Cdn-Firearms Digest Friday, December 4 2009 Volume 13 : Number 599 In this issue: Ottawa approves HST for Ontario and B.C. ***NFR*** Mark Steyn Maclean's article RE: Facts or Fiction - Get out of jail free card Re: Facts or Fiction - Get out of jail free card "TORSTAR COLUMN: Tory `girlfriends' hew to party line on femicide" Sudbury Star: Ending violence against women Gun registrations in Hawaii on record pace Killing gun registry a "shameless" act By Emile Therien Re: CBC NEWS: Gun amnesty program nets 1,074 weapons ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:14:49 -0500 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Ottawa approves HST for Ontario and B.C. ***NFR*** [HST fine by fed CONS while provincial Tories fume] Ottawa approves HST for Ontario and B.C. Bruce Cheadle THE CANADIAN PRESS Dec 03 2009 > http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/hst/article/734121--ottawa-approves-hst-for-ontario-and-b-c OTTAWA–The HST is closer to becoming law in Ontario and British Columbia after the House of Commons voted in favour of the controversial new collection regime Thursday. The Conservative government's motion was backed by the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois, setting the stage for the formal amendment of the Excise Tax Act. The government is moving to fast-track the legislation, so it could be voted into law as early as next week. Only New Democrats voted against the ways-and-means motion, which passed 192-32. But the fact that only 224 MPs were present to cast a vote in the 308-seat House spoke volumes about how gun-shy even supportive parties' members are of the harmonized sales tax. Thirty-five Conservatives, including 10 members of cabinet and the travelling prime minister, missed the vote. The Liberals were short 28 MPs, although Leader Michael Ignatieff made a virtue of the fact no Liberal actually voted against tax harmonization despite several threats this week. "The Liberals are certainly speaking with one voice on the HST," said Ignatieff. "We made a tough decision because we believe that provinces, both British Columbia and Ontario, want this legislation. They believe that it will create jobs and employment in those two provinces." The change, negotiated between the Harper government and provincial Liberal governments in B.C. and Ontario, will permit the provinces to start collecting a combined GST and PST next July 1. Consumer groups in both provinces have railed against the change, since it will expand the range of goods and services subject to provincial sales tax. But the provinces, helped by billion-dollar packages pledged by Ottawa, say they will be rebating consumers for the hit they take on newly taxed items such as heating fuel and baby clothes. The Harper government, like the federal Liberal government that preceded it, has been pushing for the harmonized tax since at least at least 2008. The Conservative budget that year said "tax harmonization is the single most important step provinces with (sales taxes) could take to improve the competitiveness of Canadian business." ***The federal government provided Ontario with $4.3 billion to induce it to harmonize, while B.C. negotiated a $1.6-billion payment from Ottawa that will help provincial consumers over the tax transition. Quebec has already effectively gone to a single sales tax, and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador all use a harmonized sales tax.*** ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 09:20:14 -0800 From: "Todd Birch" Subject: Mark Steyn Maclean's article Leo The Maclean's article I mentioned is by columnist Mark Steyn. Check his web site for the story. Todd ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:52:29 -0500 From: Lee Jasper Subject: RE: Facts or Fiction - Get out of jail free card It was contended in a letter: > if the Liberals had not criminalized people for doing what > they had always done (Sounds like this writer borrowed from Mike Harris' Red Tape Reduction Commission which was charged with trashing laws and regulations that 'stopped people from doing what they wanted to do, the way they wanted to do it, when they wanted to do it'). I asked: >> Now how did 'C-68' *criminalize* gun owners? A response: > Posession of a firearm in canada is a crime for which the government of > canada has allowed us a tempory get out of jail free card called a > license > which is subject to the whims of the govenment in power, so we are all > criminals with a very revocable pass. Its not a quesion of if we will be > charged just a question of when. That's a political statement; I was hoping for a legal explanation. I'm curious about how anything short of amnesia or Alzheimer's would result in police charges of a gun owner. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:07:59 -0500 From: "mred" Subject: Re: Facts or Fiction - Get out of jail free card - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Jasper" To: "Canadian Firearms Digest" Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 12:52 PM Subject: RE: Facts or Fiction - Get out of jail free card > It was contended in a letter: > >> if the Liberals had not criminalized people for doing what >> they had always done > > (Sounds like this writer borrowed from Mike Harris' Red Tape Reduction > Commission which was charged with trashing laws and regulations that > 'stopped people from doing what they wanted to do, the way they wanted > to do it, when they wanted to do it'). > > I asked: > >>> Now how did 'C-68' *criminalize* gun owners? > > A response: > >> Posession of a firearm in canada is a crime for which the government of >> canada has allowed us a tempory get out of jail free card called a >> license >> which is subject to the whims of the govenment in power, so we are all >> criminals with a very revocable pass. Its not a quesion of if we will be >> charged just a question of when. > > That's a political statement; I was hoping for a legal explanation. I'm > curious about how anything short of amnesia or Alzheimer's would result > in police charges of a gun owner. > > Once your licence expires you are a criminal Thats it, short and sweet.; > the reason does not matter. ed/on > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 1:47 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: "TORSTAR COLUMN: Tory `girlfriends' hew to party line on femicide" TORONTO STAR - DECEMBER 4, 2009 Tory 'girlfriends' hew to party line on femicide By Antonia Zerbisias, Living Columnist http://www.thestar.com/living/article/733735--tory-girlfriends-hew-to-party-line-on-femicide If it weren't so hypocritical, it would be hysterical. On Wednesday, at a Parliament Hill ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 6 massacre at Montreal's L'École Polytechnique, Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner co-starred in Status of Women minister Helena Guergis's show of sympathy. Bad enough that, last month, Guergis voted for Bill C-391, the legislation that aims to kill the long-gun registry and Hoeppner was the one to introduce it in the House. No wonder that Status of Women committee members Anita Neville (L-Winnipeg South Centre), Irene Mathyssen (NDP-London- Fanshawe) and the Bloc's warrior queen of women's rights, Nicole Demers (Laval), boycotted the ceremony. As Neville told me Wednesday, "The Conservatives' record on women has just been abominable.'' Never mind that, since the registry was introduced in the mid-'90s, the number of women killed by their rifle-wielding partners has dropped significantly. But, even with the registry, Statistics Canada reports, one out of three femicide victims is still killed by a rifle-wielding partner. It was in the wake of that terrible night in December, when that misogynist shooter targeted female engineering students, killing 14 women and injuring 10 more, as well as four men, that the former Conservative government, the one we used to call Progressive, struck a task force to look into violence against women. For a frigid few days, I followed the panel around rural Quebec, where it heard horror stories from women whose partners took advantage of their isolation to terrorize and torture them. There were testimonies from local social services groups recounting terrible murders. Meanwhile, back in the Montreal area, women were being picked off at an alarming rate by former spouses, even those served with restraining orders. One of the things that many of the gun nuts espouse is more guns – for women. As they say, "You can't rape a .38.'' That may be true if you're walking your dog or coming home from work late at night, but it's going to land you a murder charge if you pull the trigger while being "date raped.'' In any case, it's pretty tough to be packing, say, in an aerobics class, especially when the assassin sneaks in, turns off the lights and starts firing – which is what happened in Pittsburgh this summer when three women were killed and many others injured. What's more, there's no guarantee that an abused wife could actually get a gun, or not get it used against her. Research shows that the determining factor in preventing most violence against women is helping them to be economically independent, through secure employment with appropriate benefits and fair wages, or decent rates of welfare, adequate social housing and daycare. Little of which is forthcoming from the Conservative government. That said, it has bumped up funding to some shelters this year. But that does nothing to head off violence. In fact, according to Neville, "Their whole focus on violence against women is what one colleague refers to as `after the gavel.' That means putting more people in jail, harsher sentences, mandatory minimums, that kind of thing.'' Or as Hoeppner recently said in committee: "The best thing we can do to protect women is to make sure that people who commit crimes against them go to jail and stay there for as long as they need to." Which, not only closes the slammer door after the deed has been done, it does nothing to get women out of dangerous situations and into self-sufficient lives. As for Guergis, well, although her resumé includes many years of volunteering at Barrie's Rape Crisis Centre, she just tiptoes the party line. With girlfriends like these, who needs enemies? Antonia Zerbisias is a Living section columnist. azerbisias@thestar.ca She blogs at; thestar.blogs.com - --------------------------------------- NEWSDURHAMREGION.COM - DECEMBER 4, 2009 Long gun registry letter was short on facts http://newsdurhamregion.com/opinion/article/141370 To the editor: Re: 'Long-gun registry worth keeping', letter to the editor from John Peate, Nov. 25. Mr. Peate's letter about the long gun registry is big on emotion yet short on facts. Reports from Statistics Canada clearly show that the rate of death from firearms for both men and women has been in steady decline since the 1970s, decades before the long gun registry was in effect. The most likely explanation for decline of firearm deaths stems from mandatory firearm and hunter safety courses. To believe a gun registry would increase public safety is to believe a vehicle registry would prevent accidents and drunk driving. Mr. Peate states the cost of maintaining the registry is $8.4 million yearly and cost would be recovered if the Conservatives didn't stop the collection of fees. In fact, it was the previous Liberal government that began dropping registry fees in May 2004. What Mr. Peate doesn't mention is the fact the long gun registry was set to cost taxpayers $2 million, costs have ballooned to $2 billion. Yes, that is 1,000 times what it was originally budgeted for, paid with our tax dollars. If the long gun registry was such a good idea, why did the Liberals make the cost benefit analysis a cabinet secret, hiding it from the public? Pierre Dupont, Oshawa ------------------------------ Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 2:54 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Sudbury Star: Ending violence against women THE SUDBURY STAR - DECEMBER 4, 2009 Ending violence against women -- By LARA BRADLEY http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2206890 It has been 20 years since the Montreal massacre when Marc Lepine turned his semi-automatic rifle on female students because of their gender. Claiming he was "fighting feminism," Lepine killed 14 women, as well as injuring four men and 10 other women before turning the gun on himself at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. Since then, Dec. 6 has become known as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It's a day when Canadian flags on all federal buildings, including the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, are flown at half-mast. People are encouraged to observe a minute of silence Dec. 6 and to wear a white ribbon as a commitment to end violence against women. In the Sudbury and Manitoulin area, several events are held, from vigils to panel discussion to commemorate the day. The Sudbury Women's Centre's event starts at 11 a. m. on Friday on Elm Street. "It's open to all," said Barb Garon, executive director. "We do have a Youth Panel -- our theme is Violence is Ageless." About five youth will speak on how violence affected their lives. The panel came together through partnerships the centre has forged with Genevra House and Pathfinders. "It's been a request that we recognize violence against youth and how it has entered a youth's life, whether it be cyber bullying, school bullying," she said. "We thought we'd take that spin on it this year since it is the 20th year." Garon thinks there has been progress in the two decades since the massacre. "We've made some positive changes in dealing with domestic violence," she said. "But I think we're also seeing a different type of violence rearing its ugly head. We're seeing it more with our youth and the difficulties they're having." Teens and adolescents today are exposed to a lot more media violence from electronic games, films and Internet sites. Technology has opened up new ways for bullies to torment their victims, through social network sites, text-messaging and sending photos on cellphones. "I didn't have Internet when I was a kid. I had Commodore 64," she said. "They're much more on the electronics ... It's quite the network where they are exposed to violence or become subjects of violence." - - - - Remembering the Montreal Massacre * Dec. 4: "Violence is Ageless, Youth To Uncover the Truth" 11 a. m.-1 p. m., Sudbury Women's Centre des Femme, 324-F, Elm St. Candle Lighting ceremony. Youth Panel will share their experiences. A December 6th. commemorative event. 673-1916. * Dec. 6: Event to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre and National Day of Action and Remembrance on Violence Against Women 2 p.m., Community Centre in Mindemoya. Hosted by Manitoulin Family Resources. * Dec. 7: Vigil noon, Laurentian University's Student Centre. Organized by the Presidential Advisory Status of Women Committee. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 3:01 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Gun registrations in Hawaii on record pace HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM - DECEMBER 4, 2009 Gun registrations in Hawaii on record pace Ownership nearly doubled from 2000 to 2008, with 26,000 purchased last year http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091204/NEWS01/912040344/Gun+registrations+in+Hawaii+on+record+pace Hawaii residents have registered guns at a record pace for each of the past four years, and appear headed for a new high again this year, preliminary figures show. Nearly 26,000 firearms - an annual record - were registered with the four county police departments during 2008. Yearly gun registrations in Hawai'i have marched steadily upward for most of the past decade - from about 13,600 in 2000 to 25,996 in 2008 - said Paul Perrone, chief of research and statistics for the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General. Hawaii firearms dealers and Hawaii Rifle Association officials say the rise in gun ownership here is in line with a similar trend across much of the Mainland. They attribute the increase in gun sales to a combination of factors, most notably the two Persian Gulf Wars, the terrorist attack on New York City and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and most recently, the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States and fears he might back a prohibition on future sales of certain types of firearms. Harvey Gerwig II, president and a director of the Hawaii Rifle Association, attributes the increase in gun sales to how Americans feel about their country and their leaders. "When people don't feel confident about the direction the country is going, they look for another way to up their confidence level," Gerwig said. Recent Increase The number of firearms registered here each year may be just a fraction of those actually in Hawai'i. Perrone said police estimate there could be approximately one for every man, woman and child in the state. "Firearms Registrations in Hawaii, 2008" a report authored by Perrone and released in June, says that the biggest increase in gun registrations occurred last year, when Hawaii's economy tanked. The state's unemployment rate is the highest it has been in more than a decade and the local economy is in a prolonged slump, but even in lean times Hawai'i residents have found the money to buy handguns and rifles. The 25,996 firearms registered last year was a 19 percent increase from 2007. Much of the growth in firearms registrations here took place during the past four years. Unlike most states, Hawai'i does not require potential gun purchasers to pass an "instant criminal background check," because Hawai'i gun registration laws are among the most stringent in the country and go well beyond the instant check. But some gun dealers here have would-be gun buyers undergo the instant check to quickly see if there is anything in the buyer's background that would prohibit them from buying a gun. The number of people in Hawaii applying for an instant criminal background check jumped by 37 percent during the first nine months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to data collected by the FBI and reported by Bloomberg News. The Obama Factor? Nationwide, the year-to-date number of background checks through September is 19.3 percent higher than during the first nine months of 2008, the news service reported. There were 7,807 requests for background checks from January through September in Hawai'i, compared with 5,695 during the same period in 2008, the news service said. Kentucky led the nation, recording nearly 1.6 million requests for gun-purchase instant background checks during the first nine months of the year, up a little more than 15 percent from last year. In Kentucky, the number of gun-purchase background check requests during the first nine months of this year was roughly equal to 37 percent of that state's population, according to the news service analysis of the FBI data. The HRA's Gerwig believes the biggest single factor driving gun sales in the past year was Obama's election. "There is a poster circulating in the pro-gun community with a picture of Obama on it wearing a nice suit with a headline that says, 'Gun Salesman of the Year,' " Gerwig said. Gerwig said that though Obama did not make any direct statements during the final months leading up to his election about increasing restrictions on gun ownership, Obama's voting record as a U.S. senator and Illinois state legislator showed he voted in favor of virtually every piece of legislation restricting gun ownership that crossed his desk. "Just before the election, there were about 3,500 AR-15s - the civilian version of the M16 - ready at the (national) wholesale level and all were snapped up within a day of his election" Gerwig said. "People who were concerned their Second Amendment rights might be infringed upon drove the shelves dry of AR-15s." First-Time Buyers Al Mongeon, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Hawaii who specializes in online firearms purchases, estimates that about 5 percent of his business comes from first-time buyers. "For the most part, my first-time buyers are the spouses of members of our armed services who are about to deploy overseas. They want to make sure their wife and family are protected at home while they're away," Mongeon said. He estimated his sales to first-time buyers increased about 20 percent per year over the past three years. Mongeon, the long-serving membership chairman for the HRA, said membership in its parent organization, the National Rifle Association, "is increasing exponentially." While county, state and federal officials can track the influx of firearms into Hawaii, there is virtually no way to keep tabs on guns being shipped out of the state. For that reason, it is hard to say how many firearms are actually in the hands of Hawai'i residents. "The Honolulu Police Department has hard-copy gun registration forms dating back to the '30s," Perrone said. "HPD estimates the total number of guns out there at somewhere over a million. Estimates done independently by (the Hawai'i Department of the Attorney General) have arrived at the same number," Perrone said. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 3:06 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Killing gun registry a "shameless" act By Emile Therien ORLEANS EMC - DECEMBER 4, 2009 Killing gun registry a "shameless" act By Emile Therien http://www.emcorleans.ca/20091204/news/Killing+gun+registry+a+%22shameless%22+act To the Editor, Recently, MPs voted 164 to 137 to repeal the registry of long guns and shotguns. This despicable, shameless politically driven action flies in the face of public health, safety, and crime prevention. Fighting criminals is not the only reason to have strict gun control. Controlling access to firearms also impacts safety and mental health. Firearms are inherently dangerous consumer products. Guns are an efficient way to kill: almost half (46 percent) of victims shot will die. The proportion of completed suicides is highest with a firearm (92 percent). Guns are easy to use and rather impersonal. Medical experts say it takes a less-well informed motive to shoot someone than to beat someone to death. Ready access to firearms makes it easier to become a killer. The issue of gun registration must not and cannot be limited to its impact on criminals. There are compelling reasons and widespread consensus in favor of compulsory gun registration. Gun registration provides vital safety information to police officers and is a valuable tool in detecting stolen or smuggled firearms and the prosecution of related crimes. While police always assume a firearm may be present at any call, more information will always be to their advantage. Between 1961 and 1997, 112 Canadian police officers were murdered on duty, all but five of them were shot. The Montreal massacre on December 6, 1989 triggered a collective national response calling for greater control over the ownership and use of firearms. That tragedy spurred numerous organizations and individuals with important interests and constituencies to support the call for more effective legislation to prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands. Canadians simply do not want a society where shooting deaths are an everyday occurrence. The Montreal massacre and subsequent tragic incidents woke us up to that inherent danger. The federal government's gun control law, including the long gun registry, reflects longstanding Canadian values in support of measures to promote public safety and security. Unquestionably, this law will not end all violent encounters. But if the government can make it harder for people to kill and injure not only each other but themselves, it is certainly acting in the public interest. Rosemary Gartner, a University of Toronto criminologist, has stated that firearms laws not only have practical utility, they also reinforce social values. Canada needs progressive gun control legislation.Our social order demands it. Anything less than the current law will thwart and undermine the efforts of those working in the criminal justice, public safety and mental health fields! Emile Therien, Public health and safety advocate Past President of the Canada Safety Council http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=25641527 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:51:57 -0800 From: R. LaCasse Subject: Re: CBC NEWS: Gun amnesty program nets 1,074 weapons On Fri, 4 Dec 2009 11:55:01 -0600 (CST), you wrote: |>------------------------------ |> |>Date: Fri, December 4, 2009 8:52 am |>From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" |>Subject: CBC NEWS: Gun amnesty program nets 1,074 weapons |> Go Sheeple of Canada GO......#&*! |>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." |> And who informed these hooligans of the whereabouts, of the guns through the firearm registry programs....right Mr. Cpic user, Mr. Online CFC, and all the other venues like EKOS.... A great deal more guns have been lost/stolen from the para/police arsenals, from military depots...there were many events to those scenes, like the 400 new Glocks en-route in Edmonton was it. The para/police have a absolutely total disregard for the Federal registration of firearms or Licensing of gun owners, it's a joke to them, because they are a better armed gang than the civilized population. So what are these Licenses good for, right, it draws a map to the location of the guns, and somehow, they get stolen that way,....there is no real plausible other method of loosing your guns in polease home invasions and acquisitions, of registration leads to confiscation syndromes! When you do get YOUR guns back after a few courts, they are all damaged, lost in property rooms, shit on by the uniformed gunnies, because they want to be the only ones with guns. |>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 |> |>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. |> And Const. Don Jenkins is packing a small gun which in his interpretation of a small gun, is "convinced to be — criminal in purpose". ....so what does that tell you? So like a lot of these Cop speeches, they remain straight faced, oblivious to the fact that they should be held accountable for their firearm actions, which of course they aren't, because they disarmed most who would note that peculiarity they have. |>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." |> I'm sure they'll rake in a good profit for collectors and gun/movie shops, were they auction of to selected gun store owners, though some will stay in their possession if they look and are mean and intimidating enough. Armed Cops are the kind of ppl who went for their FAC/POL/PAL classes and actually learned something new......most of us thought it was a nit picking game of words and incomplete questions which had nothing to do with any kind of gun safety at all. Bob ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V13 #599 *********************************** 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".)