CUFOA

Canadian Unlicensed Firearms Owners Association
Association canadienne des propriétaires d’armes sans permis

Resolutions Unanimously Adopted by the Saskatoon-Meewasin Constituency Board on Wednesday, 13 August 2008, for submission to the Saskatchewan Party Convention, November 2008.

Approved Resolutions with Background Information

Resolution One:
Saskatchewan Bill of Rights: A new or revised, improved Saskatchewan Bill of Rights

Ownership of property forms the basis of Western civilization.

Beginning in 1585 and for the next 150 years until 1733 land grants - property - formed the basis of the Royal Charters for the establishment of the British North American Colonies and Rupert’s Land in Canada. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 affirmed to all people in North America their Rights and Liberties.

The Quebec Charter of human rights and freedoms recognizes the importance of protecting personal property.

The Canadian Bill of Rights, 1960 recognizes property “and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law;” and further sates:
"Nothing ... shall be construed to abrogate or abridge any human right or fundamental freedom not enumerated therein that may have existed in Canada at the commencement of this Act. (s. 5)"

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
"shall not be construed as denying the existence of any other rights or freedoms that exist in Canada. (s. 26)."

The British North America Act,1867 (The Constitution Act, 1982) s. 92 (13) places “Property and Civil Rights in the Province”. This means that the Provincial Government is charged with protecting these Rights. This seems to have been the purpose of the 1947 Saskatchewan Bill of Rights (now incorporated into the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code) which Premier Tommy Douglas introduced as a response to the heavy-handed practices of the federal government in dealing with labor organizations.

The Government of Saskatchewan needs to take specific steps to defend Property and Civil Rights by:
(a) passing a new provincial Bill of Rights which includes the protection of property and armed self-defense , or,
(b) amending the current Saskatchewan Human Rights Code to include the protection of property and armed self-defense.

Resolution One: Saskatchewan Bill of Rights

Whereas, the primary duty of any government is to guarantee that the rights and
freedoms of its people are protected, and

Whereas, civil rights are provincial jurisdiction under section 92 (13) of
the British North America Act, 1867, and

Whereas, the previously enacted Saskatchewan Bill of Rights of 1947,
now known as the Saskatchewan Human Rights Act, is inadequate because it does not protect property and armed self-defense,

therefore;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Government of Saskatchewan shall enact a Saskatchewan
Bill of Rights restoring and re-affirming civil liberties including:
individual property rights, privacy rights, the right to liberty, the right to
security of the person, the right to procedural fairness, the right against
unreasonable search and seizure, the right to be presumed innocent, the
right against arbitrary detention, the right to council upon arrest or
detention, the right to freedom of expression, the right of armed self-defense, and equality rights.
This "Saskatchewan Bill of Rights" shall remain inviolate by the province of
Saskatchewan, the federal government, and the courts.

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Resolution Two:
Firearm Prohibition Registry

Background:
In 1995 the Parliament of Canada passed the Firearms Act to "control the misuse and abuse of firearms". This Act mandated that all responsible firearms owners must obtain a firearms license merely to possess their firearms. Perversely, the criminals who use firearms in violent crimes and drug deals are not affected by this inefficient, ineffective billion dollar data base.

To protect the citizens of Saskatchewan, the Government of Saskatchewan does not need a list of honest, responsible citizens, rather we need a list of those violent or irresponsible persons who have been prohibited by court order from possessing firearms.

Resolution Two: Firearm Prohibition Registry

WHEREAS, the federal gun owner licensing and firearms registration schemes are woefully inadequate in preventing the acquisition and possession of firearms by violent criminals and the mentally infirm,
therefore;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saskatchewan government devise and operate a Firearm Prohibition Registry (FPR). The FPR would be a registry of violent criminals and/or mentally
infirm individuals who are prohibited by court order from possessing firearms. To acquire and possess a firearm an individual must not be listed in the FPR. Safeguards would be included to ensure that no person is wrongfully deprived of their right to acquire or possess firearms by improper inclusion in the FPR. Effective measures would be in effect to assure a person's swift removal if his/her name were erroneously placed into the FPR.

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Resolution Three:
Provincial Reference of the Firearms Act to the Supreme Court

The Federal Firearms Act, 1995, and the consequent changes to the Criminal Code violate the basic premises of the English Declaration of Rights, 1689, the British North America Act, 1867, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

While the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the Firearms Act is “valid criminal law”, the 2000 Alberta Reference re Firearms Act - and all the provincial interveners - including Saskatchewan - only addressed the issue of federal intrusion onto provincial turf - not the issue of the violation of individual Rights.

While previous Saskatchewan governments have proclaimed that they would “not enforce” the Firearms Act in Saskatchewan, this has not been the case. As clearly shown by the Lemieux and Hudson cases (references cited below), the RCMP have used the Firearms Act’s accompanying changes to the Criminal Code to strip individual Saskatchewan citizens of their legally obtained property - without charges, without trial, without conviction, and all without appeal.

Resolution Three: Provincial Reference of the Firearms Act to the Supreme Court

Whereas, the Canadian Firearms Act of 1995 violates at least twelve civil liberties, and

Whereas, the primary duty of government is to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of its people are protected, and

Whereas, civil rights are provincial jurisdiction under section 92 (13) of the British North America Act, 1867, therefore;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the government of Saskatchewan initiate a legal reference to the Supreme Court of Canada demonstrating how the Canadian Firearms Act of 1995 violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

References:

English Declaration of Rights, 1689
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/england.htm

Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/c1867_e.html#pre

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Canadian Bill of Rights, 1960
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/C-12.3///en?page=1

Reference re Firearms Act (Can.) [2000] 1 S.C.R.
http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2000/2000scc31/2000scc31.html

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/annex_e.html#I

Quebec Charter of human rights and freedoms, R.S.Q. c. C-12
http://www.canlii.org/qc/laws/sta/c-12/20050513/whole.html

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:GgpoPgPJCaMJ:www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/S24-1.pdf+saskatchewan+human+rights+act&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ca

R. v. Lemieux, 2006 SKQB 239 (CanLII)
http://www.canlii.org/sk/cas/skqb/2006/2006skqb239.html

R. v. Hudson, 2007 SKCA 82 (CanLII)
http://www.canlii.org/en/sk/skca/doc/2007/2007skca82/2007skca82.html

Hudson v. Canada (Attorney General), 2007 SKQB 455 (CanLII)
http://www.canlii.org/en/sk/skqb/doc/2007/2007skqb455/2007skqb455.html

Appellant's Factum Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, 2008
http://www.cufoa.ca/articles/armes/armes_10_april_2008.html

FACTUM OF THE RESPONDENT Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, 2008
http://www.cufoa.ca/articles/armes/armes_7_may_2008.html