Update: Canadian Firearms Owners Not Swayed By Gun Law
GUN REGISTRY LAW AT A GLANCE
* Bill C-68 was enacted in 1995 and came into effect Dec. 1 1998.
* Deadline for licensing and registering firearms was Jan 1, 2003.
* Opponents say implementation of the registry will cost taxpayers $1 billion, but feds peg the cost at just over $600 million.
* Liberal Justice minister Martin Cauchon gave gun owners the option to submit a letter of intention by the deadline.
* Gun owners have a 6-month grace period for registration certificates.
* More than 200,000 owners applied to register online during the past month.
* Justice officials are estimating about 25 percent of Canada's 2.1 million gun owners failed to register their firearms before the deadline.
* New firearms registration forms can be ordered by calling the CFC at 1-800-731-4000 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Despite officially becoming criminals last week, thousands of Canadian gun owners remain resolute in their defiance of Canada's gun law.
About 70 protesters joined Oscar Lacombe--former sergeant-at-arms of the Alberta legislature and personal bodyguard to premier Peter Lougheed--as he publicly defied the gun law in Edmonton.
Lacombe, 74, carried a plastic-wrapped, single-shot, unregistered .22-calibre rifle onto the grounds of the Alberta legislature.
Edmonton police later stopped Lacombe's vehicle outside the city and seized the rifle, said Sgt. Patrick Tracy.
In Ottawa, about 150 protesters marched on Parliament Hill, burning gun registration certificates and copies of the Firearms Act, before two people were arrested.
As of January 1, Canadian gun owners with an unregistered firearm or those who didn't submit a letter of intention by January 1 face Criminal Code charges that could lead to a $2,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail.
As protesters gathered in Ottawa, hours after the deadline for registration applications, a Canadian Firearm Centre spokesman said the government's job of keeping track of registered gun owners has only just begun.
"Not all is said and done," David Austin said. "We've got several thousand applications to process and we have to follow up with people who have sent us statements of intent."
In related news, Nova Scotia has joined the chorus of provinces calling on Ottawa to suspend its gun registration program.
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Jamie Muir says he'll be discussing with his deputy minister what approach the government will take. He says he believes Alberta and Saskatchewan have also called for suspension of the registry pending a full review of its costs, which were originally estimated at no more than $2 million net after fees.
Stories courtesy of the Canadian Press.
GUN REGISTRY LAW AT A GLANCE
* Bill C-68 was enacted in 1995 and came into effect Dec. 1 1998.
* Deadline for licensing and registering firearms was Jan 1, 2003.
* Opponents say implementation of the registry will cost taxpayers $1 billion, but feds peg the cost at just over $600 million.
* Liberal Justice minister Martin Cauchon gave gun owners the option to submit a letter of intention by the deadline.
* Gun owners have a 6-month grace period for registration certificates.
* More than 200,000 owners applied to register online during the past month.
* Justice officials are estimating about 25 percent of Canada's 2.1 million gun owners failed to register their firearms before the deadline.
* New firearms registration forms can be ordered by calling the CFC at 1-800-731-4000 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Despite officially becoming criminals last week, thousands of Canadian gun owners remain resolute in their defiance of Canada's gun law.
About 70 protesters joined Oscar Lacombe--former sergeant-at-arms of the Alberta legislature and personal bodyguard to premier Peter Lougheed--as he publicly defied the gun law in Edmonton.
Lacombe, 74, carried a plastic-wrapped, single-shot, unregistered .22-calibre rifle onto the grounds of the Alberta legislature.
Edmonton police later stopped Lacombe's vehicle outside the city and seized the rifle, said Sgt. Patrick Tracy.
In Ottawa, about 150 protesters marched on Parliament Hill, burning gun registration certificates and copies of the Firearms Act, before two people were arrested.
As of January 1, Canadian gun owners with an unregistered firearm or those who didn't submit a letter of intention by January 1 face Criminal Code charges that could lead to a $2,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail.
As protesters gathered in Ottawa, hours after the deadline for registration applications, a Canadian Firearm Centre spokesman said the government's job of keeping track of registered gun owners has only just begun.
"Not all is said and done," David Austin said. "We've got several thousand applications to process and we have to follow up with people who have sent us statements of intent."
In related news, Nova Scotia has joined the chorus of provinces calling on Ottawa to suspend its gun registration program.
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Jamie Muir says he'll be discussing with his deputy minister what approach the government will take. He says he believes Alberta and Saskatchewan have also called for suspension of the registry pending a full review of its costs, which were originally estimated at no more than $2 million net after fees.
Stories courtesy of the Canadian Press.
