19 April 2016
The Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister:
Senate bill S-223, "Strengthening Canadians' Security and Promoting Hunting and Recreational Shooting Act", a most disingenuous title if ever there was, is a danger to both public safety and Canadian heritage.
Canadians have a long and rich heritage with firearms. Nostalgia aside, this country was founded by bold explorers, trappers and hunters. This heritage has carried through the generations. Indeed, The Dominion of Canada Rifle Association was founded in 1868. Throughout our history, responsible Canadians have hunted, practiced marksmanship and participated in competitions both at home and abroad.
Bill S-223 would move close to half of all firearms owned by Canadians into a new restricted category (called circumscribed in the bill) that would severely limit, and in many cases eliminate, Canadians' ability to enjoy their rich and responsible heritage activities.
Bill S-223 would require millions of handguns and semi-auto long guns to be stored in central locations. As of
2012 there were over 4.5 million semi-automatic long guns registered. When you add handguns to that tally and include new imports since 2012 the figure quickly grows to 6 million. Assuming there are 1000 clubs in
Canada that could build suitable storage facilities (there are not), that would mean each one would have to house 6000 firearms. Assuming this were even possible, who is to bear this cost? Whether funding is federal or provincial, are there not better uses for these funds?
As a government that prides itself on making data-driven decisions, I would be most interested in learning how this proposed bill would address the current state of gun violence in Canada. Can you point to statistics where registered/legally owned firearms are being used in the commission of crimes? Perhaps the funds necessary for storage under this proposed regime might be better spent combating the flow of illegal firearms from the United States and bolstering police forces who meet this threat head on. According to Statistics Canada, 46% of all homicides committed with a firearm were gang-related. It would seem to me that this would be a logical place to focus our efforts and limited resources.
I believe that Canada's current laws regarding the licensing of firearms, while imperfect, strike the balance between public safety and responsible ownership. I further believe that this will be borne out by statistical analysis, but only the government has access to such data. I implore you to at least make this data publicly available when discussing any future legislation. This will allow for a richer public discourse as to the merits, if any, of the proposed legislation. Canadians need to know and understand not only what the government wants to do, but why and how this might make for a better Canada for one and all.
Should you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
