My MP's reply, keep up the pressure.

Mr Wolverine

Mr Wolverine

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From: Larry.Maguire@parl.gc.ca [mailto:Larry.Maguire@parl.gc.ca]
Sent: March-03-14 10:58 AM
To: John Hipwell
Subject: RE: Conservative firearm reclassification.

Hi John,

Thank you for sending me a quick note on this issue and for the background material from the RCMP officer.

I am very troubled by the situation that has arisen with Swiss Arms rifles and now the CZ-858. This decision was made by bureaucrats, not the Minister. The Minister has therefore ordered an urgent review of this unfortunate decision. All options are on the table to ensure that no firearms owner who acted in good faith suffers any consequences as a result of this situation. All of these options are being explored on an urgent basis.

I have also been reaching out to numerous firearms owners in Southwestern Manitoba to seek what specific steps need to be taken to reform the system. I will make sure the concerns of Brandon-Souris are heard in Ottawa and I will continue to represent your interests in Government.

I have also taken the liberty of personally forwarding your concerns and offering yourself to sit on a possible firearms technical committee to the Minister and have asked that he respond to you directly. If the Government moved forward on such a committee, I believe your experience and knowledge would be a tremendous asset.

If I can ever be of any assistance on any federally related matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Cheers,
Larry
 
Here's my MP's statement:

Benoit Troubled by the Reclassification of Swiss Arms Rifles As "Prohibited"

OTTAWA (28 February, 2014) – Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright, is concerned that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has reclassified a line of the Swiss-imported Swiss Arms colour theme rifles, as well as the CZ858 model imported after 2006, as “prohibited.”

“It is very troubling that something so ill-advised could be allowed to happen,” said Benoit. “Bureaucrats either deliberately or with no knowledge are intervening improperly in the lives of gun owners. This cannot and will not be tolerated.”

On Wednesday evening, the RCMP reclassified as "prohibited" a line of Swiss-imported firearms that had been sold in Canada as "non-restricted" since 2001. The RCMP's rationale was that these firearms are all "variants" of the firearm commonly known as SG-550 rifle or SG-551 Carbine line - which the previous Liberal government had classified as "prohibited." Since these Swiss-imported firearms had been classified as "non-restricted" for more than a dozen years, it is unknown how many currently exist in Canada - but the firearms community has estimated it is in the thousands, at an average cost-per-firearm of several thousand dollars.

The RCMP, while changing the classification of these firearms, did not announce any plans on what those who purchased these firearms lawfully and in good faith should do.

“Unlike the Liberals and NDP who want to bring back the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry, Our Government has and will always stand up for law-abiding gun owners. This is an unacceptable situation,” concluded Benoit. “I’m pleased that the Minister is taking action to hold these bureaucrats to account by ordering a review of the decision. Every action should be taken to ensure that no law-abiding gun owners who acted in good faith should suffer any consequences as a result of this situation. They need answers now.”
 
Here's my MP's response:


On behalf of the Hon. Alice Wong thank you for your email message.

As I am sure you are aware the Swiss Arms rifle had recently been reclassified as a prohibited weapon by the RCMP despite having never been involved in a criminal incident in Canada. Law-abiding owners of this firearm would have been considered criminal by the RCMP even though they had legally owned the weapon for up to 12 incident free years prior to this decision. The government promptly intervened regarding this senseless decision. While a review of this decision is underway, law-abiding Canadians that purchased this weapon in good faith will not be punished for simply owning a sporting rifle.

In Question Period on Friday, Mr. Warkentin (Conservative MP from Peace River) asked,

“Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we were shocked to learn that the RCMP had reclassified hundreds of sports shooting rifles from non-restricted to prohibited. This happened after they had been legally sold in Canada for more than a decade. While there have been no criminal incidents reported with this rifle, with the stroke of the RCMP's pen, individuals who may have owned this rifle legally for the last 12 years are considered criminals as of today. I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could please tell the House what the government's position is on this reclassification and confiscation scheme?”

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Roxanne James, was quick to respond saying,

“Mr. Speaker, we are in fact very troubled by the situation that has arisen from the Swiss Arms rifle. This decision was made by bureaucrats and not by politicians. That is why the Minister of Public Safety has ordered an urgent review of this unfortunate decision. I would like to let all Canadians know that all options are on the table to ensure that no firearms owner who acted in good faith suffers any consequences as a result of this terrible situation. All of the options are being explored on a very urgent basis.”

Please be assured that the government is looking into this matter on an urgent basis, our Conservative Government will continue to stand up for law-abiding gun owners and that Minister Blaney will take appropriate action to ensure that firearms owners who acted in good faith are not penalized as a result of the actions of others.

If you have any further questions as actions are taken please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Megan DeVries
Special Assistant
Office of The Honourable Alice Wong, P.C., M.P.
Member of Parliament for Richmond
Tel: 613-995-2021
Fax: 613-995-2174
Email: alice.wong@parl.gc.ca
 
Thank you Wolverine. It's tremendous news that they would request your consultation on an advisory board but that's gotta be a good chunk of your valuable time. You can definitely count on my shopping dollars in the future.
 
Good replies. However, it is interesting that they all say "owners who have acted in good faith" will not be penalized. I wouldn't put it past the gov't to make the firearms prohibited for anyone who doesn't currently own one (sort of like full autos and converted autos), and grandfather those who do. That way, "current owners who acted in good faith" will not be considered criminals, the guns are still banned, no confiscations and therefore no compensation need be offered, but of course the guns are worthless. I don't trust any of them. We have to keep the pressure up to make sure that this classification nonsense is just shut down for good, and not "tinkered" with.

Ed
 
Hi there guys, I have collected many guns over the years and I just target shoot at the calgary shooing center. I need to know how to find out who my MP's are that I need to get in contact with this Almost every friend of mine shoots CZ 858, so please help me make an Impact.
 
boltaction said:
Good replies. However, it is interesting that they all say "owners who have acted in good faith" will not be penalized. I wouldn't put it past the gov't to make the firearms prohibited for anyone who doesn't currently own one (sort of like full autos and converted autos), and grandfather those who do. That way, "current owners who acted in good faith" will not be considered criminals, the guns are still banned, no confiscations and therefore no compensation need be offered, but of course the guns are worthless. I don't trust any of them. We have to keep the pressure up to make sure that this classification nonsense is just shut down for good, and not "tinkered" with.

Ed
Click to expand...

Exactly, no one is saying they are going to reverse this decision. Then again if they grandfather, perhaps I could just tell them I have one and get my 12.XX
 
Just out of Curioustiy, How many letters have you guys sent to your MP's before you get a response back?
I have sent numerous to my MP- Jason Kenny, and I have gotten no response back except for the electronic reply indicating that the remail was recieved to his account.
Thoughts?
 
thebutcher said:
Just out of Curioustiy, How many letters have you guys sent to your MP's before you get a response back?
I have sent numerous to my MP- Jason Kenny, and I have gotten no response back except for the electronic reply indicating that the remail was recieved to his account.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I haven't received any reply. One letter sent June.11/13, one today.
 
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