Cdn-Firearms Digest Saturday, October 22 2011 Volume 14 : Number 729 In this issue: Gun registry insult to rural Canadians CBC - Hey, what happened to that long-gun registry bill? Tories poised to loosen self-defence laws Time to share resource wealth [property rights] Young pentathlete qualifies for Olympics; early shooting ... Tories poised to loosen self-defence laws Stop feeding the wildlife ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, October 22, 2011 8:31 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Gun registry insult to rural Canadians THE BARRIE EXAMINER - OCTOBER 22, 2011 Gun registry insult to rural Canadians By Jim Merriam, QMI Agency http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3342900 It seems fitting that the federal government is about to bury the long gun registry about the same time that a lot of Canadians - law abiding Canadians - - are getting ready to use those same guns in the annual fall hunt. This hunt, among others, is the main reason that long guns exist in this country. Criminals tend to favour easier-to-conceal handguns, which have been strictly controlled in Canada since the 1930s. Certainly long guns have been used in the commission of crimes, but they tend to be less popular among the criminal element. Figures from Statistics Canada indicate that in 2006 there were 605 homicides. Handguns accounted for 108, or 57%, of the 190 victims killed by a firearm. Of the remaining 82 victims, 36 were killed by a rifle or shotgun, 24 by a sawed-off rifle or shotgun (illegal weapons in Canada) and 22 by another or unknown type of firearm. Getting back to the legitimate use of long guns - the big-game hunt - it's difficult to describe from an Ontario-wide perspective, since seasons open and close around the province about as fast as office doors at quitting time. Moose season has come and gone in many parts of the north, with most of the moose continuing to live the life of leisure to which they had become accustomed before the hunt. At least, that's the case if anecdotal reports from bush country are to be believed. Deer season is about to open in southern Ontario, with various seasons for different parts of the region. Detailed information about seasons by region and hunting regulations can be found at www.mnr.gov.on.ca The length of the hunt also varies, with the type of weapon being used by the hunter. Black powder seasons normally are open longer to users of those firearms, based on old-style weapons. Bow hunters, too, have the advantage of a longer season. But back to the long guns, this is the time of year they are pulled from their cases, oiled up and sighted in for the annual hunting of deer. It was just one year ago that long gun owners were heading out to bush country disappointed that the House of Commons had just defeated a minority Conservative attempt to scrap the registry. With minority having changed to majority and the registry on its last legs, the mood around hunting camps will be quite different this year. The distaste for the registry among a lot of rural Canadians was never understood by registry advocates. It was full of irritants, but it was not hated because it cost a few bucks to register weapons. Nor was it hated because of the time it took to do the paperwork or the renewals. It was hated for the simple reason that rural Canadians took it as an insult. The registry meant that their government did not trust them. Even though they had always been law-abiding citizens, they were being treated no better than the most dangerous gangsters on the streets of Toronto or Edmonton or Montreal. In fact, if you looked up "salt of the earth" in a dictionary you might find pictures of these people, who now were seeing themselves being made out to be potential criminals. Over many years these folks, particularly those in the rural parts of the country, had earned the respect of their government. And they were deeply disturbed that they did not get it. jmerriam@bmts.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, October 22, 2011 8:33 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: CBC - Hey, what happened to that long-gun registry bill? CBC - Hey, what happened to that long-gun registry bill? October 21, 2011 2:39 PM | Comments 26 By Janyce McGregor, Inside Politics Blog http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/inside-politics-blog/2011/10/hey-what-happened-to-that-long-gun-registry-bill.html On Tuesday, the government gave notice of its intent to introduce legislation to repeal the long-gun registry. Once this tip o' the hand is made on the notice paper, the bill may be introduced in the House of Commons after 48 hours. So some sources suggested and some media reported (mea culpa) that the legislation was coming on or as early as Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, we were told they were "dotting i's and crossing t's" on the bill. It's now Friday, and we've seen no bill. What happened? Well, maybe nothing. Perhaps from a government communications or legislative strategy point of view, another day was deemed more suitable for kicking off the government's latest, and likely now final, attempt to kill the long-gun registry. But when? Government House Leader Peter Van Loan was coy when CBC asked him about it today. "We'll introduce it when we introduce it, and as for the specific date, you can perhaps ask the minister, but I think that we'll be doing it very soon." We also asked Van Loan whether the bill would match the wording found in the private members bill to kill the registry that very nearly passed in the last Parliament. Van Loan demurred again. "You'll have to see it when you see it," he said. "I can't talk about the details of legislation when it's on notice, you know that." Over then to Candice Hoeppner, the Manitoba Conservative who brought forward the previous bill, which came within two votes of passing a year ago. Perhaps she'd know the rough timeline, given her new role as the parliamentary secretary to the public safety minister and her obvious keen interest in the issue. "It is a priority for this government," she assures us. "I don't want to give any specific dates. It's going to be up to the house leader [Van Loan!] to decide. But because it's a priority... I'm looking forward to it coming very quickly." We also asked Hoeppner whether the government intended to move it through the House before, say, New Year's, like what's intended for the wheat board legislation or the omnibus crime bill. "I don't know that would happen," Hoeppner said. "There's going to be the regular process that it goes through in terms of debate and committee but thankfully we have the majority so all of the Conservatives will be voting obviously in support of it so we'll be able to get it through in the way that it normally would." It doesn't sound like they're in a hurry. And perhaps we shouldn't expect them to be. The Conservative election platform said it would pass other priority crime bills within 100 sitting days of Parliament. But it promised no such hurry-up offence on the long-gun registry. When asked whether the new bill would reflect any changes from the previous bill, Hoeppner stuck to the line that what they promised to Canadians "is ending the registry so that's what we're going to fulfil." Hoeppner says the government continues to hear from stakeholders on both sides of the issue and she welcomed their opinions. She also didn't entirely rule out going beyond what the previous bill called for, either initially or later on. "If there are other things that need to be done in terms of (gun) licensing, we're going to listen to all reasonable proposals and maybe see what we need to do later on." So we continue to wait. Maybe next week? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, October 22, 2011 8:49 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Tories poised to loosen self-defence laws EDMONTON JOURNAL - OCTOBER 22, 2011 Tories poised to loosen self-defence laws BY JEFF DAVIS, POSTMEDIA NEWS http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Tories+poised+loosen+self+defence+laws/5591460/story.html The Harper government has pledged to alter Canada's laws governing self defence, with an eye to giving citizens increased latitude to protect themselves and their property. In recent years, Canadians who have used violence - and especially firearms - have often faced criminal charges for their actions. When Ian Thomson awoke one night in August 2010 to find three men throwing firebombs at his rural home in Southwest Ontario, he got out his revolver and fired a few warning shots in the air, scattering the attackers. Police later seized his guns, and laid criminal charges of pointing a firearm and unsafe storage on the 53-year-old, while his assailants were charged with arson. The case is still before the courts. Only a small handful of Canadians in recent years - including jewelry store owner Dennis Galloway - have used a gun in self defence and were not charged as a result. When robbers burst into his shop in Port Alberni, B.C., and pointed a gun to his wife's head, Galloway took a pistol from his safe. The longtime target shooter killed one robber, and severely wounded the other. The RCMP recommended charges of unsafe storage and careless use of a firearm be laid against Galloway in the 2009 shooting, but the Crown refused. The federal government has said it will move quickly to re-introduce the Citizens Arrest and Self Defence act, which was tabled in February but died on the order paper with the closure of the 40th Parliament. The law would permit people threatened with violence to commit a reasonable act to protect themselves or others, as well as use force to protect their property from theft, damage or trespass. - ------------------------------ House Government Bill - 40th Parliament, 3rd Session March 3, 2010 - March 26, 2011 C-60 - AN ACT TO AMEND THE CRIMINAL CODE (CITIZEN'S ARREST AND THE DEFENCES OF PROPERTY AND PERSONS) Short Title: Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act http://www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&billId=4963242 SUMMARY: This enactment amends the Criminal Code to enable a person who owns or has lawful possession of property, or persons authorized by them, to arrest within a reasonable time a person whom they find committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property. It also amends the Criminal Code to simplify the provisions relating to the defences of property and persons. Text of the Bill: http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/403/Government/C-60/C-60_1/C-60_1.PDF LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT - MARCH 30, 2011 Legislative Summary of Bill C-60: The Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act* By Robin MacKay, Legal and Legislative Affairs Division Parliamentary Information and Research Service http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/LegislativeSummaries/bills_ls.asp?Language=E&ls=C60&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3&source=library_prb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:34:23 -0600 From: "Joe Gingrich" Subject: Time to share resource wealth [property rights] http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Time+share+resource+wealth/5590893/story.html Time to share resource wealth By Doug Cuthand, Special to The StarPhoenix October 22, 2011 Aboriginal and First Nations issues are largely absent from this provincial election campaign. So far the only issue that has raised any eyebrows is the commitment by the NDP to negotiate a resource revenue sharing arrangement with the First Nations. NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter was speaking to an audience on the Red Pheasant First Nation when he stated that it was an idea whose time has come. Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall categorically rejected sharing resource revenues with First Nations or any other group, stating that the province's resources belonged to all Saskatchewan's people. Lingenfelter's proposal was quickly absorbed into the campaign rhetoric, along with commitments from both sides for health care, education and so on. But resource revenue sharing is an issue that will not go away in Indian Country. While the NDP's position will resonate with First Nations voters, it will most likely be viewed negatively by the rest of the voters. For years our leaders have been aware that natural resources across the provinces were not negotiated away at the time of treaty making, but continue to be unfinished business. The issue was raised in the in 1970s with Key Lake board of inquiry. At the time the province was conducting hearings about the upcoming uranium development in northern Saskatchewan. The FSIN raised issues of resource ownership, but it was brushed aside. The topic was ignored or dealt with in the negative, but was never discussed seriously. I feel it was apparent that the First Nations had legitimate concerns. However, the prospect of the government receiving considerable revenue from uranium mining was too great - never mind from potash, oil and other minerals. Discussing revenue sharing would have opened a can of worms, and it was better to ignore it and hope it would go away. When the numbered treaties were negotiated in Saskatchewan in the 1870s, the resources under the ground were never discussed. At the time the government had no idea that Western Canada was a treasure trove of oil, potash, uranium and base minerals. The only mineral it was interested in was coal, which was the fuel for the railways. The government's vision was to open the West to agricultural settlement. The oral history on the First Nations side includes a question from a chief in the Treaty 4 negotiations, who asked about what lay under the ground. He was told that the government only wanted land to the depth of a plow, and his question would be dealt with at a later date. The issue was never discussed in any other subsequent treaty negotiations. So, ownership of the minerals and the wealth that lay under the earth remained unaddressed and wasn't part of the treaty agreements. Any lawyer will tell you that if an item is silent in a contract, it remains with the original owner. For example, if you buy a house and the deal clearly states that you are only purchasing the house and land, you can't expect to get the car in the garage. It's not part of the agreement. Successive federal governments have simply assumed they owned everything. The 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Agreement gave the mineral rights to the three Prairie provinces, without any consideration of the rights of the First Nations. At that time our leaders raised the issue, but they were unable to get a fair hearing. They were basically ignored. There are other treaty issues that have simmered for years. Outstanding treaty land entitlement was an issue that the First Nations leadership fought for years. It had to be dealt with eventually, and a very fair settlement was negotiated. No doubt the resource revenue sharing will be another one of those issues. It might be taken to court, or other cases will open the door. In any event, the process will most likely be a negotiated settlement. This revenue should come with no strings attached, and be used for land acquisition, business development and investment. With this "heritage fund," First Nations could become serious players in Saskatchewan's and Canada's economy. As far as First Nations people are concerned, we own 100 per cent of the mineral wealth in Saskatchewan. However, we're willing to negotiate the province's share. That sounds reasonable to me. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, October 22, 2011 10:53 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Young pentathlete qualifies for Olympics; early shooting ... ... practice at a neighbourhood public school Modern Pentathlon 101 http://www.pentathloncanada.ca/pentathlon-101/default.aspx Modern pentathlon was introduced as a new sport with the resurgence of the modern Olympics in the early 1900s. Pierre de Coubertin (the founder of the modern Olympics) selected pentathlon to mirror the ancient Greek pentathlon, which consisted of running, javelin, discus, long jump, and wrestling. The events chosen for modern pentathlon represent the diverse attributes of a Napoleonic officer, including: - - Fitness (running and swimming), - - Control and concentration (shooting), - - Agility and speed (fencing), and - - Determination, adaptability and courage (riding and jumping on an unfamiliar horse). OTTAWA CITIZEN - OCTOBER 22, 2011 4th-place finish qualifies for Olympics Young pentathlete trains without federal help - just supportive parents By Martin Cleary, Ottawa Citizen October 22, 2011 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/place+finish+qualifies+Olympics/5590409/story.html As a 14-year-old girl, Melanie McCann considered herself a two-sport athlete. In the community, she was a competitive swimmer. At South Huron District High School in Exeter, Ont., she was a cross-country and track runner. But watching from afar, Baird Robinson, who taught and coached at St. Anne's Catholic Secondary School in Clinton, Ont., had a different athletic vision for her. And he had to share that idea with her. Robinson contacted the South Huron principal, who directed him to her mother, who talked to McCann. When McCann and Robinson had their first conversation eight years ago, he asked her if she would be interested in training to be an athlete in the sport of modern pentathlon, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in the Summer Olympics during the 2012 Games in London. Having an open mind and liking the challenge, McCann was all about learning how to train and compete in five sports - equestrian riding, swimming, fencing, shooting and running - - for a one-day competition. It was one of the best decisions of her young life as McCann qualified last weekend to represent Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics. "He planted the seed. I'm glad he approached me," she said in a telephone interview. "Every Saturday for the rest of that (first) summer, I'd be out at his place. My first fencing (épée) lesson was in his driveway." For her early shooting practice with an air pistol pellet gun, they would go into an empty gymnasium at a neighbourhood public school on Saturday nights. The long journey had begun, but eight years later McCann made the grade for her first Olympics by finishing fourth in women's modern pentathlon last weekend during the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Olympics will have a select field of 36 competitors. Scoring top-five performances in the opening fencing and swimming competitions, she finished with 4,876 points, missing the bronze medal by 80 points. Margaux Isaksen of the United States won the fencing and the combined shooting and running to post a winning score of 5,356 points. McCann, who moved to Ottawa from Mount Carmel, Ont., a year ago to train with national modern pentathlon coach John Hawes of Stittsville, was ecstatic about qualifying for her first Olympics. "I was so thrilled I achieved my goal," she said. "I knew it was very much possible to be in the top four. That was the goal and I'm happy." When the nine-hour, single-day competition was finished and she realized she had finished fourth after the combined shoot and run, which meant fourth overall, she was "completely shocked" about being able to swing from the Olympic rings. "I looked to my coach and I looked to my family for confirmation," she recalled. "I was overwhelmed. It was an incredible moment. It was 'Oh, my God.' Did I do it? Yes, I did it." McCann opened the Pan Am Games smartly, finishing third in the two-touch épée fencing competition. She had 21 wins and 11 defeats against her 16 opponents. "I battled nerves at the beginning. It was a rough start, but I cleaned it up and got back into my groove. I needed to start the day be putting myself at the top of the list," she said. In the swimming pool, she swam the 200-metre freestyle in a shortcourse time of two minutes, 22.56 seconds, which was the fifth-best showing. Drawing one of the most difficult horses for the show jumping ride, McCann had the advantage of watching the other athlete who shared the same horse go before her. When it was her turn, she finished a satisfying 11th. "I was riding for my life," she said. "I was so determined to get over the rails. There were no stops and only three rail knock-downs. I couldn't ask for a better ride." Once held separately, the shooting and running have been combined, much like a biathlon competition. Using a handicap system, Mc-Cann started the combined race third, which put her 1: 06 behind the top two athletes. As soon as she left, the rest of the field was right behind her. "I had the girls biting at my heels," she said. "It was definitely very nerve racking." McCann was calm for the first of three rounds of shooting in the three-lap 3,000-metre rest. She struggled on the second round of shooting the laser pistol to hit five targets. After a solid third round of shooting, she "sprinted the last kilometre" to protect her fourth-place result. "It would have been nice to bring home a medal, but that would have been icing on the cake. I was happy with the Olympic qualifying," said McCann, who can train the next eight months focused on Games preparation. She achieved this without any federal government funding through the Athletic Assistance Program, since she's not ranked in the top 12 in the world, which is de-termined exclusively by a world championship result. And she achieved this without any personal funds, since it's hard to find a part-or full-time job to match her training and competition schedule. "I'm lucky to have supportive parents," offered McCann, who was 34th in the sport's World Cup final, which also was the London Olympic test competition in July. [READ MORE] http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/place+finish+qualifies+Olympics/5590409/story.html Reach Martin Cleary at mcleary@ottawacitizen.com or 613-596-3748. Follow him on Twitter: @MartinCleary ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:30:02 -0700 From: Len Miller Subject: Tories poised to loosen self-defence laws Begin forwarded message: > From: > Date: October 22, 2011 10:19:13 AM PDT (CA) > To: "Len Miller" > Subject: Tories poised to loosen self-defence laws > Reply-To: > > Not completely accurate, but nice to see "maybe" something is > happening...Dennis > http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Tories+poised+loosen+self+defence+laws /5591460/story.html To Jeff Davis reporter Having read your posting on Dennis Galloway ( Port Alberni ) I would caution you . . Dennis did not kill one of the armed robbers ( though he would have been perfectly justified in so doing ) the other got away and has NOT been arrested to this day . The Port Alberni cops failed in their duty to represent the victim/ citizen by finding Galloway as having committed a crime ( of course, you know as a reporter ) . . that crime was a BS 'paper crime' brought on by C-68 . . John Dixon: Which is precisely why it appealed to those putting together the Liberal Red Book for the pivotal 1993 election. If the object of the policy exercise was to appear to be "tougher" on guns than Kim Campbell, they had to find a policy that would provoke legitimate gun- owners to outrage. Nothing would better convince the Liberals' urban constituency that Jean Chrétien and Allan Rock were taking a tough line on guns than the spectacle of angry old men spouting fury on Parliament Hill. The supreme irony of the gun registry battle is that the policy was selected because it would goad people who knew something about guns to public outrage. That is, it had a purely political purpose in the special context of a hard-fought election. The fact that it was bad policy was crucial to the specific political effect it was supposed to deliver. And so we saw demonstrations by middle-aged firearm owners, family men whose first reflex was to respect the laws of the land. This group's political alienation is a far greater loss than the $200-million that have been wasted so far. The creation of this new criminal class -- the ultimate triumph of negative political alchemy -- may be the worst, and most enduring product of the gun registry culture war. John Dixon is a hunter, and president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. From 1991 to 1992, he was adviser to then-deputy minister of justice John Tait. Len Miller: an angry old man from Vancouver Where criminals The UN Gang . . get legal aid and police protection . . but, the law abiding get charged: Ian Thomson Port Colbourne . . Ontario ------------------------------ Date: Sat, October 22, 2011 12:31 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Stop feeding the wildlife FREDERICTON DAILY GLEANER - OCTOBER 22, 2011 Stop feeding the wildlife By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1449939 The City of Fredericton is asking residents to do their part to help reduce the presence of nuisance wildlife within the city limits. Recently, there have been some reports of wildlife, such as coyotes, within the city. Most wildlife comes into the city looking for food and shelter, said city spokesman Wayne Knorr. "By removing the possibility of finding these things, city residents can help keep wildlife away from residential areas." The city suggests securing garbage and trash in bins or sheds and not putting out garbage until the morning of pickup, keep family pets from roaming, and skirting decks or outbuildings, so animals won't be able to shelter beneath them. "If a resident encounters wildlife in their neighbourhood, it is best not to approach the animal but, instead, to make a loud noise and back away slowly. This will allow the animal to escape," Knorr said. "We want residents to be aware of sightings and know what they can do to discourage the presence of nuisance wildlife, as well as how to stay safe," said Coun. Eric Megarity, chairman of the public safety and environment committee. The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources has general responsibility for nuisance wildlife cases involving moose, deer, bear and some species requiring special management. When it comes to smaller nuisance animals, such as coyotes, they suggest calling private wildlife control operators. These operators are licensed to hunt, trap, snare, remove, or relocate nuisance wildlife to prevent damage to private property or injury to the owners or occupants of private land. There is a list of licensed wildlife control operators on the wildlife section of the Department of Natural Resources web site at www.gnb.ca/naturalresources Residents can also call the department at 453-3826. The department also provides an online publication called Living with Coyotes. http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/Wildlife/Coyotes.pdf Living with Coyotes in Nova Scotia http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/pdf/living-with-coyotes.pdf Living with Coyotes in Manitoba http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/wildlife/problem_wildlife/pdf/coyote.pdf Living with Coyotes in Alberta http://www.albertaparks.ca/pubsandmedia/Fish%20Creek%20PP%20WEB_coyotes.pdf Living with Coyotes in Ontario http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@fw/documents/document/290802.pdf ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V14 #729 *********************************** 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".)