Cdn-Firearms Digest Friday, October 29 2010 Volume 14 : Number 155 In this issue: Hamilton Spectator - Family busted with machine pistol and drugs Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away Re: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away Re: Quebec is it as always ? re-Capt. Semrau letter to owen sound times (just submitted) Re: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes RE: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes Re: re-Capt. Semrau USA TODAY: Safety prompts police to quit using Remington 700 rifles Grocer found not guilty ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:30:17 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Hamilton Spectator - Family busted with machine pistol and drugs http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/271183--family-busted-with-machine-pistol-and-drugs Family busted with machine pistol and drugs Nicole O'Reilly Wed Oct 27 2010 STONEY CREEK - A family of four is facing multiple drug and firearm charges after police searched a home and seized drugs and weapons including a powerful machine pistol. Around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, a team from the gangs and weapons enforcement unit and vice and drugs unit search the King Street East home in Stoney Creek and recovered a loaded Mac-11 machine pistol, ammunition, marijuana, cocaine and other drug paraphernalia. "This weapon itself has been found periodically," Detective Sergeant Steve Kovach said. In fact one was found this year. "The type of weapon is destructive in its magazine capacity and firepower," he said. The 22-year-old woman, 28-year-old man, 26-year-old man and 50-year-old man are all from the same family and all lived in the home, Kovach said. Police are tracing the machine pistol to see if it was involved in any other crimes. All were scheduled for a bail hearing Wednesday. Bail has been opposed. Seized: Loaded COBRAY Mac-11 machine pistol Loaded high-capacity magazine 200 grams of processed marijuana with street value of $2,000 Small quantity of cocaine Cash noreilly@thespec.com 905-526-3199 letters@thespec.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:35:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away http://www.merrittnews.net/article/20101028/MERRITT0101/101029928/-1/MERRITT01/defender-of-hunting-and-fishing-right-passes-away Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away October 28, 2010 One of B.C.'s most spirited defenders of sportsmen's rights has died. Bill Otway, 75, passed away in Merritt early on Oct. 17 after a protracted battle with cancer. Kamloops sportsman Don Tretheway said Otway was well known in hunting and fishing circles across Canada. "He's just sort of a legend," said Tretheway. "He was a fountain of knowledge. He was just someone you could go to and get good information from." Tretheway said Otway was well known for his passionate defence of sporting rights, particularly fishing rights. He couldn't tolerate unnecessary government interference in the outdoor sports and was a strident opponent of gun control in Canada. "He will be sorely missed," said Tretheway. Otway was a long-time member of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, joining the outdoors group more than 50 years ago. He lived in Port Coquitlam when he joined the BCWF, where he fought a long battle to save the Coquitlam River from the impacts of gravel removal. He became executive director of the BCWF in 1973, serving in that role for several years. In 1980, he was named the Canadian Wildlife Federation's "Sportsman of the Year." Otway was always involved with various BCWF committees, including the saltwater fisheries and native affairs committees. He served as the recreational fisheries advisor/ombudsman for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for 15 years starting in 1985, and helped launch the Sportfishing Defence Alliance in 2000 to protest DFO's Pacific management policies. In 2002, Outdoor Canada named Otway of the 35 most influential people in the Canadian outdoors. No funeral will be held, at Otway's request. (Kamloops Daily News) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:29:53 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Re: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away - --- On Thu, 10/28/10, Bruce Mills wrote: > Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away > > October 28, 2010 > > One of B.C.'s most spirited defenders of sportsmen's rights > has died. > > Bill Otway, 75, passed away in Merritt early on Oct. 17 I don't think I've ever heard of him. Yours in TYRANNY! Bruce ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:56:44 -0400 From: Yvon Dionne Subject: Re: Quebec is it as always ? Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:16:27 -0600 From: Bill Farion Subject: Re: quebec Hi, Well, the problem you have, as always, is Quebec! And those socialist bastards! ====================================== I would like to remind to this writer that Quebec was not always the same, although the Duplessis regime was successful on a strong alliance between the worst elements of our society and an ideology favorable to investment. Even today, it is really divided, the lieberal government of John James Charest (his real name) is trying to play games on the two sides of statism and nationalism. But Quebecers have no choice. Mario Dumont was not «the expected one», and he was not worth it. I put it strongly that if there is to be a separate Quebec, it must be run by a transitional government, keeping aside all political parties. There will be so many social upheavals that I advice to take the means in the event. It is true that Quebec receives more in transfer payments in total, but not per capita. And many Quebecers, like Maxime Bernier and Pierre Lemieux, I want to put an end to this sort of slavery. We have to assume what we want. And if the socialists do not want to pay, just to bad ! Quebec is glutted with social and union strife that the Révolution tranquille and all the new garbage organisations (most often subsidised) have created. If there is to be a clean-up, it must be short, clean and efficient. Yvon Dionne http://www.yvondionne.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:15:22 -0600 From: Larry James Fillo Subject: re-Capt. Semrau Here is my letter to the Prime Minister regarding Capt. Semrau. Those who feel likewise should also do so. An actual letter in an envelope, no postage required gets the most attention. ================================================================= The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada Langevin Building 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario; K1A 0A6 Re Captain Robert Semrau Dear Mr. Prime Minister: I am writing to ask that you use your authority, via an Order-In-Council, to set aside Captains Semrau's sentence and to re-instate him into the Canadian Armed Forces. I think that he never should have been subject to Court Martial for his actions on the battlefield. His sentence is most certainly unfair. Officers serving in combat must make decisions involving life and death under the most trying of circumstances. Our Canadian military tradition understood this. Captain Semrau acted within that honourable tradition, one that also includes mercy. This Court Martial endangers those who serve, our missions, present and future, and certainly Canadians and our allies,for whose benefit they fight. Giving officers the responsibility for making decisions during combat, we also must allow them the flexibility to do so unrestrained by the unrealistic, utopian, legal straightjackets so popular among Ottawa bureaucrats. Best regards Larry James Fillo ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:27:32 -0400 (EDT) From: Rob Sciuk Subject: letter to owen sound times (just submitted) Dear Sir/Madame, Letter writer Geoff Goetz takes up a fair bit of print apologizing for the gun registry, but clearly he doesn't understand either the law, nor the reason why it is so hated by responsible firearm owners, nor why it has absolutely no effect upon criminals. In order for the Federal government to claim jurisdiction over the registration of firearms, they had to make it a crime to own one, and did so in 1995 under sections 91 and 92 of the criminal code. This means that law abiding citizens are one license expiration away from criminal charges, stiff fines, ruinous legal expenses and up to ten years in a federal prison simply for failing to produce a piece of paper, and in the absence of anything a reasonable citizen would recognize as a criminal offense. As for getting your property back if your firearms were stolen, you're just as likely to face criminal proceedings for "unsafe storage", and ALLOWING your guns to be stolen. In the case of one hapless firearm owner away on vacation, thieves spent three days with a cutting torch breaking into his lockup, and yet the owner was charged with a criminal offense. It is very difficult indeed to understand why this law was passed in the first place if not to totally disarm the law abiding citizens, and to give free reign to criminals. Don't try to rationalize the irrational. Sincerely, Robert S. Sciuk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:26:43 -0700 From: Christopher di Armani Subject: Re: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes On 2010-10-28 2:29 PM, Bruce Mills wrote: > --- On Thu, 10/28/10, Bruce Mills wrote: > >> Defender of hunting and fishing right passes away >> >> October 28, 2010 >> >> One of B.C.'s most spirited defenders of sportsmen's rights >> has died. >> >> Bill Otway, 75, passed away in Merritt early on Oct. 17 > I don't think I've ever heard of him. He was very active out here in BC. Was a long-time activist with the BC Wildlife Federation primarily on fishing issues, at least when I knew him. - -- Yours in Liberty, Christopher di Armani christopher@diArmani.com http://www.diArmani.com Sign up for Katey Montague's Rights and Freedom Bulletin today at http://KateysFirearmsFacts.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:51:28 -0700 From: "Jim Pook" Subject: RE: Merritt News - Defender of hunting and fishing right passes I knew Bill Otway, even though I have never met him in person. I used to trade emails with him regarding various issues around fishing. Here is what Rafe Mair had to say about his friend Bill Otway: A heartwarming tribute from one old fisherman to another. Rafe Mair. BILL OTWAY - IN MEMORIAM It's with great sadness I learned of the death of Bill Otway, the sports fisherman's constant warrior. Bill was a mainstay of the BC Wildlife Association and its executive director for many years. I got to know Bill when I was a BC cabinet minister and I was one of three to hold a hearing on the Revelstoke Dam even though it was irreversible. The BC Hydro lawyer was giving evidence and was consistently asked by Bill what would happen to a certain strain of Rainbow trout. He so exasperated the lawyer with this question he finally spluttered out "For God's sake Mr Otway, we already destroyed that species with the Mica Dam!" Here's a "now it can be told" story. The government I was in with one exception (me) couldn't care less about fish and the problems associated with them. I got a call from Bill one day in the Spring of 1979 when I was Environment Minister. He told me that the BC Wildlife Association was going under. As I remember it was $75,000 in the hole. I told Bill that I would do what I could but that I wasn't hopeful. Serendipitously, at the next Cabinet meeting we learned that because we had joined the national lottery, (649), all of a sudden we had a bunch of cash outside the budget. What to do? In the nothing ventured, nothing gained mode I out the case for the BCWF and told my colleagues about their problem. I told my colleagues that these folks didn't support the Socreds because we wouldn't listen to them. To my enormous surprise the Premier asked "what was the amount again, Rafe?" I told him it was $75,000 and Bennett said, I think we should do it and even though the rest of the room though he and I had lost our minds it was agreed. We were 18 in number but we knew that if the guy at the end of the table wanted something, the vote was suddenly 19-18! I must here digress for a moment. The City of Seattle had the right under an old deal with BC to raise the Ross Dam on their part of the Skagit river near Hope which would have flooded the river on our side, built a sizeable lake and destroyed a beautiful drifting, canoeing and fishing river. This came to a head at the same time and I told Bennett that this simply couldn't happen on my watch. He directed me to go to Seattle, and buy them off, which I did. With the saving of the Skagit and the BCWF we gained a lot of Brownie points. This was all in April of 1979 and an election was far from my mind as we'd been less than 3 years in power. When, right after these two events, Bennett called an election I was as surprised as the rest of my colleagues and the media. I don't say and will not believe that Bill Bennett called an election because he had catered so grandly to the outdoors voters. He knew I was an environmentalist when he appointed me and while he certainly couldn't have forecast the BCWF and Skagit issues, he knew that industry was not going to like having me in this position. At any rate, the same time as the election BCWF, in its news letter, praised Bill and me to the skies and that sure as hell didn't hurt! I can tell you that after touring much of the province helping out colleagues, I have no doubt that if we hadn't done what we did, the very close election would have gone the other way! Bill Otway, then, quite without intending it, may well have kept us in power. I saw a lot of Bill during the 80s when he took the boys from the hugely popular TV show, "Dallas", hunting and fishing. In fact I chaired at least one fundraiser for the BCWF when Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Steve Kanaly and Howard Keel were on hand. I did some radio interviews of them, I think all of them. Bill Otway and I went to Sweden to look at animal issues and how they handled them. We flew to London First Class (those days have gone!). Bill was a rough diamond and as we sat down I kidded Bill saying that if he behaved himself I promised not to tell anyone he'd flown in the front cabin. I was joking, of course, and his rejoinder was that worse than this, he didn't want anyone to know he'd flown with a god damned Socred cabinet minister! As we were landing, Bill did something that we kidded about almost every time we met, in private and in public - he barfed his dinner and teeth into the barf bag! My reply to this interesting development was " and you were doing so well, Bill"! Bill loved the story. Maybe you had to be there! Bill always knew his brief and took care to be fully informed. That's how he was able to speak for outdoors issues so well and was such a formidable debater. He was a consistent battler against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and one need only talk to former senior scientists from that department to know how much they respected Bill and how much they wished the politicians would listen. Bill Otway had all the ingredients to carry the burdens he did - smart, stubborn, fearless and a thoroughly decent man. British Columbia lost something it can ill afford - a wise man who said what he thought, when he thought it, and without concern for whom he might offend. Bill Otway is owed a huge debt of gratitude by us all. Our hearts go out to Carol and the rest of his family. Rest in peace, friend. Jim Pook Vancouver Island-North ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 07:29:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Mark L Horstead Subject: Re: re-Capt. Semrau > From: Larry James Fillo > Subject: re-Capt. Semrau > To: cdn-firearms-digest@scorpion.bogend.ca > Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 6:15 PM > Here is my letter to the Prime > Minister regarding Capt. Semrau. > Those who feel likewise should also do so. An actual letter > in an envelope, no postage required gets the most attention. > > ============================================================= > The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper, P.C., M.P. > Prime Minister of Canada > Langevin Building > 80 Wellington Street > Ottawa, Ontario; K1A 0A6 > > Re Captain Robert Semrau > > Dear Mr. Prime Minister: > > I am writing to ask that you use your authority, via an > Order-In-Council, > to set aside Captains Semrau's sentence and to re-instate > him into > the Canadian Armed Forces. Actually, 2Lt Semrau now. > I think that he never should have been subject to Court > Martial for > his actions on the battlefield. A trial had to proceed. There was no other choice for the CF. A law had allegedly been broken, and this could not have been ignored or it would have festered like the Somalia incidents. The alternative would have been public, political, and media charges of "cover-up". > His sentence is most certainly unfair. Is it? If his conviction is legitimate, and the panel had good reasons for deciding as it did, then his sentence is considerably lighter than it could have been. A finding of innocence on all charges was probably extremely difficult. > Officers serving in combat must make decisions involving > life and > death under the most trying of circumstances. And one of those "most trying of circumstances" is to conduct oneself morally and within the law. That can be a hard thing to do. 2Lt (regardless of whether or not I agree with his reduction in rank) knew the law, and made a conscious choice to disregard it. While his action may (or may not) have been morally correct, it was still plainly unlawful. > Our Canadian military tradition understood this. Captain Semrau acted > within that honourable tradition, one that also includes mercy. Some of us agree with what he did. Some of us do not. Most, if not all, of us have a lot of sympathy for his situation and circumstances at the time. All of us are thankful that we were not in it, having to face, and live with, such a decision and resulting action. Not all of us can honestly say for certain that we would have acted any differently had we been in his place. > This Court Martial endangers those who serve, our missions, > present and future, and certainly Canadians and our > allies, for whose benefit they fight. No, it does not. > Giving officers the responsibility for making decisions > during combat, we also must allow them the flexibility to > do so unrestrained by the unrealistic, utopian, legal > straightjackets so popular among Ottawa bureaucrats. There is plenty of flexibility, but the laws and regulations and Rules of Engagement (ROEs) with which we live and work are there for good reason. In my experience, they strike a pretty reasonable balance. All ranks are taught them, and nobody who has acted in accordance with them has been charged with any offence. They have not, to the best of my knowledge, interfered with effectively conducting operations. Allowing free reign is not desireable for moral, ethical, and operational reasons. ROEs are issued under the authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff, not an "Ottawa bureaucrat", and are specifically written for the operation being conducted. The current and former CDS have both had to work within ROEs issued for previous operations through their careers and are certainly aware of the implications of any that they authorize. Note that a Court Martial verdict can be appealed, in which case it moves into the civil court system. The choice to appeal or not is up to 2Lt Semrau. This has cost us a fine Officer, with an excellent reputation in two Armies up until this incident, and that fine Officer his career and livelihood. He was, however, responsible for his actions at all times and he was fully aware of that. The consequences are his to bear. We are all aware of our responsibility, extremely aware, and it is not a light one. I believe that he did what he genuinely thought to be right, and for humane reasons. I hope that he finds peace and fulfilment. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, October 29, 2010 12:10 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: USA TODAY: Safety prompts police to quit using Remington 700 rifles USA TODAY - OCTOBER 29, 2010 Safety prompts police to quit using Remington 700 rifles By Scott Cohn, Senior Correspondent, CNBC http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2010-10-29-remington-folo-portland_N.htm The police department in Portland, Maine, has become the latest law enforcement agency to stop using a popular sniper rifle over concerns the gun can go off without the trigger being pulled. The rifle, the Remington 700, is the subject of a CNBC documentary, "Remington Under Fire: A CNBC Investigation," which revealed thousands of customer complaints, including from Portland police in 2009. Police Chief James Craig told the Portland Press Herald he was unaware how many other complaints there were until he viewed the CNBC report. "I don't want to run the risk of having an accidental discharge like this where it puts an officer's or community member's life in danger," Chief Craig told the newspaper. He later confirmed to CNBC that the department's five Remington 700s have been taken out of service. SEE THE PROGRAM: It airs again Sunday Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. ET on CNBC. The CNBC program included video taken by Portland snipers and obtained by the network showing a rifle going off repeatedly when an officer touched the bolt. Chief Craig told the newspaper that the department had contacted Remington about the problem but was told the weapons were no longer under warranty. Remington insists the popular rifle is safe, and in a statement for the CNBC program the company said that neither its own experts nor experts hired by plaintiffs' lawyers "has ever been able to duplicate such an event on rifles that had been properly maintained or have not been altered after sale." But Chief Craig told the newspaper the department's rifles were properly maintained and had not been altered or adjusted. He did say that of the department's five rifles, only the one shown in the video had malfunctioned. The Portland department is not the first agency to stop using the rifles. The police department in Kissimmee, FL, sold its 700s after one inadvertently went off during a drug raid in 2005, according to a department spokeswoman. And the national police force in New Zealand also stopped using the rifles due to safety concerns, officials told CNBC. Versions of the rifle are also used by the U.S. military, and documents obtained by CNBC under the Freedom of Information Act show that inadvertent discharges of rifles at the Marine sniper training school at Camp Lejeune, NC, became such a concern, they led to meetings between Marine officials and Remington representatives in 2003, and eventually to changes in Marine Corps procedures for handling the rifles. The Army recently awarded Remington a new contract for as many as 3,600 new sniper rifles, worth up to $28 million. "For nearly fifty years, the Remington Model 700 rifle has been the preferred choice for millions of hunters, shooting sports enthusiasts and military and law enforcement personnel," Remington said in its earlier statement. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, October 29, 2010 2:04 pm From: "M.J. Ackermann, MD" Subject: Grocer found not guilty http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/10/29/chen-verdict.html My goodness,, do I smell fresh air at last? Toronto Chinatown grocer found not guilty Last Updated: Friday, October 29, 2010 | 4:02 PM ET Comments520Recommend275 CBC News David Chen, centre, flanked by MP Olivia Chow and his lawyer, David Lindsay, shows his relief Friday after being found not guilty on charges of assault and forcible confinement.David Chen, centre, flanked by MP Olivia Chow and his lawyer, David Lindsay, shows his relief Friday after being found not guilty on charges of assault and forcible confinement. (Patrick Morrell/CBC) A Toronto Chinatown grocer and his two co-accused have been found not guilty on charges of assault and forcible confinement. David Chen, his cousin and his nephew were all charged in the case, which received national attention when it was discovered the trio were arrested after catching a thief who tried to steal from their store. When their trial began earlier this month, all three pleaded not guilty. On Friday, in delivering his verdict, Justice Ramez Khawly told the court that the case had become a cause celebre, garnering attention from coast to coast. He was critical of both the prosecution and the defence, but in the end he dismissed the charges against all three defendants. Khawly said the accused were justified under the law in making the arrest. Storeowners in Toronto's Chinatown say they're victimized daily by shoplifters and when they report the crimes police do not respond quickly enough. They claimed Chen was the real victim. Outside the courtroom a happy, relieved Chen faced a crowd of reporters and said, "I feel very, very, good." With his local NDP MP, Olivia Chow, acting as intepreter, he told reporters he hopes the attention the case has drawn to the shoplifitng laws will lead to changes. Supporters of grocery store owner David Chen stand outside Toronto's Old City Hall court on Friday morning. Supporters of grocery store owner David Chen stand outside Toronto's Old City Hall court on Friday morning. (Cheryl Krawchuk/CBC) "It will be good," he said in Cantonese, "if the law can change so storeowners are protected." He added, "I just want to say thank you to everyone." The charges stem from a May 23, 2009, incident in which Chen, owner of the Lucky Moose Food Mart on Dundas Street West, and the others apprehended a man who had been stealing plants from the store. The man who was nabbed by Chen, Anthony Bennett, pleaded guilty in August 2009 to stealing from the store and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Bennett was initially caught on security footage stealing from the store, but he returned an hour later. At that time, Chen, 36, and the two employees tied up the man and locked him in the back of a delivery van. When police arrived, they charged Chen with kidnapping, carrying a dangerous weapon — a boxcutter — assault, and forcible confinement. Crown prosecutors later dropped the kidnapping and weapon charges, but proceeded with the charges of forcible confinement and assault. According to the Criminal Code, a property owner can only make a citizen's arrest if the alleged wrongdoer is caught in the act. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/10/29/chen-verdict.html#ixzz13n2QLxTH - -- M.J. Ackermann, MD (Mike) Rural Family Physician, Sherbrooke, NS Canada mikeack@ns.sympatico.ca "Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst". ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V14 #155 *********************************** 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".)