OneClearVoice!!! *UPDATE*

[Doug_M]

This was suggested by Bob Zimmer. Rod Giltaca suggested we each do it once a week. The goal being to flood his office with 1000 calls a day. Just a short call opposing the bill. He backed down on the UN marking (punted it down the road yet again) and the Liberals backed down on their tax change. It can be done.

[Wolverine .303]

Campaign #8a - (Committee) Prohibition

C-71 is in its committee phase where the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) review the details of the bill and possibly make changes. Letters need to be short and to the point, which is difficult to do when addressing the specifics of a bill. Campaign 8a focuses on the parts of the bill that deal with prohibiting firearms. Due to the nature of committee, campaign 8a is primarily focused on the technical failings of the relevant sections. Regardless, the goal is to get committee to scrap them. Other parts of the bill will be covered in later campaigns.

[sidester]

Compaign 8!
Let's do it!

[SSG69]

Received a response from Pam Damoff for campaign 8. Same old canned letter.



Dear Paul

Thank you for writing to me about Bill C-71. I sincerely appreciate your comments on this legislation and I commend your civic engagement.

I first want to acknowledge that legislating firearms usage is a highly emotional and contentious issue for many Canadians, which is why I have spoken to a number of people on both sides of the issue, including members of the Liberal Rural Caucus, the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Safety, Mark Holland, and members of PolySeSouvient. I want to assure you that I and our government are fully committed to ensuring that we protect the safety of Canadians while balancing the rights of law-abiding firearms owners, and I will continue to keep this balance in mind as our Committee considers this legislation.

While overall crime rates in Canada are dropping, there has been a marked increase in gun violence and firearms-related murders in recent years. This is a concerning trend for our government. We were elected on a platform that promised to take pragmatic action to make it harder for criminals to acquire and use handguns and assault weapons, and we intend to make good on that promise.

Bill C-71 makes a number of amendments to the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act. These amendments were crafted with three primary goals in mind: to prioritize public safety by keeping firearms out of the wrong hands; to strengthen measures for firearms safety and give police tools to ensure public safety and help solve firearms-related crimes; and to respect law-abiding firearms owners. As we have stated numerous times, we will not be bringing back the federal long-gun registry. In the rest of my email, I will explain the proposed changes laid out in the legislation and how it will impact Canadians.

Currently, when someone wants to buy a firearm from a private vendor, the vendor doesn’t need to check their licence – licence verification is voluntary under the current framework. Bill C-71 stipulates that anyone selling or giving a non-restricted firearm, including private sellers, will be required by law to verify the validity of the firearms license of the recipient with the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP). Without verifying a firearms licence, there is a great risk that a firearm may be sold or given to a person who is not authorized to possess one, which creates an obvious public safety concern. In addition, Bill C-71 requires businesses to keep records of the sale of all firearms and their purchasers. Only these businesses, and not the government, will have access to these records. This marks a return to the due diligence practices that were required of firearms vendors between 1979-2005.

Sales records kept by firearms vendors will only be available to law enforcement with judicial authority when there is evidence that a firearm was used to commit a crime. In the case where a crime was committed, these sales records will provide police with the necessary information to systematically track the firearm used in the commission of the crime, making investigations easier and more efficient and ultimately making our communities safer from gun-related violence.

In addition, in determining whether a person is eligible for a firearms licence, authorities are currently required to consider specific information from a person’s life history, including whether they have been convicted or discharged of certain offences, such as drug or firearms trafficking or criminal harassment, whether they have been treated for a mental illness that was associated with violence, or whether they have a history of behaviour that includes violence. The current framework requires the above to be considered for a period of five years, while the proposed legislation will change this consideration to the duration of a person’s life.

Bill C-71 also introduces several new regulations surrounding the transportation of restricted and prohibited firearms, and brings in a more consistent approach to the classification of firearms. These measures will provide law enforcement with better means by which they can challenge those who are unlawfully transporting firearms and will not apply to non-restricted firearms.

Bill C-71 has passed the first round of debate in the House of Commons and was referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on Wednesday March 28th for consideration. As a sitting member of the Committee, I will review your comments, as well as the comments of other constituents, and take them into consideration as our Committee considers this important legislation.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.

Sincerely,

Pam Damoff
Member of Parliament for Oakville North-Burlington










[boonerman]

Sent #8!

[thegrass]

Campaign 8 sent and I received the same response from Pam as ssg69 received.

I'm not good with words, if any 1 can help with a reply it would be great

[DRE67]

This was suggested by Bob Zimmer. Rod Giltaca suggested we each do it once a week. The goal being to flood his office with 1000 calls a day. Just a short call opposing the bill. He backed down on the UN marking (punted it down the road yet again) and the Liberals backed down on their tax change. It can be done.

I called and spent a good 10 minutes giving them a piece of my mind. I made sure to point out that I am now officially a single issue voter. That sure got him going!!!

[jasonf]

I received the exact same response as SSG69 from Pam Damoff...

[Doug_M]

I received the exact same response as SSG69 from Pam Damoff...

Yup me too. I replied letting her know that I and the gun community recognize that as standard talking points and I asked her to really read my campaign 7 email (just pasted it in).

[valk775]

sent