP officer, defeated Liberal Joan Beatty, Dion's hand-picked candidate, in the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River. Liberals were counting on at least three victories for a morale boost after three byelection defeats in Quebec last fall. In Vancouver Quadra, Murray gave a victory speech to her supporters at about 9 p.m., but the gap was so narrow that at 10:15 p.m., Tory candidate Meredith was still refusing to concede. "Whether we win or lose, it's a huge victory for the Conservatives in Vancouver Quadra," said Meredith. "We've closed the gap. The fact that it's so tight right now and we can't say who the winner will be is a huge change from the last few elections." With 232 out of 237 polls reporting, Murray had 36.6 per cent of the vote, while Meredith had 34.0 per cent. The total number of votes was 26,764. Murray told reporters she wasn't disappointed that her margin of victory wasn't as big as former Liberal MP Stephen Owen's margins in the last two elections. "In Stephen Owen's first election, he didn't win by anything near his third election. So as a first-time representative for this riding, I'm very pleased with the outcome." Murray earlier told her cheering supporters: "Tonight we are sending a very clear message to Stephen Harper: The Liberals are strong." She said voters also told Harper that the environment is the numer-one issue, citing the increased vote in the three urban ridings for Green party candidatea. "I'm going to be a tireless advocate for reducing greenhouse gases." Murray warned the volunteers who crowded the campaign hall that they could soon be called upon again to fight a general election. "The job is not over. We will have a general election when our leader declares the time is ripe." Earlier, at a Kitsilano community hall, Liberal officials and volunteers watched nervously as the lead see-sawed between Murray and Meredith during the early poll results. At about 8 p.m. Murray started moving ahead, then moved ahead by about five percentage points. Party officials dismissed suggestions that the close results would be a cause of concern for the party, saying that byelections often produce dramatically different results from those in a general election. "Byelections are funny things," said Craig Munroe, president of the B.C. wing of the federal Liberal party. "The fact is, we're looking at getting a big victory here and I'm quite happy with it." "Beating the Tories by more than five per cent in Western Canada is a pretty good thing to do." Munroe predicted the Liberal victory in Quadra in a general election expected later this year will be wider. "I think Joyce Murray is a new candidate and she'll build upon this and when we have a general election, her margin will be bigger... the fact is, a win is a win." Mark Marrissen, national campaign strategist for Dion, similarly sidestepped suggestions that the close finish was somewhat unexpected, considering the wide margins the Liberals have enjoyed in the riding in previous elections." "Winning is all that matters," he said. With only a few polls remaining, it appeared that the turnout in Quadra would be about 30 per cent of eligible voters. Earlier, University of B.C. political science professor Phil Resnick said anything less than a substantial Liberal victory in Quadra would be bad news for Dion. "A defeat for the Liberals would have been disastrous - the equivalent of the Conservatives losing a riding in Calgary." The UBC political scientist said the Liberal byelection victories should make the party's leadership more willing to provoke a spring general election by defeating the Conservatives on a confidence motion. "I would think the temptation would be greater now for a spring election." The Vancouver-Quadra riding was vacated by Liberal Stephen Owen, who left politics last year for a job at the University of B.C. Owen trounced Conservative candidate Stephen Rogers by 14,539 votes in 2004 and by 11,811 in 2006. The Liberals have held the riding for the past 24 years. The riding's demographics work to the Liberals' advantage, Resnick added. "It's an upper-class riding with a lot of professionals. Voters here have their wallet positioned on the right and their conscience on the left." Vancouver Quadra is one of the best-educated and wealthiest ridings in Canada. Quadra is home to UBC and some of the most exclusive neighbourhoods on the west side of the city, including Shaughnessy, Dunbar, Kerrisdale and Point Grey. Of the 112,000 residents, about one in every four is of Chinese origin, a group that has traditionally voted Liberal. But they have been recently been courted by the Conservatives, who have stressed their party's policy of low taxes and tough law enforcement. The riding was held by the Conservatives for two terms during the Brian Mulroney years. The Toronto and Vancouver ridings are longtime Liberal strongholds but Liberals won the Saskatchewan riding by only 67 votes in the last general election. Dion provoked a backlash by appointing Beatty, plucking the former provincial politician from the NDP, instead of allowing a nomination contest. But Clarke, the winning Conservative, didn't think the controversial appointment of Joan Beatty had much to do with his win. "I don't think it had much impact with voters. I was concentrating on my own campaign," he said, adding he was "pleasantly surprised" to defeat the well-known northern politician, when he was a virtual unknown. Dion was poised to bolster his team with Rae and Hall Findlay, adding them to the ranks of former leadership rivals who sit near him in the House of Commons. While officials say no decisions have been made on what caucus appointments the newcomers would be given, Rae, who takes over Toronto Centre, and Hall Findlay, Willowdale, are automatic members of what Dion has touted since he won the leadership in December 2006, as his "dream team" of former leadership rivals surrounding him in the Commons. Dion named his closest rival, Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff, deputy leader. Rae has been sharing the post of official Opposition foreign affairs critic with Toronto MP Bryon Wilfert. Assuming Rae-Hall Findlay wins, the only one of eight final leadership contestants who would not have a seat in the Commons would be former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy, who plans to run in the next general election. The byelection results leave the Conservatives with 127 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons and the Liberals with 97. The Bloc Quebecois holds 48 seats, the New Democratic Party 30. There are four Independent MPs. The byelections leave two vacancies in Quebec, one formerly held by the Bloc and one by the Liberals. Two Ontario Liberals are also bowing out soon, setting the stage for another four byelections in coming months unless the Harper government is defeated, triggering a general election. Rae, a high-profile public figure, is a lawyer, a seasoned orator, a former New Democratic Party MP and premier of Ontario. Hall Findlay, also a lawyer, is a former businesswoman and competitive skier whose enthusiasm for politics showed when she drove a red bus across Canada to campaign for her leadership and to promote the Liberal party. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, March 18, 2008 9:18 am From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 2" Subject: Column: Don't smile yet -- your privacy is exposed PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2008.03.17 EDITION: Final SECTION: Q: Queries - Quibbles - Quirks PAGE: A13 BYLINE: Frank Work, Alberta's information and privacy commissioner SOURCE: For The Calgary Herald WORD COUNT: 683 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't smile yet -- your privacy is exposed - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I read with interest your editorial of March 10, "Smile . . . you're on safer ground?" regarding surveillance cameras. I feel like the guy in the sackcloth standing on the street corner holding a sign that says, "The World is Coming to an End." This is an important debate. I will try not to sound like that guy. Surveillance technology can have a role to play with respect to crime. I accepted that when I found that cameras in the men's locker-room at the Talisman Centre were reasonable under the Personal Information Protection Act. In that situation, there was evidence that the cameras did what they do best: they displaced the crime. However, my very real concern is that as a society we seem to think that surveillance is some kind of silver bullet that will solve all of our crime problems. This belief could lead us to rush into a surveillance society. I think we need to do the math before we take the plunge. The first question to ask is, what is the nature of our crime problem? Are the barbarians loose in the streets, necessitating that we pull out all the stops? According to the Calgary Police Service Annual Statistical Report 2002-2006, "both the number and rate of person crimes decreased in Calgary in 2006. The rate of person crimes dropped to its lowest since 2002 and is eight per cent lower than it was in 2005. "The number of property crime offences remained stable for 2006. The rate of property crimes was 3.4 per cent lower than in 2005." By the way, Statistics Canada says crime across Canada dropped by five per cent in 2005. Franklin Zimring, author of The Great American Crime Decline, points out that crime has been declining in the United States and Canada since the 1990s. Zimring says a combination of factors working in concert produced the decline. Interviewed around his speech to the Safer Communities conference in Edmonton last week, Zimring is quoted as saying the decline has nothing to do with the amount of money spent on crime prevention measures. "Canada's got bigger problems than crime and I think that is very good news," he told the Edmonton Journal. I am not saying that we can pat ourselves on the back and stop going after crime. I am saying that we are not in any kind of a crisis that requires the most drastic response. And I think widespread surveillance is a drastic response. The second question is, does video surveillance combat crime? In a March 3 report on video surveillance in the Toronto subway (ipc.on.ca), the Ontario information and privacy commissioner reviewed the research on video surveillance and crime. One report, by the Home Office in the U.K. (where there are 4.2 million surveillance cameras), concluded that, on the basis of 22 different studies, video surveillance reduced crime to a small degree and was most effective at reducing vehicle crime in parking lots. Video surveillance was found to have little or no effect on crime in public transport and city centre settings. This is consistent with the other research cited. There is evidence to suggest that cameras displace crime. "Knowing" criminals, when confronted with cameras, move on. City council should consider the possibility that knowing criminals will move on, maybe from downtown to the Beltline or Hillhurst Sunnyside. It may turn out that those areas offer a safer haven for criminals and provide environments that are harder to police. It is also true that sometimes we catch a crime on camera and are thereby able to catch the perpetrator. But for this effect to work consistently across society, you would need cameras everywhere a crime might be committed. That is a lot of cameras. This of course leads to reference to the United Kingdom. According to the Home Office, the U.K. has 4.2 million CCTV cameras. According to Scotland Yard, the crime rate in the U.K. is finally decreasing after climbing for a number of years. However, London still has a higher rate of violent crime than any other city in the European Union or Istanbul or New York City (Maclean's magazine, June 2007). A camera is like a scalpel, not a machete: if used, should be used sparingly and specifically. We need to know more about how surveillance cameras work or don't work. Policies respecting surveillance need to be well thought out; we need to resist the temptation of "security theatre." If we decide to use surveillance, we should set objectives for it and measure its success. Surveillance can become addictive: the more you do, the easier it is and the more you want to do. Surveillance treats everyone as a suspect. The state should only become involved in our private lives when it is absolutely necessary and only to the extent that the involvement will be effective. Frank Work is Alberta's information and privacy commissioner. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:06:30 -0500 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Harper intervenes in Martin case Harper contacts Mexican president over imprisoned Canadian John Ivison, National Post, March 18, 2008 > http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=382067 OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper raised the case of imprisoned Canadian Brenda Martin with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Monday, government sources said. Although the Prime Minister's Office would not provide details of the phone conversation between Mr. Harper and Mr. Calderon, which took place Monday morning, Mr. Harper is expected to send Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Jason Kenney to visit Ms. Martin in a Guadalajara prison Tuesday to check on her health and reassure her that the government is concerned about her well-being. "It's a full court press," said one source. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:43:09 -0600 From: Larry James Fillo Subject: Cdn. Criminal Justice Assoc. on Bill C-10 http://www.ccja-acjp.ca/en/c10en.html Interesting position paper given by the C.C.J.A. on mandatory sentencing for gun crimes Bill-C10 before Parliament now. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:20:35 -0600 From: "Richard A. Fritze" Subject: Ammunition Tracking - proposed legislation in some US States See: http://www.ammunitionaccountability.org/Legislation.htm And: http://www.usavsus.info/US-AmmoRegistr.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:23:46 -0600 From: "Richard A. Fritze" Subject: US Supreme Court - 2nd Amendment Here's an interesting blog on this case whish is now being argued: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/ Richard A. Fritze xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:25:24 -0600 From: "Richard A. Fritze" Subject: Wordsworth quote In ourselves our safety must be sought. By our own right hand it must be wrought. William Wordsworth ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:30:52 -0600 From: Larry James Fillo Subject: Police getting rich on Caledonia, And the motivation of government and OPP to solve this would be? - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's time Ottawa chipped in more cash to cover the expense of a southern Ontario aboriginal occupation that's cost provincial taxpayers $50 million and counting, Premier Dalton McGuinty said today. Although the federal government gave Ontario $26 million a year ago to help pay for the Caledonia occupation, the province has since paid out $50 million =96 the bulk of it for round-the-clock policing. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:52:39 -0400 (EDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Former Dryden gunsmith sentenced to 5-year jail term http://www.tbsource.com/Localnews/index.asp?cid=105824 Former Dryden gunsmith sentenced to 5-year jail term Tb News Source Web Posted: 3/18/2008 3:18:45 PM A judge in Kenora has thrown the book at gun registry challenger Bruce Montague. The former Dryden gunsmith was handed a 5-year prison sentence in Kenora court Tuesday morning. Montague was found guilty in December on 26 of 53 charges involving gun licenses, after being arrested by police in late 2004. The charges included the unauthorized possession and careless storage of non-restricted firearms, explosives and restricted firearms. Montague's lawyer had been seeking a period of house arrest. The 5-year prison sentence includes a lifetime firearms ban. Montague launched a constitutional challenge of the federal Firearms Act last October but his bid was rejected. He earlier said he would take his fight all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, no matter what sentence was handed down on Tuesday. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:55:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: 18 Months for Bruce Montague http://ckdr.net/news/index.php#16576 18 Months for Bruce Montague Posted by Tim Davidson (MIX FM Kenora) on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 am 10:36:04 AM Former Dryden-area Gunsmith Bruce Montague has been sentenced to a total of 18-months in prison after being found guilty on a variety of firearms related offences. Justice John Wright had some harsh words for Montague this morning as he delivered his sentence. The judge described Montague as stubborn and tenacious to a fault who acted foolishly by making automatic weapons. The toughest sentence was for converting semi-automatic guns into automatic weapons. Justice Wright said he wanted to send a message that such activities are "verboten". Montague was also handed sentences ranging from 6-months to a year for the various charges he was found guilty of, but all will be served concurrently. Bruce's Wife Donna was given 6-months probation for owning a firearms without a license. Montague's Lawyer, Doug Christie says he plans to appeal the decision in Ontario Court of Appeal Wednesday and will also be asking for bail for his client so he can be free while the appeals process is on-going. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:56:45 -0600 From: Dennis & Hazel Young Subject: "BCWF ALERT#51/2008: Support required for gov't firearm amnesties" Cc: breitg7@parl.gc.ca - ----- Original Message ----- From: John B. Holdstock To: John B. Holdstock Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 3:44 PM Subject: BCWF ALERT #51/2008: Support required for government firearm amnesties The Government has announced its intent to permit those with expired POLs to apply for a new POL. This initiative is currently in a mandatory consultation phase, as is the extension of the amnesty and the extension of the fee waiver. If you have any comments you wish to make on the POL issue, or if you know of other persons who would like to make supportive comments, that would be much appreciated. Comments can be sent to: Robert Fecteau, Senior Counsel, Legal Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 3000 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario K2G 6N7 Tel.: 1-800-731-4000 ext. 2059 Fax: 1-(613) 825-0258 They must be sent by the end of the month. Further information can be found at the address below: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20080301/html/regle4-e.html Comments concerning the fee waiver and amnesty portions can be sent to: Lyndon Murdock, Acting Director, Firearms and Operational Policing Policy Division, Law Enforcement and Interoperability Branch, Public Safety Canada, 269 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P8 Tel.: 1-613-991-3223 Fax: 1-613-954-5186 e-mail: communications@ps.gc.ca Further information can be found at the addresses below: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20080301/html/regle3-e.html> http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20080301/html/regle2-e.html ************** BCWF ALERT John B Holdstock BC Wildlife Federation jbholdstock@shawcable.com https://totalrecoil.wordpress.com/ http://www.bcwf.bc.ca/ http://www.bccf.com/ The world is run by those who show up. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:15:08 -0600 From: Edward Hudson Subject: Montague Sentenced Re: Montague Sentenced (preliminary report via Pierre Lemieux) Criminal Code section 91(1) violation The Honourable Justice Wright of the Ontario Superior Court in Kenora sentenced Bruce Montague of Dryden, Ontario, to six months of provincial incarceration this morning for violating Criminal Code section 91(1) - "failure to produce a licence." Mr. Montague also received more time for other charges. Mrs. Montague was also sentenced. Sincerely, Eduardo ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V11 #284 *********************************** 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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