Bill C-42, Royal Assent and Coming Into Force
Another late story from TPF Online and a continuation from a previous entry!
Bill C-42
An Act to amend the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code and to make a related amendment and a consequential amendment to other Acts
AKA: The Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act or CSFL Act
Slow to start, but a mad dash to the finish….
The First Reading of this bill was introduced back on the 7th of October, 2014. And the bill itself generated much controversy even among the firearms community and we at TPF gave our opinion on the Bill way back then in October 2014, soon after it’s first reading in the House of Commons. Second reading was originally supposed to be done on October 22nd, 2014. However that morning Parliament hill was assaulted by a gunman armed with a hunting rifle and Bill C-42 sat in hiatus. That is until April 20th 2015, nearly 6 months after the first reading. What followed was a political whirlwind in terms of speed with which this bill made it’s way through the legal system.
House of Commons
- First Reading 2014-10-07
- Second Reading 2015-04-20
- Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
Committee Reporting the Bill with an Amendment 2015-05-06 - Report Stage 2015-05-25
- Third Reading 2015-05-29
Senate
- First Reading 2015-06-02
- Second Reading 2015-06-04
- Referral to Committee 2015-06-04
- Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Committee Report Presented without Amendment 2015-06-15 - Third Reading 2015-06-16
Royal Assent 2015-06-18
WOW. Two months from 2nd reading in the HoC until receiving Royal Assent. That is faster than the speed of light in Political terms… Some portions of the act were to be effective immediately and others were to be enacted in the several months after the bill was passed.
IMMEDIATE PROVISIONS: (as of June 18, 2015)
- Mandatory classroom participation in firearms safety courses for first time applicants (aka no more test challenges for new people whom have never had a POL/PAL)
- Chief Firearms Officer’s authority is subject to regulations (of which there are no regulations at this time, so no allowed changes)
- Increasing penalties for convictions of domestic violence (firearms prohibitions)
- Provide the Governor in Council the ability to classify a firearm as non-restricted (Previously only able to classify as restricted and prohibited)
The first point of these is one of the most contentious as it is a technical increase in “gun control” legislation by removing a method of which to enable individuals to acquire a firearms license. This is wholly true, but from a familiarity standpoint, it also means that every single new firearms applicant will be familiarized with a common knowledge set regarding firearm ownership and utilization. From a numbers game, 95+% of all new licensees took the full Canadian Firearms Safety Course , aka CFSC (and restricted version, CRFSC) versus those that challenged the test. The numbers of those who challenged the test has been continuously dwindling over the last decade.
The CFSC supposedly includes information regarding the following topics (The CRFSC is focused towards restricted firearms):
- the evolution of firearms, major parts, types and actions;
- basic firearms safety practices;
- ammunition;
- operating firearm actions;
- safe handling and carry procedures;
- firing techniques and procedures;
- care of non-restricted firearms;
- responsibilities of the firearms owner/user; and,
- safe storage, display, transportation and handling of non-restricted firearms.
The second point is a good thing as it ensures that CFO’s cannot just make up stuff on the fly and force conditions on firearms owners regarding licensing and authorizations to transport.
Point three is a good thing in theory, but to be given a possible lifetime prohibition would hopefully be dependent on the severity of domestic abuse charges. No the author is not being soft on domestic abuse, but take this example; A yelling match regarding finances by a couple that is reported by neighbours and police arrive amid the yelling with no physical violence involved. Police Charge someone with domestic violence as yelling at another is a form of abuse/violence. In that scenario is a lifetime firearms prohibition warranted?
Allowing the government to reclassify firearms as non-restricted, and the fourth and final immediate provision enacted by C-42. Two words, Hot Damned! Since the introduction of C-68 back twenty years ago, the only direction available to government bodies was to be able to classify firearms to Restricted and/or Prohibited classification. This was used extensively back then to make sure that the scary black guns back then were not easily available to firearms owners. Twenty years later, the ability to classify to non-restricted is now an option. If only there was a couple firearms that they could start using this with….
Classified back from prohibited!
WHAT FOLLOWED! (as of July 31, 2015)
The next activity that occurred was the re-classification of the CZ858’s and Swiss Arms rifles from prohibited status to their original status. The FIRST time that any firearm has been reclassified to a “lesser” classification in over 20 years. The models that were targeted?
- Ceská Zbrojovka (CZ) Model CZ858 Tactical-2P rifle
- Ceská Zbrojovka (CZ) Model CZ858 Tactical-2V rifle
- Ceská Zbrojovka (CZ) Model CZ858 Tactical-4P rifle
- Ceská Zbrojovka (CZ) Model CZ858 Tactical-4V rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Classic Green rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Classic Green carbine
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Classic Green CQB rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Black Special rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Black Special carbine
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Black Special CQB rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Black Special Target rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Blue Star rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Heavy Metal rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Red Devil rifle
- SAN Swiss Arms Model Swiss Arms Edition rifle
These fifteen rifle models had been re-designated as converted automatics back in Spring of 2014, and affected roughly 12,500 firearms owned by Canadians to a retail value of over $13,000,000. These rifles were previously classified as non-restricted and restricted due to their barrel length according to the standard classification system enshrined in law. These rifles, on July 31, were reclassified back to their former statuses, yet they are still technically converted automatics. Huh? A WTF!? may spring to our reader’s mind. The FRT, Firearms Reference Table, currently lists the above firearms as converted automatics whose classification is set as non-restricted or restricted by an Order in Council. They are now Prohibited devices that have been government granted non-prohibited status. Not quite the same as being fully reclassified, but it is a start, and since that also means they can be used fully and wholly akin to over 2 years prior, it is a very good start!
Bill C-42. It is here and being implemented in steps…
The next part to the evolution and implementation of Bill C-42 will soon follow!
P.S. Images stolen from the internet as the crew of TPF does not own either of these fine rifles. Thank you Firearms Blog!
The Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act. More good than bad? Or the opposite?
You don’t even have to be a firearms owner to be even remotely interested in the laws regarding firearms ownership and usage in Canada, but it cannot hurt to be counted as one. There are roughly two million (2,000,000) adult citizens of Canada who have a firearm license of some sort. Most are likely the hunters and long distance shooters having a Possession and Acquisition License, aka PAL, for non-restricted firearms. Those who practice action shooting, whom are more tactical firearms enthusiasts and handgun owners, have a PAL for both restricted and non-restricted firearms, affectionately known as an RPAL. There are also PALs which are for firearms designated for one or more of the several prohibited classes that exist. Currently however there are Possession Only versions of the aforementioned licenses as well, and these are short formed to POL holders.
Now some of you may have heard about the introduction of the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act. The new agencies were very tight lipped it seemed about the proposed legislation tabled by the current government as very little news made it into the mainstream media. Perhaps there was too much bad news for firearms owners as good news in the bill to make it unable to bash the CPC government with? The Minister of Public Safety, Mr. Steven Blaney, made the announcement on October 7th, 2014, in the House Of Commons. It has been given the Bill number of C-42 and has passed first reading.
On October 7th, Minister Blaney announced the CSFL Act
The bill in itself has many sections and covers a fair range of sections and we at TPF will go into the nitty, gritty summations for both good and bad for those who do not want to wade through legalese of a bill. TPF will discuss each of the points and rate them appropriately, but obviously it is the opinion of the author and please feel free to agree and, or, disagree; aka comment. Please recall that this is the first iteration and the bill itself may change during subsequent readings and from committee recommendations. Also note that the intent of the bill cannot be changed over it’s travels through the procedural system, otherwise the bill becomes null and void.
The following are the main points that are contained in the current iteration of Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code and to make a related amendment and a consequential amendment to other Acts; whose short title is the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act.
- Create a six-month grace period at the end of the five-year license period to stop people from immediately becoming criminalized for paperwork delays around license renewals;
- Streamline the licensing system by eliminating the Possession Only License (POL) and converting all existing POLs to Possession and Acquisition Licenses (PALs);
- Make classroom participation in firearms safety training mandatory for first-time license applicants;
- Amend the Criminal Code to strengthen the provisions relating to orders prohibiting the possession of firearms where a person is convicted of an offense involving domestic violence;
- End needless paperwork around Authorizations to Transport by making them a condition of a license for certain routine and lawful activities;
- Provide for the discretionary authority of Chief Firearms Officers to be subject to limit by regulation;
- Authorize firearms import information sharing when restricted and prohibited firearms are imported into Canada by businesses; and,
- Allow the Government to have the final say on classification decisions, following the receipt of independent expert advice.
Truthseeker Section:
Lets start with #1. Currently the instant your license expires, all you are in illegal possession of every single firearm you own. ALL OF THEM. This also means that for those with a prohibited class firearm license will instantly lose that status and not be able to renew them as one of the conditions is to have a continuous ownership status. Expired license means a break in that requirement. By including a 6 month grace period, it gives those forgetful individuals time to renew and not be caught by any sudden changes. This is a good thing. No real downsides to this. 3 of 5 stars
#2 is converting the existing POLs into PALs. Back in the original legislation which introduced the possession only aspect of firearms, only those who already had a firearm were able to get a POL. The idea is that for nearly 20 years, these POL holders have not had any sort of notable record of criminal activity or misuse of firearms. Plus it only makes sense to reduce the number of license types and cutting the license types in half is a good way to reduce bureaucratic exercises. There are nearly six hundred thousand (600,000) POL holders in the system. This is a huge added benefit to the firearms industry as it opens up an additional 40% more consumer market for firearms sales. That is a huge step forward. 5 of 5 stars
Mandatory safety training is the third point and is a contentious one. Removing the ability to challenge the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, aka CFSC, is not making it easier to own a firearm. For urban areas and nearby rural areas the ability to schedule and attend a CFSC is not a difficult task… And for extremely remote locations such as those found in the Territories, instructors are flown into those areas just as they do today. The problem is that you are now forced to take safety training which has never been a means to eliminate irresponsible and accidental misuse of a firearm. The biggest complaint would be that prospective individuals now need to pay more money and more time dedicated to firearms safety training. Where a CFSC challenge was merely $50 and roughly an hour of your time, the course is 8-12 hours and now also has to pay for books and instructor times which elevate the costs to $75 or more. More of an inconvenience than a negative, but still… 3 of 5 stars
Domestic violence is one of those nasty occurrences that many people to not care to mention. Point four introduces the option for a lifetime firearms ban for those who commit domestic violence on spouses, kin, parents and other household residents. On the surface this sounds like a good addition, but recall that these prohibition can occur to any individual charged with an indictable offense but has not been cleared of wrongdoing. An unconditional discharge will still net you a possible firearms/weapons prohibition order! So don’t be one of those idiots who would intentionally cause grief and damage to others, let alone to family and children. The issue in this case is the duration, as a lifetime sentence for incarceration may still allow the individual to leave prison on parole, which is never ending with a life sentence. It is obviously situational however, an example being if a drunken, stupid nineteen year old and his father have a fight; the teenager subsequently receives an assault charge and an unconditional pardon to it, is it reasonable to punish him for life with some form of restriction, be it a firearm or whatnot, forever? Either make it lifetime ban upon a conviction, or a sensible number that works with our current laws. 1 of 5 stars
Combining ATT’s for common purposes instead of having several individual requests on a recurring basis sounds like pretty common sense. With this portion of the bill, your long term ATT will now be good for border crossings, guns smiths, gun stores, and gun shows and all approved ranges in the license holder’s province or territory. They are also must issue instead of shall issue. That’s a pretty big change for the better. However it is tempered with some changes that have negative effects on some firearms owners. Some provinces already have multi-province long term Authorizations to Transport to various ranges, this bill in it’s current form would curtail the ability of those firearms owners to participate in events and competitions in neighboring regions. So far this is good in scope but limits others. The biggest hurdle is the fact that non-handgun prohibited firearms will NOT be issued any authorizations to transport to approved ranges. Despite CFOs not issuing a Special Authority to Possess, aka SAP, for the last decade; which means all prohibited rifles have been safe queens for that duration. Bill C-42 states clearly that prohibited rifles will remain safe queens. Great for restricted rifles and hand-gunners in general, but imposes definite territorial limitations and misses two important issues. For transport to and from a post office, plus how it deals with people who travel across a provincial boundary to shoot at their primary range. 4 of 5 stars
Point six is simple yet confusing in nature. Provide for the discretionary authority of Chief Firearms Officers to be subject to limit by regulation. What this means is that the Chief Firearms Officer may only impose any additional requirements on a license/ATT/etc… that are specifically allowed in legislation. This means that the CFO cannot attach a condition to an ATT or license such as requiring an invitation in order to attend an compete in matches hosted by another club. Anything that restricts arbitrarily imposed conditions is a good thing. Again however, many provinces have decent CFO. 4 of 5 stars
The data sharing mentioned in the seventh point is a very interesting one and has zero effect on the average firearms owner. The current problem is that the RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) are not authorize to communicate with other for the purposes of data sharing. When CBSA gets firearms imports it needs to ask the RCMP for clarification and data through convoluted channels and the formatting of the information is less than “easily manipulated” to perform customs work. This section is to create a frame work of communication that is easily accessed by customs to expedite information required to process restricted and prohibited firearms. There has been mention of a new undefined form being utilized, which has not been created, nor determined if it replaces the existing customs form. This proposal is both good and bad as anything that helps get firearms through customs faster is good, but additional paperwork is not fun for businesses. 3 of 5 stars
The final point, number 8, is one that is the least explained and the most feared for some reason. If you read all the changes in the proposed bill, the definition of non-restricted is defined and introduced throughout the bill and also creates the ability of a government to reclassify restricted and prohibited firearms into non-restricted classifications. That is HUGE! This becomes the means with which firearms like the newly prohibited Swiss Arms series of rifles can be classified as non-restricted. This is the first step towards reclassifying firearms which should be non-restricted by the current definition of firearms as set out in law. This is a huge plus. 5 of 5 stars
Total rating out of 40 possible points? 28 out of 40. It is a passing grade but only a C overall regarding the proposed changes contained in the Bill.
“Is the CSFL Act a good bill in it’s own? That is for you to decide!
Naysayer section:
There are still issues with the CSFL act in that it does not address the multitude of other issues that are significantly deeper and more fundamentally wrong with the firearms act and it’s associated regulations. These are the more commonly stated naysayer lines that are floating around the online Canadian firearm forums CGN and GoC being the two largest.
- It is still a criminal offense to possess a firearm, in that firearms are illegal to possess UNLESS you have a POL or PAL of the appropriate class.
- ATTs should be worded to cover any and all legal purposes.
- Licenses should be lifetime in duration.
- Classifications should not exist!
- CFOs should be abolished entirely or made to assist shooters/businesses
- It is small little tweaks instead of wholesale change
Unfortunately as the old quote states,
“It’s easier to take than to give.”
Expecting politics to not be about compromise is pretty foolhardy. If there was no such thing as compromise, C-68 would have ended all civilian gun ownership. An additional tidbit of information is as follows.
As part of Mr. Peter VanLoan’s, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, statement recently:
“Starting on Wednesday, October 22, the House will consider Bill C-42, the common sense firearms licensing act at second reading. This bill would cut red tape for law-abiding firearms owners and provide safe and simple firearms policies. I would note that this legislation has already been endorsed by a number of key groups, such as the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, the New Brunswick Wildlife Federation, the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, la Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, and the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters, among others.”
That is extremely fast paced for a Bill in the House of Commons. Remember that this write-up is about the legislation as written itself, not as a grand overall status of the Firearms Act and the infamous Bill C-68/etc…
As this is a political review of a newly introduced bill, it is hard to give definite evaluations as the bill’s content may indeed change. We can hope that some wording and content will be improved in the future…So, instead of the usual TPF options, we ask if you the reader believe the contents of the bill are beneficial, superficial, or detrimental to firearms owners in the context of the bill.
October 31st, 2012 – Halloween to most, yet millions celebrate for a different reason!
The resounding answer by firearms owners across Canada? Hell Yes! As of October 31st, 2012 it is official. Canada has finally rolled back a small piece of the great white elephant called C-68. The long gun registry, that is the registration of non-restricted firearms, has finally been completed. At least everywhere but the province of Quebec.
On May 2nd, 2011, Canadian elected a majority Conservative government which had as one of it’s campaign promises, to scrap the ineffectual long gun registry. Eleven months later on April 5, 2012, Bill C-19 received royal assent and the official end to the registration of NR firearms began. It is only now, another 7 months later that the actual records themselves are being destroyed, but not until after many many attempts by bureaucracy to subvert the intent of the new legislation.
Lets see a time line of the trials and tribulations which trying to stymie the process.
- February 2012 – House of commons votes on third reading and Bill C-19 passes to the senate with the vote 159-130.
- April 2012 – Senate votes on Bill C-19, it passes with the vote 50-27
- April 2012 – Quebec files an injunction to preserve registry data for Quebec non-restricted firearms
- April 2012 – Bill C-19 receives royal assent
- May 2012 – Chief Firearms Offices try and argue that C-19 only means omission of recording registration ID numbers of firearms and attempts to keep enforcing filling of all other data into the CFO registration ledgers by businesses via business licence requirements.
- June 2012 – Government enacts legislation to prevent recording of ANY personal information as part of conditions of a firearms business licence.
- August 2012 – Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic applies for injunction of data deletion and to have C-19 ruled unconstitutional and stricken from law
- Sept 2012 – Quebec courts uphold injunction for Quebec “data”
- Sept 2012 – Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic case thrown out of Ontario court
- Oct 2012 – The files are officially deleted on Halloween
Now those that actually read the list will note that there currently is not a resolution in Quebec yet. The registration data is still being recorded in Quebec. This is obviously the sore point in the whole resolution of Bill C-19 and total destruction of all things regarding non-restricted firearm registration. The current federal government has vowed to take the Quebec challenge to the highest levels of court to have the data deleted on par with the rest of Canada, however it will take time because the wheels of Canada’s legal system are unfortunately slower than pouring frozen molasses.
CSSA/CILA’s Tony Bernardo
So what does this mean? For 9 Provinces and 3 Territories, the “Long Gun Registry” has finally been laid to rest. Kudos to the hard work put forwards by dedicated individuals such as Tony Bernardo, MP Garry Breitkreuz, all the staff and volunteers of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association and of course thanks to all of you! The firearms owners of Canada who have helped with volunteer efforts, donations, writing letters, talking and interacting with political figures, spending their valuable time and energies focused on one goal, to improve the laws regarding firearms for responsible shooters.
We at TPF congratulate ALL those who have helped, from donations of pennies to shouldering the running of trade shows. Without your efforts all of what we do would be impossible. HOWEVER! We cannot stop here, there are far more things that need to be done and changes to be made.
One small step for repealing bad gun laws, one giant leap for crushing ridiculous gun control agendas!
April 5th, 2012 – Fighting for over a decade and a half, finally a win.
April 5th, 2012. Registration of non-restricted firearms has ended.
It was 16.5 years ago, specifically December 5th, 1995, that Bill C-68 had received royal assent by the Liberal Government of the time and under the watch of the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. C-68 was the beginning of the most recent level of totalitarian “gun control” in Canada. Firearms classifications had been enacted back in the late 1960’s which first started the whole notion of restricted and prohibited classes of firearms as well as the government’s ability to classify firearms with an Order-In-Council. Here TPF gives a basic rundown of “Gun Control” in Canadian history.
1934: The first version of modern registration of all Handguns occurred in Canada. Registration was done by the local constabulary.
1939-1944: During the wartime shotguns and rifles were required to be registered as well as handguns. This was used to confiscate arms from Canadians during the wartime period such as those who were placed into Japanese Internment Camps and suspected Axis sympathizers. After the war the act of registering shotguns and rifles was discontinued, yet handguns were still to be registered.
1951: Registration of handguns was centralized and under the auspices of the RCMP. Automatic firearms are required to be registered alongside of handguns.
1977, August 5th: Bill C-51 receives royal assent and introduces the Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC) and many firearms are classed as prohibited due to fully automatic capabilities. People could no long carry restricted firearms for defence of property.
1991, December 5th: Bill C-17 receives Royal Assent which enhances scrutiny of FAC system with more rigorous identification and background checks, but at this time the FAC is still only required to acquire a firearm. A firearms safety competency requirement was attached to the FAC process.
1995, December 5th: Bill C-68 receives Royal Assent. A new licensing system is introduced to replace the FAC system as well as a complete rewrite to the criminal code and the introduction of the Firearms Act. Firearms themselves are now illegal to possess unless you have a valid license. ALL firearms are now required to be registered.
C-68 was a huge piece of legislation which was fraught with many many gaping errors and obvious poor judgement, at least apparent to anyone who used firearms for legal purposes. There were numerous sections of the bill which had the firearms community, the top firearms experts, and many in government opposed to its passing. The sheer scope, convoluted wording and sledgehammer like repercussions were well voiced to those who wrote the bill. The bill was so massive and unwieldy that it was to come into force nearly 3 years later, December 1st, 1998. In September of 1998, where over 30,000 individuals had joined together on parliament hill in the “Fed-Up II” rally against Bill C-68, then Justice Minister Anne McLellan ignored the gathered firearms owners and instead addressed solely the media. She stated “The debate is settled. The debate is over.” For years following there would be delays and small changes and updates ad nauseam to Bill C-68. It was not until January 1st, 2003 that the entirety of C-68 officially came into force. It took over seven (7) years to implement the bill and have enough people “enroll” into the new control regime and have it officially launch.
Now in general, the government of the time was either lying to Canadians or at best feeding them incorrect information as by the time the Bill C-68 fully came into force, the proponents claimed that the 2 million Licenses and 8 or so million firearms represented 97% of the firearms owners and firearms themselves in Canada. These numbers have since been proven to be not only incorrect but an order of magnitude out of scale.
In 1945 the total number of Registered Firearms was nearly 2 million in number. Fast forward to 2001 and when you include known import and export records (not illegally smuggled guns) and include a small percentage for destroyed/damaged/broken/disposed firearms you are at nearly 16.5 million guns. By 2003, only 100,000 handgun owners had acquired a license, down slightly from the 400,000 who had FAC’s. The sheer volume of people who did not comply with C-68 should have been a wake up call to the government of the time. Sadly it wasn’t.
Then in 2006, change happened. The Liberal government was ousted from it’s position as official government of Canada. A political entity which did not irrationally detest firearms ownership assumed the mantle of government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada took office and tried numerous times though a variety of introduced bills to remove at least the registration of non-restricted firearms. Some bills additionally covered far more onerous aspects of the firearms act, and on occasion the bill introduced was worse than what was before. However, on October 25th, 2011; Bill C-19 was introduced into the House of Commons. It’s target? To eliminate the entire process of registering Non-Restricted firearms and to destroy all accumulated data records of such firearms.
On April 5, 2012, Bill C-19, Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act, came into effect with the following effects (from officially released documents)
- Removal of the requirement to register non-restricted firearms
- Destruction of the existing non-restricted firearms registration records
- Allowing the transferor of a non-restricted firearm to obtain confirmation of a transferee’s firearms acquisition licence prior to the transfer being finalized
- Until further notice, due to a Court Order issued by the Quebec Superior Court, residents of Quebec are still required to register non-restricted firearms with the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program.
- It is important to note that the new law does not change the requirement for all individuals to hold a licence in order to possess a firearm. The licensing, safety training and safe storage requirements for anyone who uses or owns a firearm continue to be in force.
- The legislation also does not impact registration requirements for restricted or prohibited firearms.
Now the province of Quebec has, at the time of this writing asked for and received a temporary injunction regarding the data and registration of firearms in Quebec, but this injunction is to allow for an evidentiary or preliminary hearing regarding the case. This hearing is to determine if the case can be brought before the courts (jurisdiction) and to determine if there is any chance of such a case succeeding from presented preliminary evidence.
All this means so far is that Quebec is presenting their “case” to a judge who is going to rule if the case can firstly, be brought to trial by the Superior Court of Quebec (Provincial jurisdiction) and secondly, that there is even enough evidence for any reasonable outcome prior to going to trial. For example. The injunction has forced Quebec to continue to register non-restricted firearms, and continue to update and maintain the registry data. It is up to this judge to determine if he even has the authority to allow this case to be brought forwards. Should that occur, the judge may rule that only the data pertaining to residents of Quebec can be asked for through the court as Registration is a Federal Mandate currently controlled by Federal Policy. Or any combination of the above…
For the rest of Canada however, this means that the registration of non-restricted firearms is finally rescinded. Many people are even calling April 5th, Mini-14 Day, as a form of insult and snub towards the anti-gun fanatics who have deemed the Ruger Mini-14 as the foremost symbol of why “Gun Control” should exist in Canada.
The snub is intentional as the zealous gun-grabbers refuse to admit that it the tool used to commit violent criminal acts is just that. A tool, be it a gun, blade, vehicle, fist, club, or any other item used to inflict malicious harm is not the cause of the harm. It is the person who is committing the violent act. Period. But alas, such truth and unassailable logic falls upon the deaf ears of the fanatical anti-gun activist.
With the temporary injunction set to end at 5 PM (EST) today, Friday the 13th, many individuals are awaiting to see the final outcome of this hearing. Quebec will already get its day in court sometime in June, regarding the transferring data of Quebecers contained in the non-restricted registry; but the current arguments before the court is to determine if the injunction will remain in effect until that case is settled. The current government has vowed to not allow the existing data to be used to creat a provincial registry. Either way it seems that it will be a long drawn out process to see the outcome of this case, and of Canada’s firearms community hopes for the best possible outcome for their Quebec brethren. That best event? The final nail in the coffin that is registration of non-restricted firearms.
TPF Online thanks all those individuals whom have championed and fought through these last decades to make this event a reality. Lets help them out and continue to fight for sensible laws which target and punish the criminal element!
Tactical, Practical & Fantastical 