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CANADIAN FIREARMS CENTRE ALERTS
Claire Joly
"Canadian Firearms Centre does not send renewal notices to permit holders: quiet Quebec hunter may unwillingly become first Canadian to be tried for not having a valid firearms license, a criminal offense"
Press Release Canadian Unregistered Firearms Owners Association (CUFOA)
CUFOA will be at the Trois-Rivières courthouse on March 3 to show their solidarity with Jean-François Laflamme. Mr. Laflamme is a 24 years old hunter who may soon have a criminal record for failing to realize his firearms permit was expired before he went moose hunting last fall. Because the Canadian Firearms Centre does not send renewal notices to permit holders, Mr. Laflamme became the first person in Quebec to be charged under the Firearms Act for not having a valid firearms license (section 91 of the Criminal Code).
"This is a prime example of the chaos that characterizes the coming into full force of this law, despite the billion dollars that the federal government has thrown at it. Above all, Jean-François' story shows how this law insidiously turns honest citizens into criminals. People don't end up with criminal records if they forget to renew their cars' licenses or their drivers' permits. It's aberrant, and it can happen to any hunter", says Claire Joly, CUFOA Quebec Spokesperson.
To show their support for Mr. Laflamme, CUFOA members from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia will attend his pro forma court appearance on March 3. They will then turn themselves in to the authorities and try to get arrested. CUFOA is using peaceful civil disobedience to demand the repeal of the Firearms Act of 1995. Since January 1, half of dozen of their members have been openly proclaiming that they are in contravention of the law. Their goal is to challenge its the constitutional validity before the courts.
So far, the activists have been ignored by the federal government. "Bill C-68 will not make Canada safer, violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and has criminalized 2 million citizens at the very least. One thing is sure, we are united with Jean-François Laflamme", states Ed Hudson, CUFOA Secretary. "We are guilty of the same so-called crime as Mr. Laflamme. The law must be applied equally to all citizens. The government must arrest us on the same charges".
Jim Turnbull, CUFOA President, stresses, "The government claims the Firearms Act of 1995 is worth saving, yet they refuse to fully enforce it. They must have the political courage either to arrest us so we can challenge it before the courts, or to recognize their error and dismantle this unjust, irrational law. Be assured that we will not give up. We will not rest until the Firearms Act is repealed ".
CUFOA, a national organization dedicated to the protection of the rights and freedoms endangered by Bill C-68, supports all laws which enhance public safety and promote responsible firearm use. CUFOA demonstrated on Parliement Hill on January 1, and in Montreal on January 3, 2003.
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