Since the early days of Bill C-68 the classification of firearms has been a
real and valid concern of Canadian gun owners. The arbitrary reclassification of
some firearms and the refusal to classify others has not only been a violation
of our rights, it has resulted in the confiscation of personal property. This
has had a significant financial impact on numerous law abiding citizens.
This problem has been escalated by the recent unilateral actions of the RCMP
in prohibiting Norinco Type 97 rifles on the pretext that the firearms in
question could be too easily converted into "full automatic" mode, a claim they
refuse to support. Given the time and resources available to the RCMP I would
suggest that they could make that claim with respect to almost any firearm.
The CSSA has been working very hard to resolve this issue and for the past
few years we have had numerous meetings (some as recent as this week) with
government ministry's, stakeholders and individuals, and in some cases, we have
arranged for key stakeholders to present their case directly to the decision
makers.
One can only wonder if the timing of the recent reclassification
announcements by the RCMP are in any way connected to the discussions involving
Bill C-391, legislation that despite the position of the federal government the
RCMP have publicly opposed.
Despite our ongoing efforts we seem to have reached an impasse where at their
discretion the RCMP continue to ban or reclassify firearms and no government
authority seems willing to take them to task.
To resolve this critical situation it is imperative that our members [As well as all other Canadians who are alarmed by the government-sanctioned, arbitrary theft of private property -GOR Ed.]
communicate directly with Prime Minister Harper in a clear, unified voice
expressing our outrage over the unilateral actions of the RCMP and request his
immediate and personal intervention to restore some level of accountability to
this rogue organization.
Don’t forget to contact your MP and provide them with a copy of your letter.
Remember, be polite, brief and factual and please don’t wait until tomorrow, do
it today.
Please send to:
The Right Hon. Stephen Harper
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
