CUFOA

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

Garry Breitkreuz, MP
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Friday, 09 February 2007

Dear Mr. Breitkreuz,

Re: Questions of Commitment

Thank you for your letter 0f 15 December 2006 in which you ask firearms owners to ‘stay with us’ until Bill C-68 is ‘dead and gone.’I truly appreciate the time which you have invested over the past twelve years in fighting to maintain our Right of self-protection against unwarranted government attack. Without your unswerving commitment, and the extremely able assistance of Dennis Young, we firearms owners would have been the ones ‘dead and gone.’

However our membership is deeply concerned about the commitment of Mr. Harper and his government to our Right to own firearms. When we were on Parliament Hill on 16 May 2006 to see the Auditor General deliver her scathing Report denouncing the Firearms Act we were hoping to see Mr. Harper announce the repeal of that unjust Act. Instead of producing
celebration, Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day’s announcement of Bill C-21 had one member’s wife in tears when she recognized the betrayal it represents.

Mr. Day’s Bill C-21 and his continuing public pronouncements* about his plans to keep the most unjust part of the Liberals’ Firearms Act, i.e. the licensing mandate, represents a complete repudiation of the promise Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada made to firearms owners to repeal the Firearms Act (Bill C-68).

Some of our members have become so disgusted with Mr. Harper’s government that they have destroyed their party memberships and have refused to donate to the CPC. Many of us have some very deep misgiving about our continued support for the CPC.

I note in your letter the many things which you individually have attempted to do for firearms owners this past year. But what is truly troubling is how little Mr. Harper and the Prime Minister’s Office have assisted firearms owners; for example, the so-called amnesty is a blatant ploy to get firearms owners “into the licensing system.”

Under these very perturbing circumstances several pertinent questions arise:

(1) Under Mr. Harper’s leadership are you still able to fulfill the role of true representative of your electorate and to promote the true interests of the voters?

(2) Do you have the unequivocal support of Mr. Harper to work towards the total repeal of the Firearms Act?

(3) Do you have the encouragement of Mr. Harper to work towards ensuring we have the right - preceding the the existence of any state - to defend ourselves and our family from assault and that we have the right to use firearms for that, and any other legal purpose, subject only to court prohibition orders, appealable in courts of law, for specific cause?

(4) Is Mr. Harper and the CPC committed to securing the removal of the fatuous ‘crimes’ of failure to have a firearms registration certificate and especially the requirement for a license to own and posses a firearm from the Criminal Code?

(5) Can we expected the Conservative government to withdraw Bill C-21?

and,

(6) Can we expected the Conservative government to script legislation that, at the very minimum, is democratic, constitutional, and effective, such as our proposed Firearms Prohibition Registry** -a proposal which is based upon your challenge: “Register criminals, NOT duck hunters!” ?

We would again like to commit ourselves to campaign for the CPC. Therefore we look forward to discussing these questions with you at the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Convention in Yorkton on Friday, 23 February.

Sincerely,

Edward B. Hudson DVM, MS
Secretary

* Pronouncement by Minister Stockwell Day dated 31 January 2007
** CUFOA’s proposed Firearms Prohibition Registry

CC: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister

Canadian Unregistered Firearms Owners Association
402 Skeena Crt Saskatoon
Saskatchewan S7K 4H2
1-306-242-2379
edwardhudson@shaw.ca
www.cufoa.ca

************
MINISTER DAY: Gov't wants gun control made more effective

PUBLICATION: The Leader-Post (Regina) DATE: 2007.01.31
Letters PAGE: B8
BYLINE: Stockwell Day:

Gov't wants gun control made more effective

The Canadian Press article on the gun registry, "Tory pledge to kill gun registry fading", in the Jan. 24 edition of the Leader-Post, though well intentioned, needs some clarification. The Liberals created the long-gun registry, which proved to be wasteful, ineffective and hugely expensive. Also, worryingly, the Auditor General reported repeatedly that the long-gun registry often contains data that is unreliable. As a result, Canada's new government made a commitment to eliminate the wasteful long-gun portion of the registry and make gun control more effective.

In May 2006, our government announced that it would: - Co-ordinate gun-control policy more closely with the needs of law enforcement by transferring responsibility for the Canada Firearms Centre to the RCMP; - Reduce the annual operating budget for the program by $10 million, and; - Introduce a one-year amnesty to protect previously licensed
owners of non-restricted firearms from prosecution.

In June 2006, I tabled legislative amendments to repeal the requirement to register non-restricted long-guns. Firearm owners or those who wish to acquire a firearm or ammunition will still require a licence and will still have to complete thorough background and safety checks, meet specific safety training standards and comply with all safe storage requirements.

Furthermore, Canadians will still be required to register prohibited and restricted firearms, such as handguns. Police will still know if an individual is in legal possession of a firearm on their premises because anyone who is in legal possession of any type of firearm must be licensed, and that information will appear on police background checks.

Our government believes that effective gun control means enhanced licensing and screening of individuals. That's why we are looking at strengthening our licensing system and enhancing background checks. Unfortunately, the opposition is currently blocking forward movement of our legislation.

Canadians can be assured that its new government remains committed to making gun control more effective and it continues to develop measures that will prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands.

Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety Ottawa

**********************
The Firearms Prohibition Registry

The Proposal:

A replacement of the function of the Canadian Firearms Center, by

A federal registry of persons prohibited by court order from possessing firearms.

The Objective:

A safer more secure society by reducing criminal access to firearms.

The Benefits:

Focuses the attention squarely on the problem: criminals.

Means the courts, not a federal employee, would determine who is prohibited from owning and acquiring firearms.

Allows the police to have ready access to all information on all persons prohibited from possessing firearms.

Requires that an individual wishing to purchase firearms must not be listed in the FPR.

Assures vendors that purchasers of firearms would be legitimate by providing an 800 number to insure the recipient of the firearm is not listed in the FPR.

Respects the Rights and Freedoms of responsible citizens to acquire and possess firearms.

Ensures judicial review so that no person is erroneously included in the FPR.

Maintains effective measures to ensure swift correction of faulty data.

Provides a public service for which no fees would be attached.

Rationale for the Firearms Prohibition Registry:

The courts, by convictions, restraining orders, and bail conditions would decide who is prohibited from possessing firearms.

The government should only keep track of irresponsible persons, leaving responsible citizens alone.

The amount of data which would be provided by the courts would be more manageable.

The police have the communication equipment in their offices and patrol cars to access this type of system.

Garry Breitkreuz, MP has been saying for years,

"Any sane person can only conclude that federal gun control laws should be focused on keeping the guns out of the hands of people who should not have them.

"Register criminals, NOT duck hunters"

The membership of CUFOA overwhelmingly endorses the Firearms Prohibition Registry.

The time for responsible change has arrived: Stand up for Canada.