I thought I would post the only response I recieved on letters written to provincial and federal politicans on C-21 This is from Tyler Shandro and notes that Minister Mendicino saw the withdraw as a pause in the campaign to ban commonly used firearms for hunting and shooting sports.
I have not recieved, nor do I expect to, responses from my Federal NDP representative or from Minister Mendicino.
Ministry of Justice 8:16 AM (1 hour ago)
Thank you for your correspondence to myself and/or the Honourable Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta; ministers of the Crown; members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; regarding Bill C-21. Although it has not been possible to correspond individually with every Albertan in a timely manner, as the Minister of Justice, I appreciate the opportunity to provide the following information.
On September 1, 2021, Teri Bryant was appointed as the chief firearms officer (CFO) for Alberta to better represent the interests of law-abiding hunters, sport shooters, and collectors in Alberta. As the CFO, Ms. Bryant advocates for evidence-based policy changes to the federal Firearms Act to ensure the application of legislation and regulations are primarily focused on safety and reducing violent crime.
As Minister of Justice I have taken the following steps to further address the overreach by the federal government:
· I have responded to the Honourable Minister Mendicino, federal Minister of Public Safety, by telling him that Alberta will not assist the federal government in any effort to strip away the lawfully obtained personal property of our citizens.
· Alberta has succeeded in its efforts to achieve intervener status in six ongoing judicial review applications, which challenge the federal firearms prohibitions. By intervening, Alberta will be able to participate in the legal proceedings and contribute to arguments based on the specific challenges the federal legislation has created for Alberta's law-abiding firearm community.
· Alberta is exercising our existing authorities to identify the confiscation program as an activity that is not appropriate for Royal Canadian Mounted Policed (RCMP) enforcement. As such, I have written a letter to the commanding officer of the RCMP in Alberta to advise that, pursuant to the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA), the confiscation program is not an objective, priority, or goal of the province or the provincial police service (Article 6.0). Despite these actions, the federal government may still direct the RCMP to serve as confiscation agents. If this occurs, Alberta will invoke Article 23.0 of the PPSA, which outlines a dispute mechanism to address a direction or intention that contravenes the PPSA.
Further to our current efforts, Alberta has introduced and passed the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act. This act will defend Alberta’s interests by giving us a legal framework to push back on federal laws or policies that negatively impact the province. It will be used to address federal legislation and policies that are unconstitutional, violate Albertans’ charter rights or that affect or interfere with our provincial constitutional rights. This legislative framework and democratic approach will allow for defending the federal-provincial division of powers while respecting Canada’s Constitution and the courts.
Alberta has taken additional steps as of January 1, 2023, by taking back constitutional jurisdiction to use Alberta’s Crown prosecutors to handle federal criminal law charges, particularly those regarding possession of firearms when a licenced individual is:
· accused of lawfully obtaining the firearm or prohibited device prior to May 1, 2020;
· the firearm device was reclassified as prohibited on May 1, 2020; and
· the accused has not been charged with any other offences related to the possession or use of that firearm.
Alberta will ensure that Crown prosecutors take public safety into consideration when assessing whether charges against otherwise law-abiding citizens are appropriate.
Premier Smith has also commented on the possibility that Alberta will draft its own Firearms Act, to help regulate property and civil rights of firearms owners within Alberta. We will continue to challenge the amendments to Bill C-21, when proposed by the federal government, as long as they continue to overstep our jurisdictional authority.
On February 3, 2023, the federal government opted to withdraw amendments to Bill C-21 that would ban hundreds of thousands of shotguns and rifles. This statement was clarified by Minister Mendicino as merely a pause in their campaign to ban shotguns and rifles commonly used by hunters, farmers, sport shooters, and Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Minister Mendicino is still intent on continuing to pursue avenues to ban widely owned shotguns and rifles.
Alberta is leading the charge in responding to the federal government’s efforts to criminalize law-abiding firearms owners, as it has become increasingly clear that further action will need to be taken to respond to the federal government’s hostility towards hunters, farmers, sport shooters, and Indigenous Peoples.
You can continue to stand up for responsible gun owners in Alberta and Canada by contacting your member of Parliament and raising your valid concerns regarding Bill C-21. By doing this you can educate them on the fundamental flaws that exist in the approach taken by the current federal government and have the direct opportunity to influence policy.
Once again, thank-you for your interest in this important topic and for contacting Alberta’s government to express your concerns.
