In keeping with my desire to DO SOMETHING about this situation, I've written another letter, feel free to use it yourself, modify it etc, just make sure you SEND IT!!! You can use Faxzero.com to send a fax online for free! You can look up your MP, Minister of Public Safety Van Loan & Prime Minister Stephen Harper @ the House of Common's website, you can snail mail your MP, Minister of Public Safety & the Prime Minister FOR FREE, their hill office's mailing addy is there when you look them up!
April 1st/09
Dear Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper;
Last week I wrote to you to express my concerns regarding three issues. (1) Bill C-301. (2) The RCMP’s “new policy” of re-classifying firearms, after the required sample firearm was submitted to the RCMP for classification & after the proper paperwork was completed & the green light was given to Marstar Canada to import the firearms. (3) The RCMP’s & CBSA’s refusal to release, with no explanation, a shipment of firearms that a small business by the name of CanadaAmmo has imported. Again, a sample of the firearm was submitted for classification to the RCMP, the proper paperwork was completed and permission was granted to go ahead with the importation of the firearms.
First, let me comment on Bill C-301. As you & your political party have stated in the past, the Canadian Long Gun Registry has been ineffective in reducing gun crime, burdens the law abiding (the only ones that comply), and has been such a massive waste of taxpayer funds that it is embarrassing to discuss! Please do everything in your power to see an un-tampered Bill C-301 through Parliament & enacted as law.
Secondly, as you can imagine, in these tough economic times, the seizure of a business’s legal property could easily result in bankruptcy. While I believe that an established company like Marstar Canada may well survive the underhanded re-classification of its firearm shipment, which effectively prevents the firearms from being sold in Canada, I am not sure that a new company such as CanadaAmmo will be able to survive the RCMP & CBSA’s refusal to release its legal shipment of firearms. Personally, I think the RCMP & CBSA are simply waiting until CanadaAmmo fails financially, effectively making them “go away”. The RCMP & CBSA’s refusal to release the legal shipment of firearms in question just may have that effect! Do we really need to put two more Canadian businesses out of business all because of the anti-firearm agenda of the RCMP & CBSA? I think not!
So, once again, we find law abiding citizens of this country suffering from firearm “policy”, being made up “on the fly”, at the whim of the RCMP & CBSA. Mr. Prime Minister, the last time I checked, these two agencies reported to you & your party as the duly elected & legal Government of Canada. Please reign in the RCMP & CBSA on these issues. Please order the RCMP to reverse its re-classification of Marstar’s firearm shipment, back to the original classification which would allow their legal sale to law abiding citizens. Please order the RCMP & CBSA to release CanadaAmmo’s legal shipment of firearms.
The issues I have discussed above are so important to me & Canadians who value democracy that I began to look into what the driving forces behind them may be. What I found was surprising and may be exactly “why” Canadians are now seeing their National Police force acting independently of established Canadian law, “testing the waters” and making “policy” as they go along. Please see the quote below, taken from Bill C-35.
Bill C-35, reverse onus in bail hearings for firearm-related offences, presented to a Legislative Committee in May of 2007 by Tony Cannavino, President Canadian Police Association.
“The tragedy at Dawson College in Montreal has reinforced the
need to strengthen Canada's controls over civilian firearms
possession. To our knowledge no new firearms have been added
to the restricted or prohibited categories in Canada for over a decade,
yet many new firearms are being offered for sale that would arguably
meet existing criteria. As a consequence, some weapons are being
legally sold in Canada despite the fact that they meet existing criteria
for restricted or prohibited status and present significant concerns for
public safety.
Retailers understand and exploit those loopholes, as demonstrated
by the posting of the website for Wolverine Supplies in Manitoba—
you'll find it in your brief. We submit that further steps must be taken
to close the loopholes by updating and maintaining the restricted and
prohibited firearms classifications.”
Surprising isn’t it? I believe that this quote from Bill C-35 shows that the RCMP is only concerned with, and I quote, “strengthening Canada’s controls over civilian firearms possession”, NOT with the real issue of preventing gun crime. Law abiding Canadians are not responsible for gun crime! I think you will agree with me, the RCMP & CBSA have chosen to “take the ball” on this issue and run with it. Unfortunately, only law abiding Canadians & Canadian Businesses are suffering from the actions of the RCMP & the CBSA. Further penalizing those that abide by the law is neither effective nor prudent. Remember, the Conservative Party has a large following from law abiding Canadians that participate in the Shooting Sports; we are counting on you to act appropriately on issues such as these.
In closing, I request that you hold the Commissionaire of the RCMP, Mr. William J. S. Elliott, to account on the actions of the RCMP in the re-classification of firearms & firearm shipment seizures. I further request that you call the President of the CBSA, Mr. Stephen Rigby and have him account for his agencies role in the seizure of CanadaAmmo’s legal property.
I look forward to hearing back from you on these issues and the actions you have taken to rectify them. (cc. Minister of Public Safety, Mr. Van Loan)
Sincerely,
"Jay"
