They are not only worried about new purchases by criminals, but that we PAL holders are all potential criminals, and one day any of us may suddenly decide to unpin our mags for criminal intent.
If intent to commit an offense with a prohibited item was the basis for charges, then we should be allowed to unpin all of our mags and have full autos because we don't plan to commit crimes with them. As is, the crime is possession of a prohibited item, and the journalist intentionally broke that law, thereby committing a criminal act. I'd wager both my feet that if RCMP happened to walk in your home while you had some unpinned mags on your work bench for cleaning, you would certainly be charged for each of them.
Exactly. Criminal offense is criminal offense. DUI drivers don't "intend" to mame or kill people. But they do and that's a crime. And yes I can play that card as my life and spine was destroyed by one those "Non criminal intent" criminals.