THIS WEEKS POSTINGS TO THE CANADIAN FIREARMS DIGEST National and International Gun Control News for the week ending January 24, 2020 [email protected] POSTS FROM CANADA FIREARMS ACT DOESN’T AUTHORIZE THE RCMP TO TRACK 459,538 CONVICTED CRIMINALS PROHIBITED FROM OWNING FIREARMS BY THE COURTS - By Dennis R. Young – January 24, 2020 Comment on RCMP Commissioner's Firearms Report for 2018 [Date modified: 2020-01-22] https://dennisryoung.ca/2020/01/25/firearms-act-fails-to-track-highest-priority-gun-control-targets/ FIREARMS PETITION, INTRODUCED IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA, SURPASSES 100,000 SIGNATURES According to the petition, the proposed buyback of legal, licensed firearms would cost taxpayers over $250,000,000. By David Opink - Jan 24, 2020 https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2020/01/24/firearms-petition-introduced-in-southern- alberta-surpasses-100000-signatures/ https://www.thepostmillennial.com/petition-against-liberal-gun-ban-signed-by-over-100000-upset-canadians/ NEW MACHINE GUNS FOR CANADIAN ARMED FORCES The Government of Canada’s commitment to equipping the members of the Canadian Armed Forces continues, with the purchase of 3,626 new C6A1 FLEX General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG) from Colt Canada, Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan announced today. National Defence News release - January 24, 2020 – Ottawa https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2020/01/new-machine-guns-for-canadian-armed-forces.html GUNS AND AMMO STOLEN FROM CANADIAN TIRE IN SOUTH WINDSOR Windsor police are hoping the public can help identify a man who stole two firearms and ammunition from the Canadian Tire at 4150 Walker Rd. on Wednesday night. By Dalson Chen, Windsor Star Updated: January 24, 2020 https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/guns-and-ammo-stolen-from-canadian-tire-in-south-windsor N.S. MAN'S GUNS STOLEN WHILE HE ATTENDED FATHER'S FUNERAL HALIFAX -- Darren White of Aylesford, N.S., is still fixing the busted locks and bent frames of his scratched and dented gun safes – the result of a break and enter on Monday. He discovered the theft when returning home from an already devastating event – his father's funeral. By Emily Baron Cadloff, Reporter - CTV - Published Friday, January 24, 2020 https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-s-man-s-guns-stolen-while-he-attended-father-s-funeral-1.4782713 LILLEY EXCLUSIVE: MACKAY MAKES HIS CASE FOR THE CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP The lawful gun owner community in Canada is often vilified and misrepresented in this debate and I’m a strong believer that you go after the bad guys, the problem. I try to look at this logically, practically. By Brian Lilley, Toronto Sun - January 24, 2020 https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-mackay-makes-his- case-for-the-conservative-leadership ‘BAN THE DAMN GUNS!’ HAMILTON’S MAYOR CALLS FOR ACTION AFTER 7-YEAR-OLD SHOT Hamilton’s mayor is calling for a ban on handguns after a seven-year-old boy was shot in the city’s east end. “This is the kind of thing you worry about when folks are out brandishing guns out there. Some innocent person becomes the victim who had nothing to do with whatever crime is going on,” said Eisenberger. Police say the boy was on the main floor of his Gordon St. home around 8 p.m. when “multiple gunshots” were fired into the house from the back yard. By Shayla Vize - January 24, 2020 https://www.chch.com/ban-the-damn-guns-hamiltons-mayor-calls-for-ban-after-7-year-old-shot/ DOUG FORD TELLS JUDGES THEY NEED TO ‘TOUGHEN UP’ ON GUNS, GANGS AND BAIL Judges and justices of the peace are being too gentle with firearm offenders, Ontario’s premier said on Friday. Doug Ford made the comments in Mississauga, Ont., where he announced $20.5 million in funding to Peel Regional Police. Asked whether border officers need more money to prevent gun smuggling, Ford said that what the federal government should be doing is “focusing on bail reform.” By Anita Balakrishnan, Law Times - 24 Jan 2020 https://www.lawtimesnews.com/practice-areas/criminal/doug-ford-tells-judges-they-need-to-toughen-up-on-guns-gangs- and-bail/325420 TEAM CSSA E-NEWS | JANUARY 24, 2020 COMMENTARY - THE DANGER OF BUYING INTO UNCERTAINTY AND FEAR There has not been a time that The Canadian Firearm Industry or The Canadian Shooting Sports Community has been affected by the spectre of speculation and fear as much as it is at present. Those who are on social media and online where Canadian firearm owners congregate have been subject to the rumours of ‘ban lists’, impending Orders in Council to enact prohibitions and information from unverified sources regarding changes to Canada’s firearm regulations. As a result, consumer anxiety is rampant. Those within The Canadian Firearm Industry are met with a barrage of questions on a daily basis regarding what information is credible and what is to be expected when Parliament resumes. The answer, is: ‘we don’t know’. Posted by Ryan Simper, Select Shooting Supplies on 11th Jan 2020 https://t.co/wkaACituzP CANADIAN SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER CONVICTED IN CONNECTION WITH THEFT TO BE RELEASED FROM THE MILITARY - A Canadian special forces soldier convicted in connection with the theft of equipment will be released from the military. Cpl. Pedro Collier, who was assigned to the Joint Task Force 2 counter- terrorism unit at Dwyer Hill, was found guilty in August of possession of stolen property exceeding $5,000 and possession of a prohibited device. Between December 2015 and March 2017 Collier took approximately $23,000 worth of equipment from the special forces, including jackets, a global positioning system, backpacks, watches, a tent, a solar charger, a fan, kitchen sets, hoodies, generators, saws, boots, and a pouch to carry magazines for firearms. He also took two C7 rifle magazines, capable of holding 30 bullets, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition. By David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen Updated: January 24, 2020 https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-special- forces-soldier-convicted-in-connection-with-theft-to-be-released-from-the-military DELAYED 2018 FIREARM REPORT SHOWS CLIMB IN HANDGUNS, SEMI-AUTOMATICS The number of regulated handguns and rifles in Canada continued to climb in 2018 to a total of nearly 2 million across the country, a long-awaited report from the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reveals. By Tim Naumetz, iPolitics - Published on Jan 23, 2020 https://ipolitics.ca/2020/01/23/delayed-2018-firearm-report- shows-climb-in-handguns-semi-automatics/ 2018 COMMISSIONER OF FIREARMS REPORT [Date modified: 2020-01-22] http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/2018-commissioner-firearms-report MARCH 3, 2019 - CANADIAN FIREARMS PROGRAM: RCMP REPORT ON LICENSING AND REGISTRATION ERRORS FOR 2017 - Why weren’t these errors reported in the 2017 RCMP Commissioner of Firearms Report tabled in Parliament in December 2018? Analysis and Commentary by Dennis R. Young March 3, 2019 https://dennisryoung.ca/2019/03/03/analysis-commentary-firearms-program-errors-for-2017/ 2 DECEMBER 5, 2018 - IMPORTANT GUN CONTROL STATISTICS MISSING FROM RCMP FIREARMS COMMISSIONER’S REPORTS TO PARLIAMENT - The Liberal Government promised their policies and programs would be ‘evidence-based’. Unfortunately, the base of ‘evidence’ in support of federal firearms programs is sorely lacking. By Dennis R. Young - December 5, 2018 https://dennisryoung.ca/2018/12/05/evidence-based-firearms-statistics-desparately- needed/ ELEPHANT HUNT AUCTION AT CALGARY TRADE SHOW CANCELLED; TO BE SOLD DIRECTLY INSTEAD - A planned auction for an elephant hunt at a fundraiser this weekend in Calgary has been cancelled, its organizers say. Instead, the Calgary chapter of Safari Club International says the prized trip will be sold directly to an interested customer. The shift comes after considerable backlash from Calgary Animal Rights Effort (CARE). “SCI Calgary wants to thank all those who have expressed their support of the hunt, including the people of Botswana to determine their future and the role ethical, controlled hunting plays in the long-term conservation of this majestic species.” By SAMMY HUDES, Calgary Herald - Updated: January 24, 2020 https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/elephant- hunt-auction-at-calgary-trade-show-cancelled-to-be-sold-directly-instead CALGARY HUNTERS CLUB TO AUCTION OFF ELEPHANT HUNT; ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP CALLS IT 'UNACCEPTABLE' - David Little, president of the Calgary Alberta Chapter of Safari Club International, said he’s hopeful there will be a successful bid at this year’s dinner banquet and auction on a licensed elephant hunt in Botswana. It’s just one of two dozen hunts available at the club’s annual fundraiser auction, which caps off a two-day hunting expo. Little said he understood that there could be controversy over this particular hunt. “It’s an elephant, which is an iconic animal,” he said. “There’s been a lot of levers pulled and buttons pushed — a lot of sensitivities — but it might as well be auctioning off a trip for two to Tahiti. It’s the same genre (of adventure travel).” He said the legal hunt reopened in Botswana last May after a five-year closure, and he described a problem of “overpopulation” of elephants there. By Brodie Thomas, Calgary Herald - Updated: January 24, 2020 https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-hunters- club-to-auction-off-elephant-hunt-alarming-animal-rights-group PREMIER DOUG FORD PUTS UP $20M TO FIGHT GUNS AND GANGS Premier Doug Ford announced $20.5 million for Peel Regional Police so the force can beef up its efforts to combat gangs and guns. “It will also allow our officers to target organized crime at its source and work with prosecutors to lock up the criminals,” Ford said.