scooter
05-20-2008, 09:43 AM
PUBLICATION: Times & Transcript (Moncton)
DATE: 2008.05.20
SECTION: Sports
PAGE: B5
BYLINE: Everett Mosher OUTDOOR LIFE
WORD COUNT: 1158
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What does gun amnesty extension mean to you?
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By now, regular readers of this newspaper are well aware that the Harper government in Ottawa has extended the long gun amnesty that has been in force for the last year. What is new is that as of May 17, the almost 100,000 firearms owners that have allowed their Possession Only Licence (POL) to expire can now renew their POL without penalty. Prior to this those with an expired POL could no longer obtain a new POL, but instead had to obtain a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) by either challenging or taking the Federal Firearm Safety Course.
There are many reasons why a firearms owner would allow their POL to expire, with a large number saying they forgot to do so, despite being mailed at least two reminders from the Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC). Presumably there were a number that did not receive this notification due to moving and not forwarding their new mailing address to the CFC, which, by law, they are required to do.
Others may have sold off or given away all their firearms, or perhaps have died, all of which requires informing the CFC. Yet a significant number are of the belief that the Harper government will do away with the long gun registry. That may or may not happen depending on the outcome of the next federal election. Only if the Harper government wins a clear majority in Parliament will his Conservative government be able to abolish the long gun registry.
If however, the Liberal government were to take power, it's likely that all those protected by the current amnesty would be subject to prosecution under Bill C-68, which in some cases could include jail time. The decision is up to the individual, but in terms of risk management, it's a wise decision to take advantage of this current amnesty. (Firearms owners should also keep in mind that for a short period of time the Liberal Party of Canada had on their list of resolutions number 42 and number 47 that called for the banning of all semi- auto action rifles and shotguns.)
In regards to the risk, its suggested that all those that do not have a firearms licence take the necessary steps to obtain one, those that have allowed their firearms licence to expire to apply for a new licence, and all those that have rifles or shotguns that are not registered to do so before the amnesty expires. It's further suggested that they do so promptly, as a Federal election may be on the books for no later than this fall, with results far from certain.
We also note that Toronto Mayor David Miller is continuing to push for the federal government to ban handguns in Toronto and even all of Ontario. It's clear that Miller is very much a politician. Despite the fact that Toronto has over 70,000 people in desperate need of low-rental housing, and that the city has highways and other infrastructure in great need of upgrading, Miller is instead busy beating the drum and calling for more gun control, perhaps in the hope that this will divert attention away from these other much harder to fix problems.
Any such ban would only affect the law abiding handgun owner and not the criminal. Note that although Britain banned handguns 12 years ago, crime with a firearm in that country has risen substantially. Why not instead ban all criminal activities? Oh, right, we already have that on the books, but we still have criminals committing crimes, and, because they are criminals, they pay no heed whatsoever to any such bans.
The next to catch our attention was the Deputy Chief Firearms Officer Tony Cooper's presentation to the Chief Firearms Officers from across Canada at a conference in Ottawa on May 2 regarding the regulation of ammunition. To quote from this document, "CFO has been requested by the Provincial Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services to conduct a study into the ways that ammunition can be better regulated in Ontario."
It would appear that the intent is to bring about new and stiffer regulations regarding the sale and possession of ammunition with the belief that this would result in fewer firearms, especially handguns, being used for criminal purposes.
This has no more chance of being effective that the current ban on the criminal use of handguns, and would only add an extra burden to all law-abiding citizens that use a firearm for hunting or target shooting.
Any such increased regulation would increase the need for more staff, and would result in empire building within the bureaucracy. We already have rules regarding the sale of ammunition as found in Bill C-68 which requires a purchaser to show their firearms licence, and regulations under the explosives act regarding the possession and storage of ammunition.
In this proposal the CFO is also looking at those that reload their own ammunition. Yet this falls under the authority of the Explosives Division of the Federal government. Only last year after more than a five year review during which all parties concerned had input the conclusion by the Explosives Division was that existing regulations were sufficient and that those that hand- load their own ammunition posed no risk to the general public.
This is a case of the Ontario CFO being given the task of seeking a solution to a problem where no problem exists. Yet we should keep in mind that it was the Provincial Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services that first made the request to the DFO that this be reviewed. Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty is well known for backing Millers efforts to ban handguns in Ontario.
Thus one would suspect that McGuinty is the one behind this, and is doing as Miller is in wanting to appear to the general public as doing something to reduce crime. The CFO's time would be far better spent in helping and assisting firearms owners, which is what they should be doing, rather than involving themselves in a lengthy study that may only add to the current mess of restrictions that are mostly a discouragement to those that either own firearms, or wish to do so.
Last but not least, Alberta now has in place a system that allows an individual to purchase a hunting or fishing licence via the Internet. This is what New Brunswick should have, but we still are relying on paper records and an obsolete system. To step forward and utilize this electronic age would result in significant saving of taxpayer dollars, and be a savings to those who currently have to drive many miles in order to obtain a hunting or fishing licence.
Everett Mosher is a Sackville-based writer and avid outdoorsman. His column appears on Tuesday.
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DATE: 2008.05.20
SECTION: Sports
PAGE: B5
BYLINE: Everett Mosher OUTDOOR LIFE
WORD COUNT: 1158
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What does gun amnesty extension mean to you?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By now, regular readers of this newspaper are well aware that the Harper government in Ottawa has extended the long gun amnesty that has been in force for the last year. What is new is that as of May 17, the almost 100,000 firearms owners that have allowed their Possession Only Licence (POL) to expire can now renew their POL without penalty. Prior to this those with an expired POL could no longer obtain a new POL, but instead had to obtain a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) by either challenging or taking the Federal Firearm Safety Course.
There are many reasons why a firearms owner would allow their POL to expire, with a large number saying they forgot to do so, despite being mailed at least two reminders from the Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC). Presumably there were a number that did not receive this notification due to moving and not forwarding their new mailing address to the CFC, which, by law, they are required to do.
Others may have sold off or given away all their firearms, or perhaps have died, all of which requires informing the CFC. Yet a significant number are of the belief that the Harper government will do away with the long gun registry. That may or may not happen depending on the outcome of the next federal election. Only if the Harper government wins a clear majority in Parliament will his Conservative government be able to abolish the long gun registry.
If however, the Liberal government were to take power, it's likely that all those protected by the current amnesty would be subject to prosecution under Bill C-68, which in some cases could include jail time. The decision is up to the individual, but in terms of risk management, it's a wise decision to take advantage of this current amnesty. (Firearms owners should also keep in mind that for a short period of time the Liberal Party of Canada had on their list of resolutions number 42 and number 47 that called for the banning of all semi- auto action rifles and shotguns.)
In regards to the risk, its suggested that all those that do not have a firearms licence take the necessary steps to obtain one, those that have allowed their firearms licence to expire to apply for a new licence, and all those that have rifles or shotguns that are not registered to do so before the amnesty expires. It's further suggested that they do so promptly, as a Federal election may be on the books for no later than this fall, with results far from certain.
We also note that Toronto Mayor David Miller is continuing to push for the federal government to ban handguns in Toronto and even all of Ontario. It's clear that Miller is very much a politician. Despite the fact that Toronto has over 70,000 people in desperate need of low-rental housing, and that the city has highways and other infrastructure in great need of upgrading, Miller is instead busy beating the drum and calling for more gun control, perhaps in the hope that this will divert attention away from these other much harder to fix problems.
Any such ban would only affect the law abiding handgun owner and not the criminal. Note that although Britain banned handguns 12 years ago, crime with a firearm in that country has risen substantially. Why not instead ban all criminal activities? Oh, right, we already have that on the books, but we still have criminals committing crimes, and, because they are criminals, they pay no heed whatsoever to any such bans.
The next to catch our attention was the Deputy Chief Firearms Officer Tony Cooper's presentation to the Chief Firearms Officers from across Canada at a conference in Ottawa on May 2 regarding the regulation of ammunition. To quote from this document, "CFO has been requested by the Provincial Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services to conduct a study into the ways that ammunition can be better regulated in Ontario."
It would appear that the intent is to bring about new and stiffer regulations regarding the sale and possession of ammunition with the belief that this would result in fewer firearms, especially handguns, being used for criminal purposes.
This has no more chance of being effective that the current ban on the criminal use of handguns, and would only add an extra burden to all law-abiding citizens that use a firearm for hunting or target shooting.
Any such increased regulation would increase the need for more staff, and would result in empire building within the bureaucracy. We already have rules regarding the sale of ammunition as found in Bill C-68 which requires a purchaser to show their firearms licence, and regulations under the explosives act regarding the possession and storage of ammunition.
In this proposal the CFO is also looking at those that reload their own ammunition. Yet this falls under the authority of the Explosives Division of the Federal government. Only last year after more than a five year review during which all parties concerned had input the conclusion by the Explosives Division was that existing regulations were sufficient and that those that hand- load their own ammunition posed no risk to the general public.
This is a case of the Ontario CFO being given the task of seeking a solution to a problem where no problem exists. Yet we should keep in mind that it was the Provincial Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services that first made the request to the DFO that this be reviewed. Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty is well known for backing Millers efforts to ban handguns in Ontario.
Thus one would suspect that McGuinty is the one behind this, and is doing as Miller is in wanting to appear to the general public as doing something to reduce crime. The CFO's time would be far better spent in helping and assisting firearms owners, which is what they should be doing, rather than involving themselves in a lengthy study that may only add to the current mess of restrictions that are mostly a discouragement to those that either own firearms, or wish to do so.
Last but not least, Alberta now has in place a system that allows an individual to purchase a hunting or fishing licence via the Internet. This is what New Brunswick should have, but we still are relying on paper records and an obsolete system. To step forward and utilize this electronic age would result in significant saving of taxpayer dollars, and be a savings to those who currently have to drive many miles in order to obtain a hunting or fishing licence.
Everett Mosher is a Sackville-based writer and avid outdoorsman. His column appears on Tuesday.
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