Cdn-Firearms Digest Friday, December 4 2009 Volume 13 : Number 598 In this issue: Public Service Alliance of Canada: keep federal long gun registry Re: ON judge pushes back against trend toward stiffer sentences Re: ON judge pushes back against trend toward stiffer sentences CBC NEWS: Gun amnesty program nets 1,074 weapons Coyle: Disgraceful show put on by PC caucus ***NFR*** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 12:14 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Public Service Alliance of Canada: keep federal long gun registry PUBLIC SERVICE ALLIANCE OF CANADA - NEWS RELEASE - DECEMBER 3, 2009 Ending violence against women includes keeping federal long gun registry http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2009/03/c7700.html OTTAWA, Dec. 3 /CNW Telbec/ - On the 20th anniversary of the Montreal massacre, the Public Service Alliance of Canada is calling on all Members of Parliament to reject a private Member's bill that will eliminate the need to register rifles and shotguns and destroy more than eight million records in the federal long gun registry. "This extreme example of violence against women will forever be branded in our collective memory," says PSAC national executive vice-president Patty Ducharme. "After this crime was committed, women and men across the country turned their grief into action. Yet, 20 years later, violence against women remains endemic." According to John Edmunds, national president of the Union of Solicitor General Employees component of the PSAC, spousal deaths by guns have been reduced by 50 percent since gun owners were required to register long guns. "The registry allows police to check households for the presence of firearms which is especially important in the case of domestic disputes." Ducharme asks why the federal Conservative government is so intent on dismantling a program that has proven its effectiveness in reducing violence against women by voting for Bill C-391, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act (repeal of long-gun registry). PSAC is calling on governments at all levels to implement real solutions to violence against women by adopting and improving vital social and economic programs. These include childcare, social housing, increased welfare benefits, access to justice, programs that ensure women with disabilities can surmount the multiple barriers they face, employment equity for immigrant and racialized women, adequate pensions and security for Aboriginal women. "Women need economic autonomy and a social safety net to flee violence and find safety," says Ducharme. PSAC members across the country are joining in community vigils and other events to mark December 6. They are organizing letter-writing campaigns and will be visiting Members of Parliament who voted for Bill C-391, asking them to reconsider their position. "On this sad anniversary of the Montreal massacre, the PSAC and our members want more than commemoration and empty promises; we want effective government action to end violence against women now and that includes maintaining the federal long gun registry." For further information: and to book interviews: Alain Cossette, PSAC Communications, (613) 293-9210 http://www.psac.com/home-e.shtml Public Service Alliance of Canada 233 Gilmour Street Ottawa, ON K2P 0P1 1 888 604-PSAC (7722) (613) 560-4200 By email http://www.psac.com/about/contacts-e.cfm - --------------------------------------- THE CANADIAN PRESS - DECEMBER 3, 2009 Former Ecole polytechnique student says government can't let registry die By Nelson Wyatt (CP) http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0AaQ9_2S4Cdjq2 OWEbIUqhZ74Lg MONTREAL - A survivor of the murderous rampage at the Ecole polytechnique says the government will have blood on its hands if the controversial federal gun registry dies and there is a spike in firearm-related killings. Heidi Rathjen, a former engineering student at the school, was among those who worked to reform Canada's gun laws and set up the registry in the wake of Marc Lepine's attack on the school on Dec. 6, 1989. "I feel that what the Conservatives are doing, especially at this time, is a slap in the face to the victims of the Dec. 6 massacre and all victims of gun-related crimes," she said on the eve of the tragedy's 20th anniversary. "What does it say about all future gun victims? If this goes through and the registry is abolished and gun-related murders and crimes go back up, the Conservatives will have blood on their hands." Fourteen women were killed in the rampage and 13 other people - nine women and four men - were wounded. Rathjen escaped Lepine's bullets by hiding in a locked classroom until police arrived at Montreal's Ecole polytechnique. Conservative MPs, bolstered by a handful of Liberals and New Democrats, narrowly voted in principle last month to kill the federal long gun registry. The tally was 164 for, 137 against. The private member's bill, which would end the decade-old registry of most shotguns and rifles, now goes to a Commons committee for further study and possible amendment. Conservatives say the registry is a billion-dollar waste that targets honest gun-owners while doing nothing to fight crime. Proponents, including police and victims-rights groups, say the registry is a useful investigative tool and has led to more responsible gun ownership, reducing the number of suicides and deadly crimes of passion. The legislation was proposed by Manitoba Tory backbencher Candice Hoeppner. Both the NDP and Liberals freed their MPs to vote as they saw fit on the bill. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, while supporting "the principle" of the registry, has said it needs to be revamped to make it more palatable to rural Canadians. Rathjen said she has spoken to some of the families of the Polytechnique victims and said they are "devastated, terrified that this is going to go through." She had scathing words for Ignatieff and NDP Leader Jack Layton, saying they demonstrated a "complete lack of leadership on this issue, allowing a free vote on what they absolutely knew was a disguised government bill." She said the Liberals and NDP actions were a "betrayal" of the two parties' commitment to victims of violence and women. "What good are all these wonderful Liberal values, NDP values if you can't stand up when it really counts? Words are just words. It's action that counts." Rathjen, who joined an anti-tobacco organization in Montreal after the gun legislation was passed, said she'll rejoin the fight to help the Coalition for Gun Control to protect the registry, which she says has been an unrelenting target of misinformation. She said former students are getting organized and will head to Ottawa for hearings on the bill. Rathjen did have praise for the Bloc Quebecois, which she said had shown unstinting support for the registry. There have been a number of expressions of support for the registry from unions, women's groups and police. The mother of Anne-Marie Edward, one of the women gunned down at Polytechnique, said on the day Parliament voted that she was disappointed the Conservatives have dedicated so much energy to eliminating the registry. Suzanne Laplante-Edward recalled in a published letter how she travelled to Ottawa in the spring to remind parliamentarians of the kind of devastation a single rifle can inflict in just 22 minutes. She recalled how both Layton and Ignatieff personally promised her they would stop Prime Minister Stephen Harper from abolishing the registry and had now disappointed her. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:51:13 -0500 From: "mred" Subject: Re: ON judge pushes back against trend toward stiffer sentences - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Mills" To: Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 8:36 PM Subject: G&M-Ontario judge pushes back against trend toward stiffersentences > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-judge-pushes-back-against-trend-toward-stiffer-sentences/article1386349/ > > Ontario judge pushes back against trend toward stiffer sentences > Decision to give lenient sentences to two aboriginal youths seen as a move > against U.S.-style sentencing > > Kirk Makin > From Thursday's Globe and Mail > Published on Wednesday, Dec. 02, 2009 8:40PM EST > Last updated on Thursday, Dec. 03, 2009 2:12AM EST > > Defying community anger and Canada's drift toward more punitive, > U.S.-style sentencing laws, an Ontario judge has given two aboriginal > youths a lenient punishment for burning down a venerable community > building. > > Mr. Justice John Keast of Superior Court in Sudbury, Ont., said that > probation and a strong dose of rehabilitation is better than throwing the > boys, aged 12 and 13, into secure custody. > > His sweeping condemnation has trained a light on one of the most divisive > issues in the Canadian judicial system: growing discontent over the > federal Conservatives' harsh sentencing policies. > > Judge Keast urged Canadians to wake up to the fact that stiff penalties > brutalize society, do nothing to prevent crime and waste staggering > amounts of money. > > His ruling, which one law professor called the most interesting and > thoughtful sentencing decision in years, follows an unusually tough speech > this week by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Marc Rosenberg. > > Judge Rosenberg, one of the country's top criminal law minds, denounced > the Americanization of sentencing policy in an address to a Criminal > Lawyers Association conference in Toronto. > > The Sudbury case involved two youths who used a can of gasoline to torch > the 61-year-old Steelworkers Hall a hallowed hub of community life, in > September, 2008. It took 26 hours for firefighters to extinguish the > $8-million blaze. > > Judge Keast determined that locking up the arsonists would satisfy a > certain primal desire for punishment, but create a pair of hardened > criminals. > > He then used their example to mount a pointed criticism of the Canadian > justice system, noting that scant money is put into eliminating the roots > of crime: poverty and mistreatment of the aboriginal population. Canada > lags behind most western democratic countries, he said. > > Prison populations are set to swell after federal legislation created new > mandatory minimum sentences, restrictions on parole and the virtual > elimination of conditional sentences. > > He said the federal government is shirking its responsibility toward > generations of aboriginals who have suffered because of the residential > school system. The federal government offered a profound apology last > year, but that apology has not been backed up by proper funding and > resources to target the devastating consequences of the residential school > system, he said. WHY BLAME THE cpc? SINCE THE lIBERALS ARE THE "NATURAL RULING PARTY " OF CANADA AND THEY WERE IN POWER MUCH more THAN THE CONS WHY ARENT THE LIBERALS SHOULDERING THE BLAME ? ED/ON > Judge Keast noted that both offenders lived in homes marred by alcoholism > and violence. One has been shuffled among foster homes for most of his > life, while the other grew up on a reserve. THATS A WAY OF LIFE ON NORTHERN RESERVES. > Kevin Conley, treasurer for the Sudbury Steelworkers local, said that many > Sudbury residents appear to have accepted Judge Keast's reasoning despite > their fury over the burning of the hall. > > I think that they got off lightly considering the effect this fire had on > the whole community, but the judge was in a tough position, Mr. Conley > said, adding that the sentence would be easier to swallow if there were > rehabilitation programs. > > These young fellows should have to see what fire does to people, he said. > They should be exposed to a burn unit. They could listen to those people > scream. > > Judge Keast said that Canada would do well to emulate Scandinavian > countries, which pour money into social programs, rather than responding > with the mantra of jail. > > He said that most criminals are shaped by poverty and lack of opportunity: > Most of today's serious criminals were once victims. > Since I grew up in the last half of the first depression and ww2 why is it that I never became a criminal ? 2 Reasons : 1. parental discipline ,which was harsh but just. 2. Cops werre youre best friend on the street in those days not like today where you are a criminal until you prove yourself innocent. 3, Respect other people and their property. None of this is as evident today as it was in years gone by. And oh ya , we had nothing, but never considered criminal acts , because the punishment was Reformatory not some lackadaisical social program. ed/on ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:51:13 -0500 From: "mred" Subject: Re: ON judge pushes back against trend toward stiffer sentences - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Mills" To: Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 8:36 PM Subject: G&M-Ontario judge pushes back against trend toward stiffersentences > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-judge-pushes-back-against-trend-toward-stiffer-sentences/article1386349/ > > Ontario judge pushes back against trend toward stiffer sentences > Decision to give lenient sentences to two aboriginal youths seen as a move > against U.S.-style sentencing > > Kirk Makin > From Thursday's Globe and Mail > Published on Wednesday, Dec. 02, 2009 8:40PM EST > Last updated on Thursday, Dec. 03, 2009 2:12AM EST > > Defying community anger and Canada's drift toward more punitive, > U.S.-style sentencing laws, an Ontario judge has given two aboriginal > youths a lenient punishment for burning down a venerable community > building. > > Mr. Justice John Keast of Superior Court in Sudbury, Ont., said that > probation and a strong dose of rehabilitation is better than throwing the > boys, aged 12 and 13, into secure custody. > > His sweeping condemnation has trained a light on one of the most divisive > issues in the Canadian judicial system: growing discontent over the > federal Conservatives' harsh sentencing policies. > > Judge Keast urged Canadians to wake up to the fact that stiff penalties > brutalize society, do nothing to prevent crime and waste staggering > amounts of money. > > His ruling, which one law professor called the most interesting and > thoughtful sentencing decision in years, follows an unusually tough speech > this week by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Marc Rosenberg. > > Judge Rosenberg, one of the country's top criminal law minds, denounced > the Americanization of sentencing policy in an address to a Criminal > Lawyers Association conference in Toronto. > > The Sudbury case involved two youths who used a can of gasoline to torch > the 61-year-old Steelworkers Hall a hallowed hub of community life, in > September, 2008. It took 26 hours for firefighters to extinguish the > $8-million blaze. > > Judge Keast determined that locking up the arsonists would satisfy a > certain primal desire for punishment, but create a pair of hardened > criminals. > > He then used their example to mount a pointed criticism of the Canadian > justice system, noting that scant money is put into eliminating the roots > of crime: poverty and mistreatment of the aboriginal population. Canada > lags behind most western democratic countries, he said. > > Prison populations are set to swell after federal legislation created new > mandatory minimum sentences, restrictions on parole and the virtual > elimination of conditional sentences. > > He said the federal government is shirking its responsibility toward > generations of aboriginals who have suffered because of the residential > school system. The federal government offered a profound apology last > year, but that apology has not been backed up by proper funding and > resources to target the devastating consequences of the residential school > system, he said. WHY BLAME THE cpc? SINCE THE lIBERALS ARE THE "NATURAL RULING PARTY " OF CANADA AND THEY WERE IN POWER MUCH more THAN THE CONS WHY ARENT THE LIBERALS SHOULDERING THE BLAME ? ED/ON > Judge Keast noted that both offenders lived in homes marred by alcoholism > and violence. One has been shuffled among foster homes for most of his > life, while the other grew up on a reserve. THATS A WAY OF LIFE ON NORTHERN RESERVES. > Kevin Conley, treasurer for the Sudbury Steelworkers local, said that many > Sudbury residents appear to have accepted Judge Keast's reasoning despite > their fury over the burning of the hall. > > I think that they got off lightly considering the effect this fire had on > the whole community, but the judge was in a tough position, Mr. Conley > said, adding that the sentence would be easier to swallow if there were > rehabilitation programs. > > These young fellows should have to see what fire does to people, he said. > They should be exposed to a burn unit. They could listen to those people > scream. > > Judge Keast said that Canada would do well to emulate Scandinavian > countries, which pour money into social programs, rather than responding > with the mantra of jail. > > He said that most criminals are shaped by poverty and lack of opportunity: > Most of today's serious criminals were once victims. > Since I grew up in the last half of the first depression and ww2 why is it that I never became a criminal ? 2 Reasons : 1. parental discipline ,which was harsh but just. 2. Cops werre youre best friend on the street in those days not like today where you are a criminal until you prove yourself innocent. 3, Respect other people and their property. None of this is as evident today as it was in years gone by. And oh ya , we had nothing, but never considered criminal acts , because the punishment was Reformatory not some lackadaisical social program. ed/on ------------------------------ Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 8:52 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: CBC NEWS: Gun amnesty program nets 1,074 weapons Supt. Don Spicer, the public safety officer for the municipality. "Most of the guns that are used in crimes have been stolen from legitimate gun owners through break and enters." CBC NEWS - DECEMBER 3, 2009 Gun amnesty program nets 1,074 weapons http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/12/03/ns-pixels-pistols-program.html More than 1,000 guns were collected during a month-long gun amnesty program in the Halifax area, police announced Thursday. The Pixels for Pistols program, which began Nov. 2, allowed local residents to turn in working guns in exchange for a new digital camera. Broken guns or ammunition could be traded for a gift card worth about $80. The program was a partnership between the police department and Henry's, a camera and photography business. By the time the program ended Nov. 30, Halifax Regional Police had collected 873 long guns and 201 handguns for a total of 1,074 weapons. More than 10,000 rounds of ammunition were also collected. "What I'm surprised by the most is the sheer volume of firearms that we acquired," said Supt. Don Spicer, the public safety officer for the municipality. Const. Don Jenkins, who helped oversee the program, said some of the long guns were sawed-off or otherwise modified, which alarmed him. "Someone made the conscious effort to modify them to make them smaller so that they would have a small, deadly, lethal object that they could use for — what I'm convinced to be — criminal in purpose," he said. Spicer said the last time the municipality ran a gun amnesty program, in 2006, about 50 guns were collected over 1½ months. Most of the guns used in crimes have been stolen from legitimate gun owners during break-ins, police said. "The more guns that we get off the street, the less guns that are available for the criminals," Spicer said. "We also have a crime reduction strategy and we're out there on a regular basis, seizing guns from criminals as well. They're just not getting cameras." Some people were not interested in receiving a camera and some turned in more than one gun, so about 800 gift cards were distributed, Spicer said. Officers will examine all the collected weapons and destroy those that have not been used in a crime. Jenkins said some weapons of historical significance will go to military museums. "We have several handguns at this time that are en route to the army museum on Citadel Hill," he said. "There are family members who served with different Canadian regiments that served in Europe and how they acquired [the weapons] make it definitely a historical significance military-wise." - ----------------------------------------------- Haligonians turn in 1,074 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammo in exchange for cameras (Canadian Press Data - File Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)- December 4, 2009 http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-haligonians-turn-1074-guns-10000-rounds-ammo-exchange-/2009/12/04/4515690.htm HALIFAX _ A gun amnesty program that collected 1,074 muskets, purse-sized pistols, sawed-off shotguns, old military weapons and other guns was a complete success, says Halifax's public safety officer. Two corporate sponsors, Henry's cameras and Sony, helped police with the program. In all, police handed out 800 vouchers that were worth $300 for cameras and imaging cards, all of which was covered by the sponsors. ``Their commitment to public safety ... has been nothing short of phenomenal,'' Spicer said at a news conference at police headquarters. The weapons collected included 201 handguns, 873 long guns and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition. In 2006, the last time the police attempted a gun amnesty, they had nothing to trade in exchange for the weapons and only collected 50 guns. Spicer thanked everyone who traded in a weapon. ``They can have the peace of mind of knowing that their guns will never wind up in the hands of criminals. Most of the guns that are used in crimes have been stolen from legitimate gun owners through break and enters. So the more guns that we get off the street, the less guns that are available for the criminals.'' The guns will be examined to see if they were used in any crimes. Those that aren't will be destroyed, but any guns of historical significance may be donated to museums. Jenkins helped co-ordinate the efforts of officers to collect the guns. Regional police officers picked up weapons in their districts and Halifax RCMP did the same in their jurisdiction. Some weapons were properly taken apart, while others were just lying around. Fewer than half the guns they got were registered. (Halifax Chronicle Herald) (c) 2009 The Canadian Press ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:10:14 -0500 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Coyle: Disgraceful show put on by PC caucus ***NFR*** [The inmates are truly running the asylum. Our great hope for turning out 'Teflon' McGuinty takes some severe hits]. Coyle: Disgraceful show put on by PC caucus By Jim Coyle Queen's Park Wed Dec 02 2009 > http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/hst/article/733359--coyle-disgraceful-show-put-on-by-pc-caucus There are two lines that appear in most speeches by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak. Among the values he purports to cherish are "respect for the rule of law." When he talks about his immigrant grandparents, he extols those who "play by the rules." This week, as Hudak led his caucus in a disgraceful show of contempt for the Legislature and its rules, those words were revealed for empty rhetorical boiler-plate. Heir, as he is, to the legacy of former premier Mike Harris, it's unsettling to many to imagine what a Tim Hudak Ontario might look like – especially since a Hudak PC caucus looks like something right out of Trailer Park Boys, an outfit where yahoos rule and where rules, when inconvenient, are to be defied and mocked. This week, Hudak did himself considerable harm. He let his party be defined by its least credible and most ridiculous MPPs – bumptious contrarian Bill Murdoch from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, and renegade libertarian from eastern Ontario, Randy Hillier. The PC need for growth in urban Ontario will hardly be aided by the antics of those two smirking loudmouths, as pleased with their disruptive antics as a couple of adolescent spitball throwers. Given the wide support already on the record for tax harmonization from Ontario PCs, the caucus's outrage about the Liberal government's proposed harmonized sales tax has always been opportunistic and contrived. This week, it bordered on the obscene. Reporters were told ahead of time that Murdoch was going to put on a show. Dressed in a kilt, he stood Monday in the Legislature and pointedly called Premier Dalton McGuinty "a liar." This, he knew, violated rules. Asked three times to withdraw the remark, he refused. He was expelled from the Legislature, but refused to leave. Then, he was quickly surrounded by caucus-mates and the standoff was on. Both Murdoch and Hillier were expelled indefinitely by Speaker Steve Peters for continuing to defy his rulings. But the two Gong Show refugees carried on. They occupied seats not their own and defiled them, roaring spittle-flecked insults at the government. Frankly, it's hard to imagine an image less likely to help Hudak in the longer term than that presented to Ontario by two rural, middle-aged tantrum artists as they defied the Speaker and the rules. It's no great victory for Hudak that his PC party now wears the flushed and foolish faces of Bill Murdoch and Randy Hillier. They were faces of raving irrationality that any woman abused by her mate would recognize. They were faces of incoherent fulminating that any child terrified by a drunken father would know. They were the faces of inane intransigence with which most beat cops are wearily familiar. It was conduct of a sort Hudak would surely have denounced were it a student defying a teacher or a defendant defying a judge. It was evident by the body language of some PC MPPs that they were uncomfortable. Still they went along. So shame on Christine Elliott and Sylvia Jones for letting the biggest bozos in their number rule the day. Shame on Ted Arnott and Elizabeth Witmer for participating in the debasement of an institution in which they have worked honourably for decades. Shame on elder statesmen Norm Sterling and Bob Runciman for demeaning a Legislature to which they will utter sentimental paeans in the retirement speeches in their not-too-distant futures. And, most of all, shame on Tim Hudak, who, if his grandparents did put great stock in playing by the rules, can be no credit to them. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V13 #598 *********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@scorpion.bogend.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@scorpion.bogend.ca Moderator's email: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@scorpion.bogend.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@scorpion.bogend.ca FAQ list: http://www.canfirearms/Skeeter/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://www.canfirearms.ca CFDigest Archives: http://www.canfirearms.ca/archives To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next four lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@scorpion.bogend.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".)