(Photo of yours truly – another proud long gun owner)
If you hear a buzz coming from downtown Ottawa this afternoon, its probably emanating from the Gallery at the House of Commons.
Yesterday I received a very noteworthy invitation from Safari Club International’s Canadian director Bob Valcov, to join him and other like-minded individuals in the Gallery of the House of Commons.
Today is an extremely HUGE day for gun-owners in Canada and a big day for SCI Canada as well. It is the culmination of years of lobbying against a needless, expensive and over-the-top gun registry.
SCI Canada’s motto is “First for Hunters” and my new friend Mr Valcov plans to assert this credo along with his ‘vocal posse’ today on Parliament Hill.
The group plans to occupy seats in the House of Common’s Gallery during Question Period today beginning at 1 PM. They will remain there until 5 PM when the final reading is expected to be heard. It could become interesting as things may just heat-up a little:
“I expect it to get a bit rowdy” said Valcov of the Gallery of long-gun enthusiasts waiting on the edge of their collective seats this aft.
If all goes as planned (and it should) the 3rd reading of Bill C-19 will be the FINAL reading and the end of an era. With some luck we will remember February 15, 2012 as the day the Long gun Registry was put out of is misery.
Stay close to your televisions and radios; it could very well be a day of celebration. Thanks to people like Mr Bob Valcov of SCI Canada – a man representing a fine organization working on behalf of all Canadian long gun owners.
Here’s to you Bob, and here’s to me. And here’s to the rest of the legal and responsible long gun owners from Newfoundland to British Columbia!
(SCI Canada Director Bob Valcov with Prime Minister Stephen Harper)
Ok folks now all that being said, for God’s sake say a little prayer!!
Outdoorsguy
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Are you sure, this is the day? Does it have to pass a vote, or is it officially over, I think they still need a vote or it needs to go to the Senate or some other stalling tactic.
What I want to see is the day I can take those damn cards up to Parliament Hill and burn them in the Centennial Flame, until them, it’s still a rope around my and every other law abiding gun owners throat.
Can you get me a seat?
it will be in effect till at least end of march or 1st of april min. people have to realize there is a difference between gun registry and gun control
I’m going to post this column on Adrian’s site if you don’t mind
By the way, I checked and have been told it still needs to go through the Senate, so the fat lady ain’t singing yet
Yup..go for it Iggy!
And btw, it is my understanding that long gun could die on the floor by tonight!
“Card burning at the Flame”….boy, how symbolic would that be!
Outdoorsguy
sorry to burst your bubble but it’s another false start
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Liberal Senate leader James Cowan said while the Liberals in the Red Chamber have no intention of filibustering Bill C-19, they’ll make sure it gets the serious consideration it needs.
Cowan said the Tories have taken five months to move Bill C-19 through the House, taking their time with an issue that pleases their base and is a good fundraising tool.
“We’re not going to rubber stamp anything,” he said. “But certainly it won’t be in Senate longer than in House.”
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don’t burn those cards just yet
Yes I know Bob Valcov for many years now, although I’m not a member of the Club.
Yes this afternoon should be a breeze, but maybe also in the Senate afterward with the Conservatives majority in both, after the time allowed for review and then whatever outcome, (Quebecers will have to deal with our Premier’s legal stuborness at taxpayers cost).
OTTAWA — The Conservative government says its MPs will celebrate after a historic vote to end the long-gun registry Wednesday evening, despite vehement opposition to the move in Quebec and much of urban Canada.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told reporters Wednesday, hours before the vote, that the government’s actions are long overdue.
“It does nothing to help put an end to gun crimes, nor has it saved one Canadian life,” he said.
“It criminalizes hard-working and law-abiding citizens such as farmers and sport shooters, and it has been a billion-dollar boondoggle left to us by the previous Liberal government.”
Quebec MP Maxime Bernier said MPs and gun-rights advocates will celebrate together Parliament Hill after Wednesday evening’s vote.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs and supporters of the registry are expected to say the government’s actions are a step backwards, because the registry has been useful in keeping the country’s streets safe.
Bill C-19, the Ending the Long Gun Registry Act, is guaranteed to pass through the House of Commons, thanks to the Conservative government’s majority, but more political wrangling is expected to follow.
Liberals in the Senate say they have no intention of “rubber stamping” the bill, which they say needs time for sober second thought.
Meanwhile, the government of Quebec, meanwhile, has plans to take legal action against the Harper government for withholding Quebec-specific data, which is essential to its plans to launch a provincial registry.
The federal law will end the requirement for lawful gun owners to register their long guns, and it relaxes rules around selling or transferring guns. Gun licences for individuals will still be required, and the registry for restricted and prohibited firearms such as handguns will be maintained.
Gun control has been ferociously debated in Canada for decades, particularly since the Montreal massacre of 1989, when a gunman shot and killed 14 women with a rifle. This event prompted the Liberal government of Jean Chretien to tighten gun controls and create Canada’s first mandatory long-gun registry in 1995.
Hunters and sport shooters reviled the registry, and dismantling it became a central plank of Reform, and later, Conservative party policy.
Liberal Senate leader James Cowan said while the Liberals in the Red Chamber have no intention of filibustering Bill C-19, they’ll make sure it gets the serious consideration it needs.
Cowan said the Tories have taken five months to move Bill C-19 through the House, taking their time with an issue that pleases their base and is a good fundraising tool.
“We’re not going to rubber stamp anything,” he said. “But certainly it won’t be in Senate longer than in House.”
Cowan said he expects Bill C-19 to arrive at the committee on legal and constitutional affairs sometime in March, at which time the committee will hear testimony, which could continue for…
“it will be in effect till at least end of march or 1st of april min. people have to realize there is a difference between gun registry and gun control”
Sure, however this particular registry FAILS on the issue of control. It wrongly controlls the law abiding and law enforcement by entangling them in a bureuacratic maze at great expense to the taxpayer whilst failing to control criminals who use weapons and who OBVIOUSLY would not submit to a system of voluntary gun registration just like they do when they refuse to submit to our voluntary tax remittance system, but that’s another issue for another day.
Ok, so I guess we shouldn’t be burning our paperwork just yet…although a positive outcome this evening would bring us one step closer.
LG, I’m not an SCI member either, but I like what they stand for..and may consider signing up.
Outdoorsguy
Good news Jeff…. give ’em hell !!
Sorry GPG, I just realized I hadn’t really followed-through on the part where I join the SCI today.
I was, unfortunately, unable to attend the gathering at the House of Commons this aft…as Bob pointed out, there is a long afternoon and evening ahead for those who do.
I told him that we would be there with them in spirit and support!
Outdoorsguy
Here’s the latest from Parliament Hill:
Tories call out opposition on long-gun registry
BY Daniel Proussalidis
OTTAWA – The Conservatives are rubbing opposition MPs’ noses in the bill to end the long-gun registry, set to pass the Commons on Wednesday.
The Tory majority government doesn’t need any opposition votes to push through its bill.
That didn’t stop Manitoba MP Candice Hoeppner from using a news conference Wednesday to call on seven New Democrats, including Charlie Angus and Niki Ashton, to buck their party line and vote for Bill C-19.
“These are members of Parliament who very clearly committed to their constituents that they would vote to end the registry,” Hoeppner said.
“Obviously I’d be very pleased — we’d all be very pleased — if we had more NDP (MPs) supporting this bill, so we just wanted to remind them of what they said and also remind them of who they’re serving.”
In the backdrop of the news conference was a silhouetted photo of what appeared to be a duck-hunting father and son, rifles slung over their shoulders.
“It looks like home to me,” said a smiling Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. “This is a natural part of rural life, and unfortunately Liberals and some New Democrats have attempted to turn a whole way of life into some kind of criminal conduct.”
Toews also said there is no way to end the registry while saving its data, arguing that would be like selling a farm but keeping the land.
The minister confirmed the data would be destroyed as soon as possible after C-19 receives royal assent.
Isn’t it refreshing that a political party actually will live up to one of its political promises.
nope, not burning nothing yet, but looking around the house for a lighter
we should start a thing, where when it does pass, we all go up on the hill and burn our cards
post it on all the hunting boards and gun owner boards and get the Conservatives on side so we don’t get arrested by the bitter cops
Iggy, I think we may want to confirm that all the info on the giant database has, in fact, been destroyed before we cause a ruckus.
Someone from QC might sneak-in to save all the data on a memory stick or something..hehe
Outdoorsguy
Rick Poulin says:
February 15, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Isn’t it refreshing that a political party actually will live up to one of its political promises.
Yes but it is taking too long
does SCI carry insurance like the OFAH ???? the ofah has been very quiet on this whole issue lately .. i would assume once passed they will come to the forefront with words like “strongly applaud” anyone can talk after it is done what about before …..
159-130 registry to next step
WUHOO! It’s officially gone!
The only thing I feel sorry about is that I didn’t realize it was today or I would have booked us a table at that Fatboy’s smokehouse on Murray Street and had some good ol’ bbq hunting type food. Not that they promote it that way, but it’s the type of food we eat at camp sometimes 🙂
I bet it ain’t going anywhere…..well except for maybe to each individual Province. And you and I will be paying through the nose again because apparently the Feds won’t transfer the data so it’ll have to be collected again…..
chessy, OFHA will try and take most of the credit when this is done. And it will get done in time. my concern is how do we know that the registry is really destroyed when they say it will? how will this information be taken out of circulation and how do we really know it is? sorry that i sound paranoid but……..
i take the government at its word don’t you ???(insert sarcasm) .It was always in the conservatives mandate to rid us of the registry it was not any group that protested or made secret back yard deals to get this gone . we can only thank the conservatives and all sane people for electing them because there is not near the number of gun owners as there were votes to elect the conservatives.
Today’s outdoors column btw:
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/02/15/morrison-winter-fishing-fun
Outdoorsguy
What are you shouldering in the picture Jeff, a 303?
imacdon….a 303??? Come on now!
That thing of beauty I’m holding is a Waffenfabrik Mauser – German Sporting rifle -in the extremely rare 30-06 calibre..and feauturing Mauser’s famous ‘butter-knife’ bolt action. (Often considered the best bolt action ever made)
This particular rifle was given to me by my uncle 20-years ago and is my pride and joy!
The gunsmith here in Ottawa actually wanted to buy it for his collection the day I brought it to be tapped for a scope. He also tried to talk me out of having the scope put-on as the rifle was mint and extrememly valueable..well, he didnt tell me that at the time, but I did my research to find out it was very special indeed.
And I’d never sell it…you know how that goes…sorry, I need to be alone now..hehe
Outdoorsguy
P.S. I occasionally let the boys hold-it at hunt camp, but they’re not allowed to shoot it..hehe
jeff.morrison says:
February 15, 2012 at 2:05 pm
…
Someone from QC might sneak-in to save all the data on a memory stick or something..hehe
Outdoorsguy
Jeff, I can tell you right now that when it was first announced C-19 a few months back, that Charest “certainly” (in my opinion and other Quebecers) ordered it’s Security du Québec (SQ) Officials (since they are the ones managing it for Quebec residents) to copy everything, even if it is an illigal act. Yes our SQ is not always an honest organization abbiding by the law.
That’s the only way they will be able to reinstate their own registry, but then calling upon it’s gun owners as to why they are not registering the firearms they use to have under the Federal System.
I’m already ready for them. My response, is that I had sold all my firearms between the two system.
If they are not happy, then I’ll find a way to move across the river (although with the latest happening in Ontario, it might be more expensive to live there).
LG, I see what you’re saying but MAN, that sounds like a pile of admin. work for the QC Gov’t!!
I can see them fighting for the data from the Fed system, but once its gone do you really think you’ll go through with all that?
Outdoorsguy
Now here is something that the OFAH and SCI and any other hunting or gun organization could do to help destroy this gun registry.
As soon as the registry is done, trade guns, go buy the gun you always wanted, sell a bunch of your old guns that you no longer use, trade for that gun you always wanted, upgrade your .22 single shot to a better newer older .22
Make the information that these criminals in the Quebec government are storing obsolete
it’s the perfect way to destroy their records and to get the gun you always wanted and it’s all legal
iggy, you understood my point and strategy. That buffer zone is where Quebec firearms owners can say “Legally under the Federal law, I “did something” with “my belongings” that had nothing to do with QC’s new potential registry. Then tell the QC’s registry that legally they could only register any new firearms that I would be purchasing in the Provinces of Quebec. Fat chance my firearms would be puchased in QC with their added 1% PST.
Jeff, to not be treated as a QC “criminal”, yes I would move for the sake of going-on with my “life and rights” as a Canadian citizen and what is supposed to be freedom.
LG, its a bloody shame you know!
My wife and I are both QC’ers..(although I did University & College in ON) we moved here to Ottawa in 1997. For me the move wasn’t political it was work-related..but for my wife it was a bit that way.
I still travel, hunt and fish in QC on a regular basis..my parents and relatives are there and deep down its still my home, although there are things that p*ss me off.
Course, there are things about Ontari-ari-o that p*ss me off too…hehe
Would be a shame to give up your home over a gun issue, but I see your point.
Outdoorsguy
Jeff, home is where you make it.
OK LeGrand, but some also say that a ‘house’ is where you make it, and a ‘home’ is where your heart is.
Outdoorsguy
Maybe we should say that home is where your firearms are..hehe
Outdoorsguy
jeff.morrison says:
February 16, 2012 at 12:28 pm
OK LeGrand, but some also say that a ‘house’ is where you make it, and a ‘home’ is where your heart is.
Outdoorsguy
Some people have referred to me as reasonable, and also a “heartless” person,
BUT I”M NO QC POLITITIAN, OR EVEN PART OF THE CONSERVATIVE OPPOSITION PARTIES.
So hard to debate. Don’t get me wrong.
😉
Some also say I can’t spell.
Go figure.
🙂
well jeff this was bound to happen some very good news will the liarberals pay back this money that was wasted as they should but they won’t it just goes to show you when gun owners gather as a group they are much more powerfull than the government thought that we would just keep letting walk all over us . It makes more sense to just have all gun owners possess an f.a.c. which usually means you own a firearm have a great day jeff.By the way the walleye are biting great up in the fitzroy area location classified
DONT KNOW IF I CAN DO THIS BUT HERE IS A COPY AND PASTE
THE CAW WANTS TO KEEP THE DATA FROM REGISTRY
CAW Urges Federal Government to Save Gun Registry Data
Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2012
TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2012 /CNW/ – The CAW is calling on the federal government to reconsider its plan to destroy all existing data collected through the national long gun registry that tracks rifles, shotguns and other non-restricted firearms.
“The Harper government is one step closer to killing off an important and symbolic piece of our country’s gun control efforts,” said CAW President Ken Lewenza after the federal parliamentarians passed its third and final reading of Bill C-19 in the House of Commons yesterday. “This is short-sighted and an example of divisive politics trumping common sense.”
The national long gun registry was created in the wake of a Montreal school shooting rampage that took the lives of 14 women at École Polytechnique. Rifles and shotguns are the firearms most readily available and those most often used in spousal homicides and to kill police officers.
CAW Women’s Program Director Julie White said in the midst of Bill C-19 passing into law, she is encouraged that politicians and organizations (including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police) continue to speak out and demand, at the very least, the long gun registry records are maintained.
“It’s irresponsible for the federal government to throw away every last bit of information that attaches a potentially dangerous firearm to its rightful owner,” White said. “These guns will be left totally unaccounted for. How does this make Canadians safer?”
In a letter to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, the CAW called on the province to support a call to save the registry data. The province of Quebec has publicly stated that it will consider the establishment of a provincial long gun registry. Alberta Premier Alison Redford also stated recently that she doesn’t oppose the transference of existing national data to provincial registries.
The Bill is scheduled to go before the Senate for a final vote before being passed into law.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/589033#ixzz1meFn4R12
I watched CPAC after the vote on the bill C-19. MP Candice Hoeppner has been a bull on this whole thing. She right out “man-handled” the other two opposing guests on the program, in a tough yet intelligent way. I’d want her on my team any day.
The Quebec MP started talking about months of work needed to destroy the registry due to so many interacting facets and that it would cost even more millions in dismantling it. She went on to say that Quebec filing an injunction to stop the destruction until the matter had been resolved in courts. In the same argument, she complained of the costs to dismatle the registry, while promising a lenghthy and expensive court procedure to maintain the data.
Hoeppner’s response was that the dismantling is part of the bill C-19. When the bill passes the Senate, the destruction will become law. She was not at all concerned with any of it, and looked quite confident that the data would be destroyed immediately.
Quebec and the Liberals are using this as a smear campaign, but I they will not succeed.
Jeff: Thank you and your readers for the kind words and support. It has been eighteen long years since that famous noon-time rally on Parliament Hill when many of us committed to do something about the unjust and wasteful Long Gun Registry. It was therefore very rewarding to witness in-person the passing of Bill C-19 last Wednesday in the House of Commons. With the Conservative majority in the Senate, passage in the upper house is a foregone conclusion. Then the elimination of the Registry will become law with the signature of the Governor General on behalf of the Queen. We have all learned that we must always be vigilant. If you want your children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy our outdoor passions and heritage, you must be an active member of organizations like SCI (www.sci-canada.ca), OFAH, the FeDCP and many others. Have a great weekend!
Bob Valcov, I thank you again for the thoughtful invention last week. I only wish I could have made it..but it appears that your crew handled things quite nicely.
I will be breathing a sign of relief once this receives passage in the upper house, and then cross my fingers that the database is handled properly.
Best regards and please stop-by for a visit anytime..you’ll surely find a group of kindred spirits here at the Outdoors Guy Blog!
Outdoorsguy
The end of the gun registry sounds great or is it a snowball in theface so we don’t see what is coming just think about all the changes that has been mentioned everyone got pretty mad about that. now this comes up I guess we will have to wait and see. remember he just got back from china with 2 pandas and we still have canadians in prison there. Am i reading more into it than whats really there? or is it somthing worth thinking about. Well i will leave the citizens of canada to decide. But i am all for what they are doing about the bill
Here is my latest Blog Post(Coyote versus Coon)
http://blogs.canoe.ca/outdoorsguy/hunting/conservation/coyote-versus-raccoon-results-may-surprise-you/
Outdoorsguy