12 November 2002 NFA Newswire

Item 1: 

Yesterday was Remembrance Day, a day set aside every year 
for us to think about the sacrifices made by men and women 
who gave their lives defending our freedom.

It is a solumn day for many of us.

I wonder however, how those heroes would feel if they knew 
what the country that they died for has changed.

Freedom is always under attack. There are always petty 
dictators, tyrants and others who feel that they know, 
better than you or I, how we should live our lives..

Can you image how a soldier who died on Juno Beach on D-Day 
would feel today?

Imagine how he would feel today if he were to see western 
farmers taken off to jail in handcuffs for the terrible 
crime of selling their wheat.

That action sounds pretty petty to me.

The Minister of Justice, through his spokesmen is telling 
Canadians 'As of January 1 2003, even if you have the 
licence, there are charges that could be put against you if 
you are in possession (of a firearm) without a registration 
certificate'.

This implied threat against law abiding Canadians is that 
even if you have done everything you can to comply with this 
ridiculous legislation that it doesn't matter-at least not 
to the gun-grabbers at the Canadian Firearm Centre.

Imagine how a soldier who died in the siege of Hong Kong 
would feel if he could see fellow citizens marched off to 
court for the crime of owning their own property?

To me those threats are pretty tyrannical.

Freedom needs daily support from all citizens who want it to 
survive.

Canada has the potential to be the absolute best place on 
this little planet to live. But it takes the daily vigilance 
by each one of us to see Canada and Canadians reach our 
potential.

We are seeing the numbers of people who vote in elections 
dropping. We are seeing fewer and fewer people actually 
joining political parties. Canada is becoming a democratic 
disaster area.

If you are happy about this, then keep doing what it is you 
are doing. If you are not, get involved, get organized, and 
get active.

Now is the time!

Jim Hinter
National President
National Firearms Association


Item 2: PUBLICATION: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 
DATE: 2002.11.12 
BYLINE: Lloyd Litwin 
 
Gun registration exposed as folly

I started the chore of registering our guns last week. I was 
going to wait until the last day, but when I heard of the 
problems others were having I figured I better allow extra 
time. It's a good thing I got started, too. 

My concerns began when a friend showed me the new serial 
number stickers he received for his old shotgun and .22 
which had no numbers. The stickers didn't even survive the 
mail process. Each digit on both ends of the number
was rubbed off, making them useless. 

Years ago the firearm community asked how the stickers would 
stick to oiled, metal surfaces. They also asked whether the 
government really believed criminals were so stupid they 
would leave a sticky number on as the only
source of identification. 

Secondly, I know people who are having trouble with the free 
Internet registration. It works only with the latest 
versions of software and sometimes has trouble with the 
numbers. Some won't get accepted as the identification 
information they have on their cards is different from the 
data base in the computer and won't let them log on. 

Dennis Young, executive assistant to Yorkton-Melville MP 
Garry Breitkreuz, has pages of other errors coming out of 
the offices of the Canadian Firearms Centre. Documented 
atrocities include the CFC's inability to copy information. 
Of seven handguns previously registered correctly for one 
gun owner, five of the mandatory re-registration 
certificates came back with obvious errors. 

Then there is the waste of resources registering 
muzzleloaders and airguns, the paperwork in sending all 
these notices out, and the hours of long-distance phone time 
trying to get questions answered. 

My own case involved all of these matters. 

I have traditional-styled muzzleloaders and I have extra 
barrels that fit into the stock. There isn't a metal 
receiver or action with a serial number on these types of 
guns. The only part that has a number is the barrel, which 
we are told is a replaceable part that doesn't get 
registered. I also wanted to know about the extra barrels; 
how do I proceed with them? 

I phoned the 1-800 number, 14 times, until I got through and 
waited about 10 minutes. I greeted "Denise" and explained 
the situation and asked for direction in filling the form. I 
informed her they were not antiques, as she read that 
chapter from the manual, and explained my question again. I 
explicitly asked her which part I had to register. 

"The metal action or receiver," she said. "Do not register 
the barrel as that is a replaceable component." 

We went around that circle several times. She even put me on 
hold while she asked a supervisor. It was obvious they were 
thinking only of modern muzzleloaders and not traditional 
ones. When I asked if I could speak to someone else, she 
asked why. I said it was obvious she didn't know what a 
muzzleloader was and she hadn't answered my question. After 
a short tirade about how well she knew her job and that she 
did too know what a muzzleloader was, she hung up. For this 
we are paying almost a billion dollars? 

I then thought I would call the chief provincial firearms 
officer and get an answer. WRONG! The web site gives only 
the federal 1-800 number for all provinces. I knew people 
who had the real number and was told the feds
pulled them out of Saskatchewan a month ago and gave the 
people jobs in other departments. 

I decided to call the regional office in Edmonton. Nobody 
would give me a number. I decided I wasn't wasting any more 
time dialing the same general number. 

So my inquiry has been sent to the justice minister, my MP, 
and Breitkreuz. I'm waiting for an answer. I hope it comes 
before the Dec. 31 deadline to register.

Item 3: Remembrance Day betrayed: Liberals full of praise 
for Armed Forces they refuse to properly equip 
Sun 10 Nov 2002 
Page: A18 
By Lorne Gunter

On Monday, scores of Liberal MPs and cabinet ministers will 
fan out to Remembrance Day ceremonies across the nation. 
Prime Minister Jean Chretien will likely lay a wreath at the 
national cenotaph in Ottawa. I suspect Health Minister Anne 
McLellan will do the same at Edmonton's major ceremony at 
the Butterdome. 

These federal government dignitaries, when asked to speak, 
will intone the standard paeans to sacrifice, lost youth and 
the ultimate price of freedom. 

In his Remembrance Day statement, issued Friday, Chretien 
said: "This year reminded us once again of the precious cost 
of freedom, a cost the brave men and women of our armed 
forces are always ready to pay. Proudly we watched our 
soldiers contribute to the international effort to combat 
terrorism ... 

"Remembrance Day is about giving solemn thanks to those who 
risked everything so that we could continue to know the 
blessings of freedom. We thank them for their courage ... 
and in too many cases, their lives. As a people, Canadians 
owe them ... a debt of gratitude we can never repay." 

True. But if Chretien and his government truly wanted to 
honour those who have fought to keep Canada free, they would 
announce that they intend to fund today's Canadian military 
properly, so it can carry on the proud traditions and 
sacrifices we honour each Nov. 11. 

Rather than just another round of formulaic tributes to dead 
soldiers, sailors and airmen, the Liberals should pledge 
themselves to ensuring no Canadian soldier again goes into 
combat without the best gear, adequate training and needed 
supplies, so that those who risk everything so the rest of 
us can "continue to know the blessings of freedom," aren't 
forced to take unnecessary risks because the helicopters and 
armoured personnel carriers they are riding in are outdated, 
and either prone to crashing or vulnerable to attack. 

This week, which was officially Veterans' Week, Canada's 
navy was forced to withdraw from NATO training exercises for 
lack of funds. It also announced that the next ship it 
dispatches to the Gulf region will likely go without a 
helicopter -- needed for submarine patrol and rescues at sea 
-- because it has too few crew members to sspare (and, one 
suspects, too few airworthy Sea King rust buckets). Sailors 
who fall overboard had better hope an American ship is 
nearby. 

While this government speaks almost constantly about the 
need to ratify the Kyoto accord in order to preserve our 
reputation for honouring international commitments, it seems 
to think nothing of shrugging off its international security 
commitments to NATO and the coalition fighting terrorism. 
Neglecting our real-world military obligations somehow does 
nothing to diminish our reputation, while implementing some 
fanciful eco-dream is crucial. 

Defence Minister John McCallum also told the military this 
week to cut back on "low-priority items" such as building 
repairs, vehicle upgrades, computers and "kitchen supplies," 
because it is $100 million over-budget following the war in 
Afghanistan. Since when did kitchen supplies become 
low-priority items for an army? Next McCallum will be asking 
defence planners whether the midday meal the department 
gives free to all personnel -- you know, lunch -- is really 
necessary? 

And bullets. Bullets are expensive, and you fellows seem to 
go through a lot of them. Did you ever consider talking 
things through with the enemy rather than shooting so much? 

Two weeks ago, the federal Justice Department asked for, and 
got, an extra $72 million (above and beyond the $113 million 
it had already budgeted) for its useless, inept gun 
registry. Yet just a week later, the same government was 
asking army cooks to consider whether they might prepare 
thousands of meals daily without such "low-priority items" 
as knives, pots and ovens. 

Plates? Why do you need so many plates? Whatever happened to 
soldiers eating out of their helmets? 

Last month, former Chretien confidant Peter Donolo called on 
Canada to dump the monarchy "and do what any self-respecting 
nation does: choose our own head of state." OK. 
Self-respecting nations also maintain militaries capable of 
protecting their interests overseas, such as when their 
citizens are held hostage by foreign militaries. 

Yet, in September, when Canadians were trapped in a 
missionary school in Ivory Coast, they had to be rescued by 
French commandos, because we no longer have a rapid reaction 
force, or at least no way of transporting one to hotspots. 

The 11th is an occasion for reflection, not politicking. So 
I apologize to any veteran who finds this commentary 
disrespectful of the day. That was not my intent. Rather, 
this needs to be remembered, too.

_______________________
Lorne Gunter
Columnist, Edmonton Journal
Editorial Board Member, National Post
tele: (780) 916-0719
e-mail: lgunter@shaw.ca


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