Firearms group launches charter challenge of weapons ban as Blair clarifies rules for shotguns
John Paul Tasker · CBC News

Legal opinion suggested some 10, 12 gauge shotguns could now be banned — Ottawa says that isn't true

A firearms rights group is launching a constitutional challenge of the government's ban on 'assault-style' weapons, saying the regulatory change threatens a fundamental charter right.

The government banned some 1,500 makes and models of firearms last Friday. The Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights (CCFR) — citing the Charter of Rights guarantee under section 7 of the right to "life, liberty and security of the person" — said Thursday that prohibition is "fundamentally unjust" because it deprives them of their property.

The CCFR said only litigation can stop the government's "abusive process." It said it has retained a Calgary-based lawyer who specializes in constitutional challenges.

"The government, in an entirely arbitrary and irrational way, has created legislation that will deprive us of our property and our freedom to live as we wish, on pains of incarceration for failing to comply," said Rod Galitca, CEO and executive director of the CCFR.

The group acknowledged it has "no guarantee of a win," given past legal rulings by the country's top court on firearms. In the 1993 R v. Hasselwander case, the court upheld the constitutionality of the firearms regime which banned automatic firearms.

"Canadians, unlike Americans, do not have a constitutional right to bear arms. Indeed, most Canadians prefer the peace of mind and sense of security derived from the knowledge that the possession of automatic weapons is prohibited," the court said.

Opposition to the firearms ban has been fierce in some circles. A parliamentary e-petition calling on the prime minister to scrap the "firearms confiscation regime" collected more than 115,000 signatures in just over 24 hours. The petition is sponsored by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner.

The rest here. CCFR Challenge

Link to Cdn Coalition for Firearms Rights

The Supreme Court may choose not to hear that one .

From Tony Bernardo at the CSSA -

RCMP prohibits first 12-Gauge Shotgun with 20mm Bore Law - CBSA Memorandum backs Firearms Lawyers on Shotgun Ban

May 8, 2020

OSHAWA: On May 5, 2020, CSSA and CSAAA issued a joint news release showing Justin Trudeau and Bill Blair – either through gross ignorance or gross incompetence – banned 12-gauge and 10-gauge shotguns under the 20mm maximum bore diameter restriction in SOR/2020-96.i

Minister Blair’s denied this via social media, saying, “Both 10 and 12 gauge shotguns are under the 20mm provision, and thus not subject to the prohibition. Our government is taking action to protect Canadians by banning assault-style weapons – not those used for hunting.”

“The truth matters,” Minister Blair said.

We agree 100%.

The truth matters.

This morning, the RCMP confirmed the first 12-gauge shotgun prohibited under the new Order-in-Council.

The deadly evil weapon? An old Iver Johnson single-shot, fixed choke 12-gauge shotgun with a 2 3/4" chamber. That's right, a standard old farm gun.

RCMP Technical Unit Supervisor, Tim Hobbs, confirmed this firearm would be classified as prohibited in a phone call with a prominent firearms dealer.

See this firearm being measured - see for yourself:



That’s why we asked for the legal opinion of one of Canada’s top firearm lawyers, Edward L Burlew LL.B.iii

Solomon Friedman LL.B., another respected lawyer well-versed in firearms law, agrees with Mr. Burlew’s opinion.

“Your standard 12-gauge shotgun, most people think it has a bore of 18.5 millimeters,” he told CBC Radio, “but modern shotguns are actually over-bored – they’re larger than 18.5 millimeters to allow you to screw in attachments called chokes. It’s very common. Most modern shotguns are made that way and that they are almost all larger than 20 millimeters.”iv

If Minister Blair doesn’t want to listen to the opinion of two experts in Canadian firearms law, perhaps he will agree with the experts in one of the agencies he oversees.

The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) Memorandum D19-13-2, issued May 29, 2019, defines BORE as:

the inside of the barrel of a firearm, from the throat to the muzzle, through which the projectile travels.v

By the CBSA’s definition, it may be all 12-gauge and 10-gauge shotguns – not just those with removable chokes – are now Prohibited firearms because they do not consider the forcing cone, the “throat” of the barrel, which exceeds the 20 mm maximum bore diameter specified in SOR/2020-96.

Will Minister Blair is support the CBSA opinion that meshes with two of Canada’s top legal experts in firearms law?

Or will he toss them under the bus because he can’t admit he made a huge mistake?

We demand Minister Bill Blair immediately rescind SOR/2020-96 until such time as he can figure out what he’s doing.

It’s clear he hasn’t figured out what he’s doing yet, and all Canadian hunters and sport shooters may pay the price for his incompetence.

Fixing this particular (among many) problem requires the addition of two little words: “except shotguns.” That it is so easy to fix yet Blair refuses to make the change, tells us the wording was intentional. Minister Bill Blair promised to call us the next day to clarify the OiC. Two and a half days later... we're still waiting. More to come. - TB

Sadly any Canadians thinking the higher courts will save them from this insane new law are fooling themselves. IMO this is here to stay, at least until another government is elected. Glad I still have my US citizenship and can leave if it continues. My son is already looking at property in AK.

See ya.

Steve;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the day back east is as nice and bright as this is starting out to be here and this finds you all well.

Thanks for the video link, I'd honestly never thought of them measuring inside beyond the choke - unhappy face inserted here....

While I'd read of this on the CCFR site - as mentioned I'm a member - I measured the bore at the muzzle of a few of the shotguns here and thought most would be exempt from the current wording, now I don't know Steve.

Of interest - or not as the case may be - we've got a similar Stevens which was brought up here when my wife's grandfather moved from Minnesota in 1904.

One of the most galling aspects of Hangover Minister Blair's response in my view is his dismissive insistence that we just listen to him and not pay attention to the wording of the flawed document he's responsible for, you know?

As if he's able to, by royal decree issued from his lips, make law.... wait just a minute Steve, I've read about that type of behavior elsewhere.....

To any Canucks reading this, here's once again my plea to get involved with one of the firearm rights groups here and just plain get involved. Now's as good a time as any - as we like to say...

Anyway sir, thanks again for the update, all the best to you all and stay well.

Dwayne

It snowed here today.

Yes, the barrel has to be measured before the choke.

WRT the OIC, you do not need to be a lawyer to know when you're being lied to. The government did not do their homework before rushing this through, and must be held accountable.

One thing that has to be made abundantly clear, and repeated over and over, is that the government used an order in council. The danger with these has to be communicated to the public. Today, it's firearms. Tomorrow, who knows?

The Liberals would not have been successful had they introduced the bill in the regular way. Because the Liberals are a minority govt, the bill would have been defeated, and a no-confidence vote called. Of that you can be sure. Using the OIC is proof. They tried to push it through without being questioned.

Everything that a government does must be open to scrutiny. Everything must be honest. Everything must follow a process of discussion and debate. They must never be allowed to enact any legislation without due process.

Going forward, the public has to be made aware of the dangers associated with enacting laws using OICs.

To me, Blair has a criminal face, and as we have seen, a criminal attitude to match. Blair should not be considered trustworthy, regardless of his political affiliation. He plays fast and loose with the truth, and as we have seen, will do whatever it takes to get his way.

The battle continues on three fronts. In court, with other MPs, and in public.

More Information related to this -- issued by the RCMP as clarification to 12 and 10 ga shotguns

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firea...RJ7y_LjKhT0Jnti9b2aR-CMzmMdAKOLTIBHg6epg


Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Home Firearms What you need to know about the Government of Canada’s new prohibition on certain firearms and devices

What you need to know about the Government of Canada’s new prohibition on certain firearms and devices

Important notice: Update on 10 and 12 gauge shotgun classification under the new prohibition

On May 1st, 2020, the Government of Canada announced that it had made amendments to the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted (SOR/98-462) [Classification Regulations] prescribing certain firearms as prohibited. One of the categories of the newly prohibited firearms include "Any firearm with a bore diameter of 20 mm or greater" (s. 95 of the Classification Regulations).
The Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) of the RCMP adheres to the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners' (AFTE) definition for bore diameter measurements. "The interior dimensions of the barrel forward of the chamber but before the choke." (Glossary of the Association of Firearm & Tool Mark Examiners by the AFTE Standardization Committee, 1st Ed. 1980). This is reflected in the RCMP's Firearms Reference Table (FRT) which clearly states that "...in shotguns, diameter of the barrel forward of the chamber but before the choke." The CFP also recognizes the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) standards regarding firearms and ammunition. The SAAMI chamber specifications for 10ga and 12ga shotguns do not include chokes therefore indicating that chokes are not part of the bore. Accordingly, it is the CFP's view that, in accordance with acceptable firearms industry standards for shotguns, the bore diameter measurement is considered to be at a point after the chamber, but before the choke.

Further, in making classification assessments of firearms which are reflected in the FRT, the CFP relies on recognized industry standard measurements. With respect to 10ga and 12ga shotguns, the CFP recognizes the SAAMI standard specifications which establish that the nominal (i.e. standard) bore diameter measurements for 10ga and 12ga shotguns are below the 20mm threshold (19.69mm for 10ga, 18.42mm for 12ga).

The RCMP's interpretation and standard practice is not a defence under the law if you were charged. As the law has not been amended. Technically, the RCMP are violating the law by not following the law.

Intent, when drafting legislation, does not formulate law unless the written law matches the intent of the law.

Keep the pressure on!

Steve, it's snowing here today !

I tend to agree with you. The RCMP has demonstrated a number of times in recent memory that they twist situations (High River). Personally I find the clarification they issued to be not clear when they use a term "nominal standard" and then quote exact dimensions this leaves a wide hole that can be utilized at a future date. The OIC needs to be pulled back, rewritten and go through parliamentary discussion.

The RCMP falls under Public Safety Canada. That agency is presently under the direction of Bill Blair, the Minister of Public Safety. Make no mistake, the RCMP, the federal government and Blair will interpret any laws in a manner that serves their own ends. We have seen that in High River and other places around the country.

The government knows that Canadians have short memories. A promise from a politician is not worth the powder to blow it to hell. Should they need to "re-interpret" the law in the future, they will. Vigilance is important to keep them reined in and acting for the good of the country.

It might be cynical to say, but the national police and the federal government will do whatever they need to do to suit the situation. I would ask that you support groups who are not afraid to speak out in Ottawa and to the media. These groups would have consulting lawyers to help with the quagmire of laws and governmental bills, writs, amendments, etc.

Remember, we are not only talking about firearms. Get active with a political organization or citizen's group you can trust at any level of government. Be open minded. Let others talk too. A willingness to communicate and listen to others are important tools.

Join a group like the CCFR or CSSA. Chat with, or write your MP occasionally. Let them know how you feel about what they are doing, and express your opinion(s) on any legislation being discussed in Ottawa.

When you do communicate, don't come across like a crazy man. Never be scared to listen or ask questions. Speak calmly to others. For example, tell them why you feel OICs are improper and can be misused. You can also write any Minister or MP anywhere in the country and express your opinion. Tell them about any proposed legislation that you feel is irresponsible. Briefly tell them why you feel that way, but don't run off at the mouth

Even short notes work. Something like, "I'm glad that you are supporting the school board restructuring. Great job!" It provides feedback and builds trust.

That said, a wooden stake, some holy water and a crucifix might be good to have in your tool kit, should you have to deal with Bill Blair directly.

Steve;
Good evening to you sir, I hope it warmed up some for you folks and the weekend was a good one for you all.

The comment about interpreting the law as they see fit is bang on in my experience.

We need only to look recently at the situation with magazines which exceeded 10 rounds for 10/22's that they decided out of the blue were suddenly prohibited. Again though, the RCMP said - don't turn them in, but don't use them either. This in spite of the fact that they're legal under the current law as written.

Then there's Canadian Border Services deciding after decades of letting in folding knives with thumb studs, holes in the blade or flippers that they are "switch blades" and can't be brought into the country. Again however, one can still own them and carry them as it's only CBSA who are turning them back.... Confused yet?

Well this'll help, since bigger dealers can still bring in knives so equipped, but I can't as an individual.

Again I ask, what kind of government do we usually call one that makes decisions with no voting or discussion folks?

Anyway, lastly Steve, I'll echo your thoughts to join something like CCFR or CSSA, get involved and lets get this done away with.

Thanks again Steve, all the best to you all this upcoming week.

Dwayne

"Hangover Minister Blair".... love it! I've heard rumours, but of course, "Only his bartender knows for sure."

Can this be the very same Bill Blair, who conducted a cross-Canada "consultation" last year when he was still the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, which resulted in a paper,“ Reducing Violent Crime: A Dialogue on Handguns and Assault Weapons”, released in tandem with conversations on banning handguns, which stated, on page 2:

“The vast majority of owners of handguns and of other firearms in Canada lawfully abide by requirements, and most gun crimes are not committed with legally-owned firearms" (Thanks to MP Glen Motz for that, which he sent me last fall).

BTW, e-Petition 2574, in response to the "nasty scary assault-type military weapons and whatever else we can throw in there" announcement, has, at this point (10pm, Sunday May 10) received 161,267 verified signatures. This in only 5 days. The previous one, in response to the OIC announcement, ended up with 175,308 in 90 days. The pathetic one from "Windy" Wendy Cukier in the fall of 2018, demanding the same ban, received barely over 20,000 signatures in 120 days, 80% of which were from- strangely enough- Ontario, where The Grande Dame of Canadian Gun Control herself lives.

If this is democracy, "include me out." Perhaps call it "Trudocracy." The unbridled arrogance of this government is beyond repulsive, to put it mildly.

Unlike most of you, I'm not a hunter; my main interest is handguns (but none of those frightening military assault-style thingies). But it likely doesn't matter, because I'm sure they're following Lloyd Axworthy's words:

"...disarming the Canadian public is part of the new humanitarian social agenda." (Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy at a Gun Control conference in Oslo, Norway in 1998.) So if they have their way, you'll be "disarmed" as well, and reduced to buying prepackged meat at Superstore.

And yes, I am a member of both the CCFR and CSSA. Just sent a chunk of change to the former to assist with their lawsuit.

Either that Iver Johnson had a bulged barrel, the guy doing the measuring misread the mike, or someone is just trying to blow smoke up our collective butts. The prohibitions, which directly affect numerous legitimate hunting rifles and other rifle which Canadians should be FREE to own, are bad enough on their own. It is not necessary for an organization's lawyer to make stuff up to try and build support for their position. Doing this sort of thing simply hurts the group's credibility. The whole 12 gauge business is classic fake news. GD

Any of your suggested reasons could be valid,. There is still some confusion about the whole thing but it should never have seen the light of day in the first place. Grrr........

I believe this was posted here before, but here is the link to the petition about their latest attempt to foist a gun control bill on the public without debate.

Petition e-2574 - The Prime Ministe...ed, is an assault on Canadian democracy;

Hi Steve,'

Yes, I included it in my post above. Currently (11:45am PDT) it stands at 166,305.

I’m sorry you northern neighbors are (also) experiencing the be-knighted wisdom of your urban elites: Liberals — except how others live and think.

Hang tough.

"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." Although perhaps not in the literal sense that Franklin spoke of.
I would settle for seeing Herren Trudeau und Blair hung from their own petard, however.

Everyone knows how this works. They ban scary black doohickies. Then some nut shoots someone with a pump shotgun or revolver. More bans are obviously needed.

Eventually you end up like the Brits, contemplating bans on steak knives and cricket bats or whatever they are currently fretting over.

I hope Canadians can nip this in the bud, because it will never be enough...

A person has to wonder how Socks and Bill B are going to handle this. Clearly illegal but it is from one of their favorite groups of people. Saddle Lake Reserve. Errr Ummm Ahhh --- do they use those for hunting?

https://www.canadapolicereport.ca/2...rHX1XT9BNj8lxYD46XaueC0QFmhjXRW9D0HSqqMM

You guys are screwed. Big Time.

It's just another bump in the road. We'll get through this, but it will take time.

From the CCFR website. Link here.

The text is below. A bit of a read but well written. Good to have a strong letter like this from one of the folks actually on the front line, rather than sitting behind a fancy desk in far-off Ottawa.


An Open Letter from Law Enforcement re: Gun Ban

Law enforcement colleagues,

Much has been said in recent weeks by politicians on both sides of the gun debate, by members of the public and by media pundits. Little has been said publicly by those of us who are professionally engaged and trained in the business of public safety. That business falls squarely at our feet.

Recently the government decided that they are above our parliamentary system and used an order-in-council to push through legislation rather than using parliamentary debate. The reason for this is simple, they wouldn’t have got the legislation passed without trampling over democracy in their bid to force an ideological, divisive, partisan agenda. The Liberals have clearly decided to follow the path of US politics and use division as a political tool rather than attempting to unite our country and work towards consensus and actual public safety. The confiscation program that is being put in place will be without a doubt a huge erosion of Charter rights and a terrible precedent for Canadian democracy. If this continues it sets the precedent that any party in power can enact whatever legislation they want without going through parliament.

I am a police member in a Western province in a major municipality that has its fair share of firearms related incidents. I work in a speciality team that has a number of areas of focus, one of which is dealing with gang crime which essentially means two things, drugs and guns. I own an AR15, a Glock and a pump action shotgun (along with a number of other rifles, shotguns and handguns). I choose to own these because it allows me to train to keep myself safe, the public safe and my colleagues safe. I also hunt. Training is hard to come by at work and with ongoing budget cuts it is likely to get worse, starting to take these firearms away from police officers that we use to train will make police officers and the public less safe. Privately owning firearms similar or the same as those used professionally is very common for police. It’s no different than training in the gym on your days off.

This is an open letter about being on the right side of history and doing the right things for the right reasons. That goes for both us and the government. You and I are accountable for every decision we make, every word that comes out of our mouths, every unholstering of a use of force option. We as Canadians deserve the same level of accountability from our government. If we can’t explain our actions when taking property from someone or taking away their liberty, there’s a problem. The same should be true of the government. The time for the government to stop lying and avoiding answering questions has come.

It is important to always keep in mind that governments, politicians and partisan ideologies come and go. We serve the people of Canada. We are not a tool of the minority government waiting to do its bidding, ready to trample over the Charter rights of the citizens of Canada and seize legally obtained property in the hands of innocent men and women.

History is replete with instances of good men and women doing awful things at the behest of their governments or their organization, whether it be a law enforcement agency or a military unit.

If the official opposition or the Canadian courts don’t undo this decision, police members in Canada as well as other parts of the legal system will be involved in breaching the Section 8 Charter rights of law abiding Canadian citizens when we are involved in the unlawful seizures of privately owned property. As we are all aware, it is not enough for a seizure to be authorized by law, the law must also be reasonable. As this change has been made through order-in-council by a minority government without parliamentary debate and approval I have deep concerns about it being found to be reasonable. Until the Canadian court system rules that this law is reasonable, we are putting ourselves once again in a position of being on the wrong side of history. It is entirely possible that in the coming years we will be involved in criminalizing innocent individuals, entering their homes and removing their property.

All of these actions will be carried out because a small group of people in a minority government decided that they were above our parliament and our courts.

It is the role of parliament and the courts to figure this mess out, until then I believe that we as law enforcement professionals and Canadians should give a lot of thought as to whether we want to be agents of the government or protectors of our communities.

I encourage all of you reading this who agree that the government should stop this action and focus on criminals to write a letter expressing your thoughts and send it anonymously to the CCFR. They will provide you with details of how this can be done. We need to make our voices heard. We are the professionals in public safety, we are the ones who run towards the criminals with the guns, we are the ones who must speak the truth.

Sincerely, a concerned colleague and Canadian citizen.

UPDATE: Today, the CCFR filed an Application in Federal Court in opposition to the recent firearm ban announced by the minority Liberal government on May 1. This ban was brought into effect by an Order in Council made by the Governor in Council amending the regulation that classifies firearms in Canada.

I have donated money for this fight. Please do the same. If you cannot afford to, please spread the message. Thanks!

https://firearmrights.ca/en/legal-action-filed-will-you-help/



The CCFR’s Application asks the Federal Court to strike down the amended regulation on the grounds that:

1. The regulation is invalid, unlawful, and outside of the scope of powers the Criminal Code could have delegated to the Governor in Council.
2. The regulation and the means by which is was created and amended is unconstitutional;
3. The regulation and its effect breaches each of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Bill of Rights, and section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982;
4. The exercise of the regulation-making power by the Governor in Council was and is irrational, and contrary to clear fact and all available evidence; and
5. Specifically, the firearms purported to be banned by this Order in Council are obviously suitable for hunting and sporting purposes in Canada, because that is exactly what we have been doing with them for decades.

Following the Order in Council, the RCMP began making amendments to the Firearms Reference Table (“FRT”), changing the classification of hundreds of firearms to “prohibited”, thereby unilaterally writing law and creating criminals out of law-abiding Canadians. Accordingly, the CCFR is asking the Court to declare that these purported “bans by FRT” are of no force or effect, both for similar reasons as applied to the regulation above, as well as the fact that the RCMP simply have no legal power to unilaterally make laws reclassifying firearms in Canada and creating criminals out of Canadians. This is especially troubling given that the RCMP aren’t even notifying the affected Canadians about these unilateral reclassifications.

Because the firearms affected by the regulation and the “bans by FRT” are in fact reasonable for use in Canada for hunting and sporting purposes, the CCFR is asking the Court for a declaration of that, and also for a consequential declaration that all of these firearms are to be deemed to be classified as non-restricted for all purposes, and therefore may be enjoyed by Canadians for both hunting and sporting purposes.

In order to protect the interests of Canadians from irreparable harm in the interim, the CCFR is also asking the Court to grant an injunction staying the effect of both the regulation and the “ban by FRT”, until these matters can be properly adjudicated.

This court action is the first in a series of actions planned by the CCFR to defend the rights, freedoms and liberty of law-abiding Canadians.

I got that message in my email today, too and have passed it on. I'll be making (another) donation for this.

As we all know, it has zero, nowt, zip, nada, bupkis to do with "public safety" and everything to do with ideology, and is relevant even if you don't own or have any interest in "scary, black, military-style assault rifles". If they don't get a good slap in the face on this, your grandfather's venerable Model1894 will probably eventually have to be blocked to 3 rounds and all those thousands of .303's will have to have their magazines pinned- SACRILEGE / QUEL HORREUR!

Donated today - Thanks for sharing!!

We are in for the fight of our lives here - If possible all Canadian Gun owners should join the Conservative Party of Canada and donate to them as well. They are the only party that supports private gun ownership in Canada.

I feel if this is destained to be overturned it probably will be at the political level.

I mailed a letter to Mr. Trudeau as follows:


That was about as civil as I could manage at that point.

Good morning all. Yesterday, I gave a donation to the cause. I sure hope ya'll can get this mess straightened out. We are praying for you.

Jim

Thank you, sir. That is bove and beyond the call of duty, as they say

Now this is chilling. An article by Lorne Gunter in the Toronto Sun, Liberals goot themselves in the foot

The article is quoted in full below, but here's the shocking part:





The federal gun ban, announced May 1, just gets worse and worse.

At first the confiscation covered nearly a dozen popular models of rifles and about 1,500 variations of those models.

Some 250,000 guns – maybe more – would be taken from over 100,000 legal owners.

Except they wouldn’t be taken right away. The federal Liberal government doesn’t have the money (perhaps a quarter of a billion dollars or more) to “buy back” all those guns from their (non-criminal) owners.

So current owners would be allowed to keep the newly banned guns, even to the end of their lives. They just wouldn’t be able to sell, swap, shot them or take them to a range or out hunting.

How does that make any sense? The Liberals’ justification for banning these firearms is that they are too dangerous to let civilians own them. Yet in the next breath, the Liberals turned around and let every current owner hold on to his or her “military-style” firearms for as many as 70 more years.

Then we learned the ban would be authorized by an order-in-council, not by an act of Parliament. And it would be introduced when Parliament was not really sitting due to the pandemic.

This was followed by the revelation that many larger shotguns – perhaps over a million common hunting guns – could also be banned because the Trudeau government’s decree was poorly written (or deviously written) to define which guns to confiscate according to barrel size rather than a gun’s function.

Now we are learning that the Liberals – who don’t have a majority mandate to undertake such a massive confiscation – are plotting legislation that would permit municipal governments to outlaw the possession of handguns in homes.

True, more than two-thirds of firearms crimes in Canada involve handguns, but almost all of those are committed by drug dealers and gang members using illegal handguns. Legit collectors and target shooters don’t commit crimes.

If the Liberals follow through, city governments could order law-abiding handgun owners to store their firearms at some central location such as a police warehouse.

As if all of that wasn’t bad enough, we learned this week the Trudeau government chose to legislate its ban via cabinet order, because Parliament had become too – um – inconvenient.

Ed Burlew, a Toronto-area lawyer who is one the country’s foremost experts on firearms law, received a copy of an email from Kingston Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara.

In response to a constituent’s complaint about Liberal gun policy, Tabbara explained the government had chosen to confiscate hundreds of millions of dollars of personal property from law-abiding Canadians using a cabinet decree because, “We can’t get the necessary unanimous consent for introduction of a Bill on this subject and this has waited too long for action.”

Since when is there a deadline for how long you have to try democracy before you can give up and shove whatever you want into law? I guess if you’re a Liberal, it’s okay to bypass the democratic process so long as you’ve grown impatient with Parliament.

This is similar to them deciding early in the pandemic that would like the power to tax and spent at will until the end of 2021 without Parliament having any say over it.

For the last two months, the Liberals have governed largely without opposition. There have been very few sessions of Parliament during which the Liberals have been subjected to opposition questioning.

Since mid-March, government in Canada has largely consisted of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau descending the steps at Rideau Cottage and decreeing what will and will not be done.

This is then followed by a few questions from friendly journalists based largely in Quebec.

The longer the pandemic lasts, the more dictatorial the Liberals become.

Bill Blair's alcoholism is going to give him a fatal heart attack. When that happens, I hope it's a real nasty, painful one.

If he is in fact an alcoholic (and it looks like it), it needs to be documented and used against him.

I emailed Lorne Gunter about that MP's e-mail, which really should be made public. If it's legit, as Gunter claims, no doubt Ed B will use it in evidence. The Turd's Teflon™ coating needs to be removed, and him after it..

I found this tidbit of information. For those who like to point the finger at the east for their troubles, your anger should be directed at Toronto.

According to the CBC, the Canadian Broadcorping Castration, and Stats Can, there are 37.6 million people in Canada. The figures below represent the population of the GTA vs the rest of Ontario. Also, the square km of each.

GTA + Hamilton -- 7.9 million -- 7,124 km²
Rest of Ontario -- 7.0 million -- 1,076,000 km²

The GTA represents less than 1% of Ontario's total land mass, but has 53% of its population. Of the 7.9 million people in the GTA, some are either too young to vote, or don't bother.

As of last election, the GTA had 57 federal seats, or about 17% of the 338 seats in Canada.

49 of those 57 seats are held by the Liberals.

The Liberals hold 157 seats nationally. 31% of those - about 1/3 - are from the GTA, an area that is less than 1% of Ontario's total land mass. And probably 0.3 or 0.4% of Canada's total land mass.

Crunching the numbers, 1/3 of the sitting Liberal government was elected from an extremely small geographic area - the GTA. While it may be easy to blame "the East" for Canada's troubles, Toronto wields a huge chunk of the power. Those of us in "the rest of Ontario", do not like being lumped into the group who is to blame.

It is the large number of people in the GTA that continues to be a thorn in the side of the Conservatives, the NDP, etc. The Liberals know this, and that is why they spend so much time campaigning in the large urban centres.

Well, Steve, for those of us "out west", Toronto IS "back east"

But yes, you are right and it was never more obvious than when "Windy" Wendy initiated her pathetic "Ban AR15, handguns, potato guns" etc. ePetition 1923 in the fall of 2018. Over a period of 120 days, it received 20,110 signatures, 16,081 (80%) of which came from..... (drum roll, please)..... ONTARIO!

The subsequent two, (petition 2341,sponsored by Glen Motz) ran for only 60 days and received 175,310 signatures, reasonably distributed across the country (56.071 from Ontario); the current one, sponsored by Michelle Rempel Garner, beginning on May 5 and not closing until Sept. 2, has already received 219,013 verified signatures, again reasonably distributed across the country (72,477 from Ontario).

No bloody wonder the west is fed up


The link to any of these can be accessed by replacing the "xxxx" in the following URL: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-XXXX.
To see the provincial distribution, click on the "down" arrow to the right of the Signatures line.

You're missing the point, Stuart. Surgeons do not cut off the head to cure an ear ache.

One third of the Motz petition support was from Ontario, as was Garner's. I'll repeat that - 1/3. That's from 10 provinces and three territories. I suspect, but cannot prove that most of the Ontario support was from outside the GTA.

Stay on message. Cut out the cancer. Leave the healthy tissue alone. The Liberals use that to keep you off guard and the pro-gun people splintered. Don't fall for their tricks.

Points well taken, Steve. Perhaps I was a little hasty. (Of course, you' re in ON, too.) Naturally Ontario will have a larger response on most issues, simply due to the size of the population base. Undoubtedly most of "our" support indeed came from outside the GTA, just as most of the 80% support for Windy Wendy likely came from within it. The western "objection" to Ontario is largely due to the preponderance of Liberal/left suppport in the GTA, just as it is out here around Vancouver. and doesn't apply to the rural ridings.

Turdo is, intentionally or otherwise, worsening the divide between urban and rural Canadians. The "cancer" is the disinformation campaign to vilify sports shooters in the country and that cancer needs to be cut out!

Has anyone received a letter from the RCMP briefly outlining what firearms the government has decided are banned?

I have been away from the house for a couple of days on business. My wife phoned, saying that I received a letter yesterday from the RCMP. I will be home in a few days and actually see it. I cannot be the only person to have got one in the mail.

Hi Steve,

My hunter neighbour up the street got his a couple of days ago and I got mine yesterday. I haven't bothered opening it as a) I don't own any "nasty-scary-military-type->20mm bore cane guns/whatever" and b) it will probably be irrelevant in a week or so as Herr Bimmler instructs the RCMP to add stuff. (No, I'M ot bitter or angry. Not me!) But I could scan it and post it here or PM if folks want to see what Der Kanadienischer Gestapo is up to.