CUFOA

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

Friday, 20 May 2011

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper,
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Harper,

Re: You Promised Firearms Owners More than a ‘Good First Step’

Responsible firearms owners throughout Canada are extremely pleased with your hard-fought election victory.

Throughout the five years you governed with a minority in Parliament, many well-meaning firearms owners supported your several unsuccessful attempts to “scrap the long-gun registry”, calling those initiatives a “good first step” in dismantling the Bill C-68 – the Liberals’ unjust 1995 Firearms Act.

Now that you have achieved a firm, solid majority, we would like to remind you again of the promises that you personally made - and the promises made by your Firearms Critic, Mr. Breitkreuz - to repeal all of Bill C-68. You and Mr. Breitkreuz promised firearms owners that “if elected” you would repeal the entire Firearms Act. And as Jerrold Lundgard, President of the Responsible Firearms Owners of Alberta, constantly reminds me, that means repealing Criminal Code sections 91(1), 92(1), and 117.03. I have enclosed a copy of these promises – and the Policy Statement of the Conservative Party of Canada. I would call your particular attention to the CPC Policy Statement that specifically refers to “respecting the Right of law-abiding Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly”.

Simply “scrapping the long-gun registry” does absolutely nothing to meet the promises that you and Mr. Breitkreuz made to firearms owners while you served in Opposition to the Liberals. If you do not repeal the licencing mandate that makes it illegal for responsible citizens merely to possess a firearm in their own homes, then we are in no better position now with a Conservative majority that we were when the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien occupied your present office.

While in Opposition, Mr. Breitkreuz used to say, “Register Criminals, not Duck Hunters”. We propose that you replace the licencing scheme of the Firearms Act with a Firearms Prohibition Registry (FPR). This FPR would be a federal registry of persons prohibited by court order from possessing firearms. This registry would focus on persons with criminal or dangerous behaviour, not honest, responsible Canadian citizens.

Mr. Harper, we implore you to honour your promises to repeal the unjust law that Allan Rock and Jean Chrétien foisted upon Canada. Please repeal the entire Firearms Act – and those Criminal Code sections that turn thousands of responsible firearms owners into criminals.

Sincerely,

Edward B. Hudson DVM, MS
Secretary

CC: The Honourable Rob Nicholson
      The Honounable Vic Toews
      Mr. Garry Breitkreuz, MP , Yorkton - Melville

Encl: (1) Mr. Harper’s Promises to Firearms Owners
      (2) Firearms Prohibition Registry (FPR).

Canadian Unlicensed Firearms Owners Association
Association canadienne des propriétaires d’armes sans permis
402 Skeena Court Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 4H2
(306) 242-2379 (306) 230-8929
edwardhudson@shaw.ca
www.cufoa.ca

***

The Conservatives’ Promises to Firearms Owners

Mr. Harper’s Promise to Repeal Bill C-68 - the Liberal’s Firearms Act

“I was and still am in total agreement with the statement made in the House of Commons by former Reform Leader Preston Manning on 13 June 1995:

Bill C-68 [The Firearms Act], if passed into law will not be a good law. It will be a blight on the legislative record of the government, a law that fails the three great tests of constitutionality, of effectiveness and of democratic consent of the governed. What should be the fate of a bad a law? It should be repealed ... .

“Bill C-68 [The Firearms Act] has proven to be a bad law and has created a bureaucratic nightmare for both gun owners and the government. As Leader of the Official Opposition, I will use all powers afforded to me as Leader and continue our party’s fight to repeal Bill C-68 and replace it with a firearms control system that is cost effective and respects the rights of Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly.”
- Stephen Harper, January 2002

The Conservative Party of Canada Policy Declaration

81. Firearms: A Conservative Government will repeal Canada’s costly gun registry legislation and work with the provinces and territories on cost-effective gun control programs designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals while respecting the rights of law-abiding Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly. Measures will include: mandatory minimum sentences for the criminal use of firearms; strict monitoring of high-risk individuals; crackdown on the smuggling; safe storage provisions; firearms safety training; a certification screening system for all those wishing to acquire firearms legally; and putting more law enforcement officers on our streets.

As approved by the CPC Montréal Convention, 19 March 2005

The Promise of the Conservatives while Serving as the Loyal Opposition

“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.”

“There is only one to fix this mess and that is to elect a Conservative government. We promise to repeal Bill C-68 [The Firearms Act] and return the gun laws to the way they were before 1995. Then I personally promise that I will start the task of fixing all the flaws in federal firearm laws by requiring that they be subjected to a public safety test administered by the Auditor General of Canada. My proposal includes a sunset clause on all gun control laws that have been proven by the Auditor General not to be cost effective at reducing the criminal use of firearms and improving public safety.”

- Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.Yorkton-Melville (SK) Conservative Firearms Critic, 08 July 2005

Register Criminals, not Duck Hunters

***

The Firearms Prohibition Registry

The Proposal:

• A replacement of the licencing scheme of the Liberal’s 1995 Firearms Act, 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.
• 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.
• Allows the police to have ready access to all information on all persons prohibited from possessing firearms.
• A justice of the courts - not a federal bureaucrat - would determine who is prohibited from owning and acquiring firearms.
• 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.
• Decriminalizes the mere possession of a firearm - only keeps track of irresponsible persons, leaving responsible citizens alone.
• The amount of data that 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 information.

Canadian Unlicensed Firearms Owners Association
Association canadienne des propriétaires d’armes sans permis
402 Skeena Court Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 4H2
(306) 242-2379 (306) 230-8929
edwardhudson@shaw.ca
www.cufoa.ca