On May 1st, 2020, the Liberal government banned a swath of semi-automatic firearms by Order in Council (OIC), all of which are commonly used for hunting and sporting purposes in Canada.
Every week we also learn of more horror stories based on SOR/2020-96.
This week we learned of an RCMP memo sent to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The letter advised “some AR-15 parts” are now prohibited based on the OIC, but the RCMP memo did not specify which ones.
The problem is the RCMP’s guidance to the CBSA on AR-15 parts – it’s intentionally vague and misleading.
Worse, Bill Blair refuses to correct the RCMP’s error.
As a result of this intentionally vague RCMP memo, the CBSA is now seizing all AR-15 gun parts at the border, even though they are perfectly legal to import.
The CBSA, after relying on bad advice from the RCMP and in the absence of correct information, are erring on the side of extreme caution.
The only AR-15 parts the Minister's putrid May 1st Order in Council banned are AR-15 upper receivers. Order in Council SOR/2020-96 reclassifies the following parts as Prohibited Devices:
The Regulations also prescribe the upper receivers of M16, AR-10, AR-15 and M4 pattern firearms to be prohibited devices.
Upper receivers.
Every other part of the AR-15 (with the obvious exception of the lower receiver) is an uncontrolled spare part, yet there are 48 cases ongoing because of this RCMP mis-directive.
The CBSA seized $9,000 worth of AR-15 parts inventory from a single firearm dealer alone, based on the RCMP’s misinformation. That’s a lot of money for a small business in normal times, let alone the COVID-19 pandemic we’re still struggling with.
Now individuals and businesses must fight with CBSA to obtain their legally-imported spare parts.
If Minister Blair gave a crap about the rule of law (as he claims), he would order the RCMP to give the CBSA accurate information instead of forcing them to guess.
He would immediately order the CBSA to release all shipments of AR-15 spare parts, without penalty or storage charges (and with an apology letter for the illegal seizure).
This problem is 100% Minister Blair’s fault:
He drafted the Order in Council.
He is the Minister in charge of the RCMP.
He is the Minister in charge of the CBSA.
He refuses to order the RCMP to give CBSA accurate information.
Canadian individuals and businesses, 48 of them at last count, are suffering even more because of his ineptness and incompetence.
