The Sporting Clubs

of Niagara

Volume 8, Number 4 Nov. 2002

The Law says all guns must be registered by January 1, 2003. In the years ahead, will this date be looked back upon as a watershed moment in Canadian history? It has the potential.

If the government ever wanted to institute a ban on civilian ownership of firearms, the only true way to gauge the effectiveness of it is to know how many guns exist, who has them, what type they are and where they are kept.

Is the Canadian government currently planning a total ban? Probably not. But nobody, NOBODY can tell what the future may hold. Who will be in power 10 years from now? Will they "reluctantly" use the registry to ban and confiscate guns in Canada after another mental mutant goes on a rampage? Who will be in power 10 years after that? Will they raise the income tax to 95%? Will they try to round up and imprison homosexuals? Will they outlaw free elections? Again, probably not, but what would stop them from doing these kind of things if they did not fear the ultimate possibility of meaningful resistance?

Before you dismiss the idea of such drastic measures ever happening, let's pause to remember our own government's treatment of Canadians of Japanese ancestry during WWII, the Doukhobors, natives, and APEC protestors. As I write this, the radio tells me 14 Alberta farmers have been put into prison for selling their own wheat. Recent newspaper stories relate how our elected Members of Parliament are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of true democracy in our government.

Our Commonwealth cousins in Australia (who share our same British legal heritage) have already experienced a virtual ban on firearms. Ten years ago most Australian gun owners thought the idea of a gun ban was warrantless, ridiculous, absurd, irrational, alarmist and something only an "extremist" would worry about. Think of the misery and death that could have been prevented if more people had paid attention to the "senselessly paranoid worrywarts" in places like Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Algeria, Indonesia, Cambodia and Uganda.

I have had many people tell me that from a historical/political point of view they think it makes sense to keep a rifle or two unregistered, well oiled and well hidden in addition to the guns they register. These people tell me they are keeping these "rainy day" rifles on behalf of their grandchildren and for Canada's sake. Is keeping an unregistered firearm legally dangerous? Absolutely! If found, such a firearm could get you large fines, jail time and the loss of all of your firearms. As unpleasant as these potential penalties are, they are really nothing compared to the past sacrifices made by the veterans of our armed forces in order to hand us a free country.

As William Faulkner observed, "We are not free because we claim freedom, but because we practice it."

A torch is being passed to you on December 31st. Will you carry it?

Kindest regards to you all,

John A. Gayder

Loaning Firearms

The approaching Dec. 31/02 deadline for registering all firearms makes the option to loan rather than sell firearms much more attractive for gun owners.

Bill C-68 made loaning possible. However, many people simply chose to ignore the law and sell their long guns without bothering to officially transfer them. Since long guns were not registered this was quite simple to do and not terribly risky, especially when dealing with people you knew.

When all legal firearms are registered, however, this will no longer be an option as there will be a paper trail for the gun. In addition, once the government thinks it has all the guns registered, the $25 transfer fee will come back into force. While this might not bother you if you are buying a $10,000 Perazzi shotgun, how will you feel about paying a $25 fee to transfer a $25 Cooey single shot rifle? This is where loaning comes into play.

Firearms Act Section 33 allows for the loaning of firearms in all categories including restricted and prohibited.

By following a few basic rules most of the registration and transfer nonsense can be avoided.

A firearm can be loaned if the following conditions are met:

1. The borrower must have a *licence* for that class of firearm (you should check the licence to verify this). They then become the "holder" of the registration certificate for that firearm under CC s. 84(4)(b)(ii)].

**Note that a licence includes a PAL, FAC or POL (yes, a POL!)

2. If the firearm is loaned, the registration certificate must accompany it.

NOTE - This worries some people as they say "What will happen if I am stopped by the police or a conservation officer and I produce a certificate for someone else's gun. Even ignoring the fact that the loan is legal anyway, the certificates don't have the owner's name on them, so unless the policeman or CO has a computer immediately at hand to check (which they probably won't since you have a certificate), they would not even know that you didn't own the gun.

3. Do your best to determine that the person is not drunk, under the influence of drugs, does not indicate that they intend to use the firearm criminally and does not have any court imposed restrictions on owning firearms (very difficult to determine without access to police computers, but that is not your problem). As long as you see a valid licence, that is the government's assurance that the person is law-abiding.

Some other considerations which make this option particularly attractive are:

1. Nothing prevents you from asking for a damage deposit (for example, the value of the gun) which would be refunded only upon the return of the gun.

2. There are no time limits on loans. A gun could be loaned for 100 years.

3. If you loan someone a gun they may, in turn, loan it to others as long as the above conditions are met.

NOTE: We have been asked about your legal liability should the borrower use the gun to commit a crime. This is essentially the same as loaning your car to someone (which most all of us have done at one time or another). As long as the borrower has a valid driver's licence it is permissible. If they drive drunk or get a speeding ticket the responsibility falls on them, not you. Your legal obligation is limited to insuring that they are licenced and any insurance obligations have been met.

The government has made loaning a viable option to costly and time consuming sales and transfers. We suggest you use this option whenever possible.

Registering As "Unknown" (the saga continues)

Much debate has occurred about the strategy of registering firearms as "Unknown". Well it appears that the naysayers put too much faith in the efficiency of the government. A Sept./02 news release from our friend MP Garry Breitkreuz shows the following:

1. The firearm registry has accepted 71,072 registrations simply filled out as "Unknown"

2. They have also accepted 727,000 registrations with no serial number

3. A further 222,911 firearms registered have duplicate make/serial number combinations. With less than 5 million guns registered, this means that over 20% (about 1 gun in 5) cannot be uniquely identified by the registry. Given these numbers we are at a loss to explain how this registry is making people safer. Perhaps CFC mouthpiece David Austin or your local MP who voted for it can tell you. Why not call and ask them.

Given these developments we stand by our original advice. To avoid incriminating yourself by making an incorrect entry on your registration forms, enter "Unknown" in all the fields. If questioned why, simply reply state that you are not a firearm expert and are not willing to risk prosecution by filling in potentially incorrect information. State that the government can get the information by sending a verifier to check your guns. With the verifier system in shambles it is a good bet that you will be old and grey before anyone ever knocks on your door.

Grandfathered 12/6 Guns & Registration

If you purchased prohibited handguns between Feb. 1995 and Dec. 1998, once Bill C-15B (now renamed Bill C-10) passes (if it does) you will be "grandfathered" because it changes the "grandfathering" date from Feb. 14 1995 to Dec. 1 1998. Your firearm cannot be re-registered until C-10 passes, but you can continue to possess it under the amnesty. An application to register cannot be processed until C-10 passes and is proclaimed as law, but if you apply anyway, the application places you solidly within the language of the amnesty. It makes it extremely difficult for anyone to prosecute you for possession of a non-re-registered firearm. If questioned, simply state that you tried to re-register to comply with the law.

Re-Registering

If you have not re-registered previously registered firearms you should do this ASAP. When filling out the forms put down only the previous certificate number and not the serial number. Also, if you write "Unknown" in the serial number space rather than checking the "Unknown" box this will require that the information be hand entered rather than computer scanned. Using coloured ink like pink or green (not blue or black) prevents scanning of the information and also requires hand entry.

A Tip from the NFA:

Print on the application itself: "CAUTION! Some of the information printed on this/these registration certificate(s) may be in error!" (which is true).
If asked which data is in error, say "I have no idea. I only know that these registration certificates were issued at a time BEFORE the national standards published in the Firearms Reference Tables were available, so errors are PROBABLE."

Giving them ANY information from the old green certificate can get you charged with the offence of giving false or misleading information in an effort to get a registration certificate. Don't risk it. Let them use their own data, or send a verifier to your home to look at the firearm.

Firearm Possession Without a Licence (from CSSA)

We have had several calls from people who own firearms but their licence is expired. If you are in this situation here is what you should do.

1. Transfer your firearms to a trusted friend with a valid firearm licence immediately for "Temporary Storage" (remember location of storage does not constitute ownership). Ensure that the friend is entitled to possess firearms of the type transferred and that safe storage facilities for the types of firearms transferred are present. You will require an ATT to transport Restricted/Prohibited firearms (call 1-800-731-4000, pick option one to reach an extension and enter 7502 for the Firearms Office in Orillia)

2. Renew your licence (you may have to take the Canadian Firearm Safety Test if you have not already done so). Contact us for info if this is the case.

3. Upon receipt of your new firearms licence transfer your firearms back to your residence (with an ATT for restricted/prohibited).

Registration Certificates After Dec. 31/02

After Dec. 31, 2002 police or conservation officers can require that you produce a registration certificate for any firearm in your possession (including when you are hunting). We suggest that you carry photocopies and store the originals in a safe place. Apparently it is OK to laminate the certificates and and/or photo reduce them in size (as long as they are still legible). If you have not received your certificates (which is highly likely given the mess at the registry), carry photocopies of your applications, your registered letter receipt and your money order receipt to prove that you have tried to comply with the law.

Registration Forms

Most firearm owners who have been calling the CFC's 1-800-731-4000 number are getting a message that says "sorry, due to higher than normal call volumes we can not answer your call". This has made it impossible for people to get forms to register their firearms. If you have had this happen, here is what we recommend you do:

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