Liberals move to ban hunting rifles, shotguns, handguns and Airsoft – A repeated call to action!
by Don Senft, Vice President Operations
On November 22 in Ottawa, the committee for National Security and Public Safety, also known as SECU, met at the conclusion of two months of expert and public testimony with regard to Bill C21 in order to review and ratify proposed amendments to the Bill. Shockingly at this meeting, the Liberal members of the committee introduced a new amendment, previously undiscussed and undisclosed, recommending an outright ban and prohibition on all semi-automatic long guns capable of accepting a magazine of over 5rd, as well as numerous other hunting rifles, shotguns and rimfire long guns.
In total, the list of newly proposed banned firearms tallies to over 300 pages, all of which would become prohibited immediately upon the passage of this Bill, without any form of compensation to their owners whatsoever. This includes all of the firearms from the May 2020 Order in Council (OIC, basically a decision by the Prime Minister and his cabinet, without parliamentary debate) as well. Once the Bill passes you must either turn them in for destruction or be deemed to be criminally in possession of a prohibited firearm.
This is the latest evolution of the Liberal’s ideological attack on legal firearms owners, and the fact they are once again bypassing all democratic processes to dictate their policy to Canadians in yet another vote farming political stunt executed on the backs of law abiding firearms owners is both frustrating and disgraceful.
If you were not engaged in this fight before, you MUST be now. They are coming for all of our firearms, and this latest 300 page long list should be proof to all that no one is safe from having their legally acquired property stolen from them by this government in exchange for votes from their ill informed voter base.
The Conservative Party of Canada is clear they do not support Bill C21 or this amendment. The Liberals will ruthlessly push their ideological agenda, regardless of public input, and so many facts and experts testifying how ineffective this Bill will be. The result is that the key swing votes on the SECU committee are the NDP member, Alistair McGregor (alistair.macgregor@parl.gc.ca) and the Bloc member, Kristina Michaud (Kristina.Michaud@parl.GC.ca). Alistair is the NDP MP that represents the riding that includes VFGPA.
Take Action
Each of you must reach out to these two members immediately and voice your discontent with this proposed amendment and this Bill. Please do so by email and traditional post mail. Be sure to be clear that you require a response. Be polite, be courteous, but make your case and make your voice heard. Your voice matters, and it must be heard now or never. Additionally, the next level of government to review this Bill is the Senate. Please take the time to make your concerns and voice heard to each of the Senators in our upper house, once again pointing out the flaws in this Bill, and the impact it will have on you personally. I have included below a number of key messages that you are free to use when making your point to both the members of the Committee and the Senate.
It is critical to understand that this entire process has been conducted by the Liberals in a very undemocratic fashion, and their intent is to remove your legally acquired property from you without any form of compensation. Additionally, this amendment will essentially result in the closure of thousands of firearms retailers across the country, the loss of tens of thousands of jobs that support the firearms and hunting industry, and will likely result in the closure of many ranges across the country as well. Please take action now. We are faced with the loss of our sport, hobby and lifestyle forever. Please do your part to help us defeat this bill, and this ridiculous liberal amendment.
Key Messages
Here are some key points and messages regarding this illogical and futile Bill for your reference and potential inclusion in any correspondence you may draft:
- C21 is not a Bill designed to reduce gun crime or criminal use of firearms in this country, as its sole intent and purpose is to target legally licensed firearms. Contrary to the misleading speaking points constantly touted by the Minister of Public Safety, this bill is a direct attack on licensed firearm owners and in no way addresses illegal firearms, nor their acquisition or use by criminals.
- C21 and the new OIC are not any form of a “Handgun Freeze”. This is a national handgun BAN. It is delayed confiscation without compensation. The OIC and Bill have made millions of dollars of legally acquired personal property completely worthless to their owners and this clearly sets a dangerous precedent that should be of concern to all Canadians. This government has reached into thousands of homes across this country and via OIC stolen millions of dollars of equity from licenced owners as these firearms are now worthless.
- Despite Minister Mendocino’s assertions, this Bill is terminal for all competitive handgun shooting sports in this country. Trained, vetted and licensed owners can no longer replace or upgrade their handguns for their chosen discipline, and new shooters can no longer acquire the tools they need to compete. This OIC and Bill have terminated any future for competitive sport shooting in Canada, impacting thousands of Canadians that have spent their lifetimes training to compete in nationally and internationally sanctioned competitions.
- An examination of the tenants of this OIC and Bill clearly shows there are no specific measures included that will impact illegal firearms or their use by criminals and gangs in this country. Technical experts including Chiefs of Police from across the country continue to confirm that over 90% of handguns used in crime are illegally imported from the US. This OIC and Bill does nothing to address that issue.
- The Canadian Police Association, Chiefs of Police from Edmonton and Winnipeg, Academics who have studied the issue, Public Defenders and former Gang members that now run outreach programs have all stepped forward to testify at SECU and voice their concerns that this Bill will do nothing to address criminal use of firearms, suggesting it is purely politically motivated and will specifically only impact legal firearms owners, who are not the source of gun crime in our communities.
- Following the completion of all public testimony and expert input on this Bill, the Liberals introduced a late breaking amendment to ban all semi-automatic long guns in this country by defining them as prohibited weapons. Over 300 pages of firearms are to be included in the ban including rimfire long guns, shotguns, bolt action rifles and all semi autos with a detachable magazine, including many others by name such as the SKS. This list bans hundreds of firearms used in hunting and sport shooting, with no link whatsoever to illegal firearms or criminal firearm use. It solely targets hunters and sport shooters. This list also captures all of the firearms from the original May 2020 OIC which means all of these firearms would be prohibited without any form of compensation for their owners. Your property, now illegal to possess, all made worthless with a single stroke of a Liberal pen. Confiscation without compensation and the extinction of sport shooting and hunting in Canada.
- The approach of the SECU committee makes the entire process nothing more than political theatre designed to provide the illusion of democracy for the masses. If they truly valued your input, proposed amendments would be based on the mountain of testimony provided that clearly showed the countless flaws in this Bill and the fact it does nothing to address illegal firearms, rather than the outright discarding of facts and all of the public input for yet another dictatorial decree from this Liberal minority government, bypassing the entire democratic process designed to give citizens of this country a voice, just as they have done in abusing the OIC process repeatedly throughout their time in power.
Summary
The fact that this Liberal amendment was introduced after all public input has ceased eliminates all credibility for the openness and transparency of the SECU committee and clearly indicates that citizens and expert input is neither required nor welcome. It does not simply marginalize our input, it negates the value of our testimony entirely.
Please take action now. Everything is at stake. This is about much more than just firearms ownership in this country.
Write to:
Alistair MacGregor
MP. Cowichan-Malahat-Langford
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Kristina Michaud
MP, Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Note that no postage is required for mail to Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.
