TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – May 23, 2014
CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – May 23, 2014 ** Please share this E-news with your friends **
GUN GRAB COMMENTARY: THE HIGH RIVER COVER-UP CONTINUES
By Dennis R. Young
Dennis Young retired to Airdrie, Alberta in 2007 after working for 13 years on Parliament Hill for Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville. Dennis is a member of the Calgary RCMP Veterans Association, and an Honourary Life Member of both the Canadian Shooting Sports Association and the National Firearms Association. Dennis recently received the CSSA’s John Holdstock Memorial Award for his 20-year crusade for the rights of firearms owners. For more details on his enduring contribution to the firearms community, see the March 17, 2014 CSSA E-News Commentary at http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/2014/03/enews_20140317.html
On June 20, it will be one year since thousands of residents of High River, Alberta had to run for their lives to escape flood waters that inundated a large part of that town and flooded many of the 4,000 homes.
A State of Local Emergency was declared by the town council and the town’s people were ordered to evacuate. Two hundred and seventy-three Mounties and three hundred and thirty soldiers descended on High River.
During the night of June 20-21, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) helicopters rescued 31 people from the rooftops of their homes in High River. According to hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents obtained from the RCMP and the Department of National Defence, through Access to Information Act requests, these 31 people were the last people to be rescued by either the CAF or the RCMP.
How can that be you ask, when everyone has heard that the RCMP with the help of the military searched 4,000 homes including kicking in the doors to almost 2,000 of them? Sadly, no one has yet been able to answer that question or many others. In fact, most of the questions folks were all asking on September 5, 2013 at MLA Danielle Smith’s Town Hall meeting in High River remain unanswered to this day:
• Who ordered the RCMP to search and kick in the doors to High River homes and why? Is it true that police didn’t do this in any of the 29 other communities that were flooded?
• Why did the police man roadblocks with spike belts to keep residents out of High River for nine days? Police didn’t do this in any other evacuated Alberta communities.
• Why were the regular RCMP officers posted to High River sent away on June 24 when “hard decisions” were being made? What were these “hard decisions”?
• Why didn’t the RCMP get a warrant to break into thousands of homes? They had lots of time to do it.
• Why didn’t the RCMP use the CAF helicopters equipped with thermal imaging technology to find survivors?
• Why did the RCMP kick in the doors to homes that weren’t flooded?
• Why did the RCMP kick in doors to homes that were left unlocked?
• Why did the RCMP kick in doors inside a number of High River homes?
• Why did the RCMP search some homes more than once, in fact, three times for one firearms owner?
• Who ordered the RCMP to seize firearms, ammunition, magazines, and other implements of defence?
• Why did the RCMP say they were only seizing firearms that were in “plain view” when so many residents claim their firearms were well hidden?
• Why did the RCMP blank out the “Location Where Recovered” on lists of the 609 guns they seized?
• Why did the RCMP clearly target homes with firearms and kick in doors to get them?
• Why did the RCMP seize ammunition and magazines when they already had the guns?
• Why did the RCMP destroy 7,500 pounds of ammunition?
• Why won’t the RCMP tell us how many and what type of charges they laid as a result of their searches?
• Why did the CAF provide transportation to the RCMP to the High River homes when their orders from the Minister and the Chief of Defence Staff specifically ordered them not to engage in law enforcement activities?
• Why did the RCMP keep kicking in doors and seizing guns after June 24 when the CAF said there was no further risk to life and limb?
• Why did the CAF continue to assist the RCMP with their unwarranted door-to-door search and seizure operation for two more days after the CAF said there was no further risk to life and limb?
• Why did the RCMP defend their actions in High River by saying they did the same thing in Slave Lake, Alberta but won’t release any documentation of what they did during the Slave Lake evacuation in 2011?
• Why was a Provincial State of Emergency declared in High River on June 28 – the same day the media reported that the RCMP was seizing firearms in High River?
So the cover-up continues. What really happened in High River and why did it happen at all?
On July 5, 2013, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP initiated an investigation into the High River mess. After two extensions, the Commission says they will have their report finished next month. If the Commission’s report doesn’t answer all of the above questions, and others I didn’t have room for in this Commentary, a judicial enquiry will be the only way to get to the bottom of this colossal violation of property rights, privacy rights and the right to be secure from search and seizure for the High River residents. And, there will be no way to stop the RCMP from doing the same thing when a state of emergency is declared in another town – maybe your own.
For more details please see my Eighth Letter to the Commission for Public Complaints Commission and my Letter to the Minister of National Defence: http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/2014/03/Eighth_Letter_to_RCMP_Public_Complaints_Commissioner-20140324.pdf
http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/2014/05/Letter_re_Canadian_Forces_in_High_River_20140519.htm
(Submitted to CSSA by Dennis R. Young – May 21, 2014)
——-
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – BC CONSERVATIVES LEADER DAN BROOKS
Editor’s note: The BC Conservative Party does not have a reputation as a political dynamo, but things change. It holds none of 85 seats in the province following the 2013 election. There are, however, solid reasons that responsible firearms owners should consider supporting the BC Conservatives. Dan Brooks was elected party leader on April 12 and he supports the shooting sports. Read the exclusive interview Dan Brooks did with the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) this week – if you want to support him en route to the 2017 provincial election, now is the time to start. Firearms owners need a party that will help the cause – one seat at a time. Contact Dan at [email protected]
CSSA: Given your family’s history in the outdoors business, how important are these heritage activities for BC and rest of Canada?
Dan Brooks: My family has operated a hunting and fishing lodge near Vanderhoof BC for the past 40 years. I’ve grown up with hunting. My father gave me my first rifle, a Ruger .30-06, when I was just 14. My kids that are old enough (I have 7 girls under the age of 15) all have hunting licenses, and I’ve taken each of them out and each has harvested a bear, or a deer, or more recently my 11 year old daughter got a draw and shot a moose. To me, and to many British Columbians and Canadians, hunting is more than just putting food on the table, it’s a way of life.
CSSA: Can you cite how important these activities are in BC to the economy?
Dan Brooks: I don’t have the numbers for resident hunting to the economy, but I do know that guiding contributes a billion dollars every five years to the provincial economy (or about $200 million each year)
CSSA: How important are these activities to family values?
Dan Brooks: Some of my fondest memories are sitting in a remote cabin, playing cribbage with my Dad or uncle, and leaning back on the chair every once in a while to see if a deer was wandering in front of the cabin. I can also say that one of the greatest moments of my life (when my wife isn’t listening) was on a stone sheep hunt with my brothers when I shot my first ram. The bonds created by sharing hunting experiences go far beyond just a good time. When you face the raw wilderness together, and learn to rely and trust one another, bonds of loyalty tie you together as a family. I also think my kids, who have hunted and watched an animal die and understand the gravity of their actions, have a great deal more respect for nature and the value of life than kids whose experience with death is to shoot-em-up on video games in make-believe worlds with no consequences.
CSSA: If elected premier, do you have plans to promote and/or protect this important industry?
Dan Brooks: Absolutely. I want to create a political environment that is friendly to sportsmen. I am very concerned that many people are attacking the heritage of hunting because they don’t understand what it’s like to be a part of the natural environment, that they have become disconnected with the cycle of life and death that plays out in a raw wildernesses they only see romanticized on television. I want to reconnect them and offer greater opportunities to get involved with shooting sports. I would also like to promote the industry as a part of the larger tourism industry in the province.
CSSA: Do you believe current firearms laws keep Canadians safe?
Dan Brooks: Some people are made to feel safe because there are firearms laws. And some people do not feel safe because of laws that prevent them from owning firearms. The perception of safety and the reality of safety can be two very different things. I myself believe that our current firearms laws give people who want to feel safe from the criminal element a false sense of security. And for those of us who wish we had greater firearms freedoms, well let me just say I feel a great deal less secure because those restrictions put my family at risk in grizzly country.
CSSA: Are there firearms laws and regulations that you would like to see changed or rescinded?
Dan Brooks: I believe that a person should be permitted to carry a restricted firearm for personal protection in the wilderness. I also I think anyone should be permitted to purchase ammunition without presenting a firearms license.
CSSA: Even though firearms laws come under federal jurisdiction, would you urge the federal government of the day to consider changes in the Firearms Act that favour responsible gun owners?
Dan Brooks: Yes, with the help and support of associations such as the CSSA.
CSSA: What can an individual province do to end the criminality that firearms owners face for victimless paper crimes? Would you try to convince other premiers to pursue fairness for firearms owners? How and when? Are there provincial opportunities to rein in the regulatory powers of CFOs?
Dan Brooks: These last three are wider issues of federal/provincial powers as it pertains to firearm regulation. In our constitution the federal government is responsible for maintaining the peace, and that has come to include firearms regulation. Taking over this responsibility at the provincial level would probably be challenged at the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Any such action would need to be carefully thought-out in advance and pursued with caution.
CSSA: Do you support the CSSA and its work?
Dan Brooks: You bet. Keep up the good work!
——-
“Allan Rock said he came to Ottawa with the belief that only the police and military should have firearms. I believe that firearms ownership is a right, but a right that comes with responsibilities” – the Hon. Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety
HELP SUPPORT THE GREAT WORK THE CSSA DOES TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. DONATE HERE
——-
LEE ENFIELD BRIGADE MATCH: Crean Hill Gun Club (west of Sudbury, Ontario) on June 21, 2014 at 1300 hours. Lunch (optional) at 1200 hours is $5. Lee Enfield Rifle Match – $5 per shooter. You may use any Lee Enfield Rifle – Iron Sights Only/Rifle Rest Only/Shooting from a Bench/Squads of Three.
You have 10 minutes to hit an 8” target at 100 yards. To sign-up contact: [email protected]
Questions: Call (705) 694 6234 – Dust off that .303 and let’s go!
——-
GUN SHOW on Sunday May 25 at Markham Fairgrounds 10801 McCowan Rd, Markham, Ontario. 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information please call Allan at 416-579-4944. Other upcoming shows can be seen at www.ontariogunshows.com Thank you.
——-
Editor’s note: Responsible firearms advocate and CSSA board member, Dr. Mike Ackermann of Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, is well-known in the Canadian firearms community. He is a rural family physician, prolific writer, determined seeker of justice and a former member of the Public Safety Minister’s Firearms Advisory Committee. To illustrate the growing frustration and disenchantment that firearms owners feel toward the federal bureaucracy, Dr. Mike has regaled us with the following:
From the “And they can’t figure out why we get our dander up” department –
I am attempting to wade through the bureaucratic quagmire that is the required trial by ordeal in order for me to legally take possession of my own personal property, to wit, a .223 semi-automatic rifle I purchased at the CSSA AGM on April 26.
The seller and I reached a mutually agreeable price, I showed my PAL, and paid. So far so good.
Under any sane system of laws, that would be the end of it and I would then arrange transport of my new tool to my house via Canada Post.
But we don’t have sane, evidence-based laws. We have knee-jerk, emotionally driven laws.
So, the seller has to initiate a transfer with the Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC), stating that they sold so-and-so gun to me and my PAL # is such-and-such. Which he did.
Again, any sensible person would think that would be the end of it, but, no, the CFC for some reason wants to talk to me personally about it. So I wait for a call from the CFC that never comes.
Finally, I decide to call them. I first call their Nova Scotia office and after listening to a robot list off a bunch of non-applicable information, I am finally directed to call the 1-800-731-4000 number. There is no option to talk to a human, only listen to the recordings.
I call this number. Again, there is no option to talk to a human, only listen to the recordings. After another bunch of non-applicable menu choices, I am finally told that in order to deal with Application to Transport requests, I must call 1-800-731-4000.
Yes, that’s right – in order to deal with my issue, I have to call the number I just called. What different response can I expect to get by calling the same robot I was just listening to?
On May 16th I got a call back from the NS office. Advised to press the keypad in a certain order. This, done, I then waited on hold for about 10 minutes for the next available representative. Then a polite lady asked me a few questions and then stated all was in order and they would forward the file back to the NS office and then they would issue new ATT, then the transfer of my personal property can proceed with the blessing of the State.
So nice that my papers are all in order at last. Now I wait…
And they wonder WHY we gun owners have had it up to our eyeballs with this crap – crap that in no way affects the violent activities of criminals. For this, dear taxpayer, you are paying $60 million each year above the $2 billion start-up costs.
Do you feel safe yet?
(Submitted by Dr. Mike Ackermann, Rural Family Physician, Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia)
——-
LIKE WINE, CHEESE, GUNS AND LIVING IN PICKERING – SCARBOROUGH EAST? Firearms fairness supporter Kevin Gaudet is the Ontario Progressive Conservative candidate for Pickering-Scarborough East in Toronto. Responsible firearms owners need Kevin’s voice in Queen’s Park. To show your support tickets are $100 for the Elect Kevin Gaudet Wine & Cheese & Silent Auction Fundraiser. For tickets see: https://secure.ontariopc.com/Events/628
For more information on Kevin’s campaign, see http://www.kevingaudet.ca/Homepage/Landing
——-
ONCE PROUD RCMP IN SAD SATE OF AFFAIRS: An internal RCMP study found 322 incidents of corruption within the national police force over an 11-year period — including a dozen examples involving organized crime. Improperly giving out police information was the most common type of corrupt behaviour, followed by fraud, misuse of police officer status, theft and interference with the judicial process.
The RCMP undertook the study, dubbed Project Sanction, to help identify trends with a view to developing an anti-corruption strategy.
“It was apparent that many of the incidents identified in this study were a result of poor guidance, lack of adequate supervision, or a combination of life pressures that culminated in a desperate decision,” the report says.
The study — covering documented cases from Jan. 1, 1995 through Dec. 31, 2005 — was completed in 2007 but only recently released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The RCMP says it has since adopted many of the report’s recommendations, adding there is no evidence that corruption is a significant issue within its ranks.
A total of 204 regular members were involved in the 322 incidents of corruption, with the study characterizing the “nature and gravity” of the episodes as “relatively moderate.” Many cases of improperly sharing police information involved misuse of confidential details in police databanks, sometimes to family, friends or known criminals.
Fraud cases often included doctored expense claims or abuse of government credit cards. Examples of interference were ticket fixing, perjury, falsifying evidence or protection of illegal activities. Twelve incidents involved organized crime and another 20 included officer dealings with known criminals.
“The RCMP can and should be doing more in terms of a risk reduction strategy,” the report concluded.
“Left unaddressed, corruption can fester and affect the vast majority of honest employees, in that there is more potential for less public co-operation on an operational level.”… (Canadian Press – May 18, 2014)
Fro the whole story see: http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2014/05/18/hundreds-of-cases-of-rcmp-corruption-study/#.U34bUmdOXDD
——-
MOSCOW JOINS OTTAWA IN REFUSAL TO SIGN U.N. ARMS TRADE TREATY: Moscow is not going to sign International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). In order for the document to come into effect, it must be ratified by 50 states – this number might be reached by the summer of this year. Russia considers this document to be not completely thought through. It also discriminates against the Russian military-industrial complex.
ATT is the first legally binding document that sets out the rules of the arms market. The UN General Assembly adopted it last year. North Korea, Iran and Syria were the only countries that were against the adoption of the document. Russia, which is ranked second after the US in arms exports, along with China were among the 23 countries that abstained. A number of major arms importers (India, Saudi Arabia) didn’t sign the agreement as well.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated at the time that Moscow would determine its position after a careful analysis of the document with the participation of experts from different departments. Now that the document has been studied, it has been decided that it was underdeveloped and “lacked substance,” says Professor from the Academy of Military Sciences, Vadim Kozyulin:
“The Treaty was planned as a set of rules of civilized weapons trading. However, the problem is that those rules are not required. It is still rather a recommendatory list that participants will take as their obligations once they adhere to the agreement. For now, the contract does not provide penalties for its violation. Since the agreement is not legally binding, we do not want to join it.” (Voice of Russia – May 20, 2014)
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_05_20/Moscow-not-to-sign-Arms-Trade-Treaty-that-discriminates-against-Russian-military-industrial-sector-9345/
——-
DETROIT’S TOP COP SAYS GUNS EQUALS SAFETY: Detroit Police Chief James Craig’s stance on residents using guns to protect themselves is garnering national attention after landing him on the cover of a gun rights magazine. He reiterated his views today at a news conference, saying armed, law-abiding citizens can be a deterrent to violent crime. “I’m pro safety. I’m pro life. I’m pro law-abiding citizens staying alive, having the ability to protect themself in a dangerous situation,” he said.
Craig was the subject of a cover story called “A show of courage in Detroit” in America’s 1st Freedom magazine, produced by the National Rifle Association. The article highlights recent home invasions thwarted by armed residents, saying “citizens fighting back” appears to be a growing trend in Detroit. The article lays out statistics, including police response times, a slashed budget and smaller police force.
Craig said he thinks he was chosen because not many police chiefs in major cities have taken the position that he has. Several of them did not return calls for comment to the Free Press. “Critics will say, ‘Well , chief are you saying that the Detroit Police Department can’t do its job?’ That is absolutely an untrue, inaccurate statement,” he said. “Police officers cannot and will not be on every corner, in front of every house, every business in the city,” he said. “That’s just not realistic.”
Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality spokesman Ron Scott called Craig’s comments “incendiary.” “This is a public safety and community issue, not simply a Second Amendment issue,” he said in a statement. He also called on police to find ways to “de-escalate the violence spawned by the Stand Your Ground principle,” in which citizens can use justifiable force if they feel their life is in imminent danger without any obligation to retreat.
During the news conference, Craig said there have been two more justifiable homicides this year compared to the same time period in 2013. There were 11 justifiable homicides this time last year and what appears to be 13 so far this year, but police still are waiting on the prosecutor’s office to make a determination, said police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody. Last year, Detroit had 15 homicides deemed justifiable in addition to 333 homicides, according to police statistics… (Detroit Free Press – May 21, 2014)
Read the rest at http://www.gopusa.com/news/2014/05/21/detroit-police-chief-on-nra-article-im-pro-law-abiding-citizens-staying-alive/?subscriber=1
——-
BRIT SHOOTERS TAKE TO RANGES AND FIELDS IN GROWING NUMBERS:
ORYX and buffalo heads stare glumly from the walls of James Purdey & Sons, a swanky London gunmaker. In cases beneath them stand some of the priciest weapons in Britain. The firm’s elaborately engraved shotguns take up to two years to produce and cost at least £80,000 ($135,000). Many customers buy a pair.
Shooting is an expensive hobby, even without so extravagant a weapon. But licensing a gun is cheap. Owners pay only £50 to register for five years, a fee that has not risen since 2001 (some trout fishers, by contrast, must cough up £360 over the same period). Police chiefs say the cash they collect covers barely a quarter of what it costs them to run the licensing scheme, and that they are spending more than £17m a year to cover the shortfall.
That is not a big number, but it rankles at a time of austerity, which the police have suffered from more than other public services. The problem is not just that inflation has eroded the value of the fee, says Andy Marsh of Hampshire Constabulary. Better monitoring of gun owners has made the system more expensive, and the workload is growing as gun ownership creeps up. Since fees were set in 2001 the number of guns held by civilians in England and Wales has risen by 14% to 1.8m, the highest number since detailed record-taking started two decades ago.
These healthy figures surprise those who thought strict gun laws brought in after a mass shooting in Scotland in 1996 would fatally wound Britain’s shooting culture. That horror, and the ban on handguns that followed, encouraged gun ownership to decline for five consecutive years. But a gradual increase in the popularity of rifles, both for shooting targets and for killing deer and other animals, has since reversed the trend. Novices find it fairly easy to get a licence: despite rigorous checks police refuse less than 2% of the applications they receive… (The Economist – May 17, 2014)
Read the rest: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21602236-quietly-and-rather-politely-britain-getting-gun-lobby-armed-robbery
——
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada’s firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.
To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/membership.html
——
To subscribe to the CSSA-CILA E-NEWS, send email to: [email protected] or visit http://lists.cssa-cila.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cssa-cila-e-news.
To unsubscribe send email to: [email protected]
To change your address or manage your subscription options, visit: http://lists.cssa-cila.org/cgi-bin/mailman/options/cssa-cila-e-news
——-
CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
116 Galaxy Blvd, Etobicoke ON M9W 4Y6
Phone 416-679-9959, Fax: 416-679-9910
Toll Free: 1-888-873-4339
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website www.cdnshootingsports.org