CUFOA

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

Saturday, 21 May 2011

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz
Member of Parliament, CPC, Yorkton - Melville
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Breitkreuz,

Re: Repealing the Firearms Act; We Need You Now More than Ever!

Responsible firearms owners all across Canada are deeply gratified by your reelection to Parliament. Now that Mr. Harper has finally formed a majority Conservative Government, we need you in Ottawa more than ever.

In the past election campaign Mr. Harper pledged to “end the long-gun registry.” But this is not a prospect that we welcome. Simply scraping the long-gun registry leaves the worst part of the Firearms Act – the mandate that all firearms owners must have a licence merely to possess a firearm – fully intact. As you know better than any person in Ottawa, owning a firearm is not a mere privilege to be granted by a federal bureaucrat to a supplicating subject. Owning the means to protect oneself, one’s family, and personal property is an historical, traditional Right of responsible Canadian citizenship.

Unfortunately, many of the recently elected members of the Conservative caucus do not know the significant, vital difference between ‘the long-gun registry’ and licencing. In fact, many of the “veteran” Conservatives elected since 2006 do not understand that the licencing of firearms owners is the most evil, pernicious part of the Firearms Act. And even more egregiously, many of our unelected Conservative Senators – including a senator from Saskatchewan that Mr. Harper personally appointed - do not acknowledge that while leader of the Opposition Mr. Harper promised to repeal the entire Firearms Act.

Therefore we are initiating a campaign to inform all Conservative Members of Parliament of the promises that Mr. Harper made to responsible firearms owners. We will then call upon Mr. Harper to honour these promises and to replace the licencing scheme of the Firearms Act with a Firearms Prohibition Registry (FPR). Or, as you used to say, “Register Criminals, not Duck Hunters”.

We genuinely need your extensive expertise as the former Firearms Critic to educate your fellow members of the Conservative caucus. Everyone must come to understand all the unjust, unconstitutional aspects of the Firearms Act.

We earnestly petition you to join us as we defend our most basic Right to self-protection. Please help us as we work to fulfill the CPC Policy Statement of “respecting the Right of law-abiding Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly”.

Sincerely,

Edward B. Hudson DVM, MS
Secretary

CC: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister
       The Honourable Rob Nicholson
       The Honourable Vic Toews

Encl: (1) Conservatives’ 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