ATF shares gun purchase info w/ Canada?

[Deavis]

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NA...1&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815

Gun sale spike prompts border blitz

Canadian Press File Photo
Niagara border crossings, such as the Peace Bridge, pictured, could see an increasing number of security crackdowns targeting gunrunners.


224 vehicles, 25 vessels searched
By Paul Legall
The Hamilton Spectator
Niagara Falls (Jul 12, 2006)
Police and border officials say the recent three-day border enforcement blitz at the Niagara border was sparked by a rash of gun sales in the United States and wasn't related to any specific threat to Canadian security.

"It was based on intelligence, information about events going on in the States, not a security concern," said Niagara Detective Constable Mike Woods, who is also a member of the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU).

In recent weeks, Woods added, there have been increased gun sales in states such as Texas where gunrunners have previously purchased weapons to smuggle into Canada.

He said a security "fence" was thrown up at the border as a precautionary measure. But there were no specific reports of illegal weapons being destined for Canada.

Asked whether the blitz was sparked by a terrorist alert, he replied: "Absolutely not."

Nor was the operation prompted by the recent arrest of 17 persons in connection with a homegrown terrorist ring that police claimed was plotting attacks in the Toronto area.

Woods said multi-agency enforcement initiatives are now staged periodically at border crossings across the province to stop money launderers and other contraband smugglers as well as gunrunners.

The three-day initiative involved members of Niagara regional police (NRP), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and 12 members of the PWEU.

The land and water operation resulted in the seizure of four knives and a can of pepper spray. Several legally owned firearms were also seized from American travellers entering Canada and will be returned to them when they leave the country. No illegal guns were found, however.

Officers inspected 224 vehicles and 25 vessels and 121 persons were refused entry into Canada because of criminal records. A man was arrested attempting to enter Canada and is being held in custody pending a deportation hearing. Border officials say they can't release any information about the individual because of privacy laws.

In their efforts to stem the gun traffic, Woods said Canadian police work closely with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). They also monitor gun shows and other events where guns can be legally purchased in the United States.

Last year, it was estimated that about half of the guns used in a rash of gang- related shootings in Toronto came in from the United States. In some cases, they were purchased across the counter from legitimate gun dealers in states with lax gun laws.

Earlier this year, police revealed a former Six Nations resident, Earle Cooke, 55, had provided violent Toronto street gangs with dozens of firearms from gun shops in Houston, Texas.

Now serving a one-year sentence in North Carolina, he was convicted of giving a bogus Houston address when he bought the guns.

On Aug. 13, 2005, two men allegedly involved in a homegrown terrorist plot were arrested at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie trying to smuggle handguns and ammunition into Canada.

They both pleaded guilty last October and received two-year sentences. They are now facing terrorism charges for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in Ontario.

Although no specific security threat was linked with the blitz, CBSA spokesperson Jean D'Amelio-Swyer said the joint operation reflects the increased co-operation among enforcement agencies since the World Trade Center attacks.

"We've been in a state of increased vigilance since 9/11," she said yesterday.

"The CBSA is committed to continue our partnership with other agencies such as NRP and PWEU to ensure security of our borders and to help make our country safer," she added.

With 162 kilometres of shoreline along the Niagara river and two of the Great Lakes, the Niagara frontier has always been a popular crossing point for smugglers.

Apart from drugs, alcohol, tobacco and firearms, illegal aliens have also been spirited across the waterways into the United States.

So the ATF alerted Canada to an increase in sales of weapons in Texas? I assume that information would come from NICS checks being done in Texas and is the ATF actually authorized by law to share that information? Exactly how does the Canadian government monitor our gunshows?

Just though it was interesting.

 

[JBusch8899]

.....and just how is this legal?

I was operating under the presumption that sharing private information of firearms ownership is still illegal.

Remember that big pot of crap that got stirred from that Virginia gun show?

 

[molonlabe]

I think that big pot of crap went no where.

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Last year, it was estimated that about half of the guns used in a rash of gang- related shootings in Toronto came in from the United States.

... a figure which was later shown to be a total fabrication... anti-gun BS seems to keep circulating, no matter how false it is.

 

[TIZReporter]

Where did the claim that 'fifty percent of smuggled guns come into Canada' come from?

http://theinfozone.net/SALW/Canada.html

Updated November 3 2005
Canadian Prime Minister Wrong on Gun Smuggling Statistics
Professor Wendy Cukier Apparently is Source for Unsubstantiated Statistic

Canada's Paul Martin

Canada's Prime Minister Martin came under fire for his claim made to American Secretary of State Rice that 50% of all guns used in violent acts in Canada are guns smuggled into Canada from the United States.

The source for this statistic Mr. Martin claimed, in Question Period, was a newspaper article.

This statistic, was reported in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper on July 3rd, 2001:

"Wendy Cukier, a Ryerson University professor who is spearheading a movement to curb global gunrunning, will attend the UN conference. Handguns smuggled from the United States, she says, account for 80 per cent of illegal handgun imports in Mexico and 50 per cent of the handgun crimes in Canada."

Ms. Cukier is the President of the Canadian Coalition for Gun Control.

Prof. Cukier

Outdoor Canada Magazine writes of Ms. Cukier, "More than any other individual, most deem Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control (CGC), as the driving force behind the much-maligned Firearms Act. A professor of justice studies at Toronto’s Ryerson University, Cukier co-founded the CGC in 1991 to crusade for more stringent gun laws following the 1989 massacre of 14 women at Montreal’s École polytechnique. Regarded internationally as an expert on firearms regulations, Cukier, who’s written more than 50 papers on the subject, was awarded the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Cross in 2000 for her efforts."

This is not the first time Ms. Cukier has used this statistic. She has also used the same statistics in a Press Release issued in New York, at the close of a United Nations Small Arms Light Weapons Conference, "Professor Wendy Cukier, President of Canada’s Coalition for Gun Control, added:

"Gun running contributes to the death of more than half a million people each year. For every death, many more are injured and traumatized. The death rates in many countries at peace are as high as in those at war. Moreover, unlike illicit drugs, which are generally illegal throughout their trafficking life, virtually all illicit small arms begin as legal weapons -- whether in the hands of state armies, police or civilians."
"From a Canadian perspective, it is also worth noting that the illicit trafficking of small arms is not just a problem in conflict zones. Half the handguns recovered in crime in Canada are illegally imported and efforts to reduce illicit trafficking worldwide will pay off back home. We hope that the 2001 conference on Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms in All its Aspects will address key elements of a comprehensive strategy to complements existing agreements and those under negotiation and that Canada will continue to exercise a leadership role. For example Canada signed (but has not ratified) the Organization of American States (OAS) agreement in 1997. Canada is currently involved in negotiating the Firearms Protocol, as part of the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime in Vienna. These initiatives, which establish standards for the marking, import, export, and transit movements of commercial shipments of firearms, are also essential to reducing the illegal gun trade. As well, although it has not been fully implemented, Canada's new domestic legislation has already shown itself to be a useful tool in the battle against the illegal gun trade. But no country can do it alone - we need international cooperation."

This statement was made in an article published in The Minuteman by Ms. Cukier, Ms. Peters, and Ms. Stohl, in August 2004.

"While the Bush administration may be interested in allowing free access to guns for responsible American citizens, these policies have worldwide effects. Like pollution, guns know no borders. Whether it's Washington DC, Toronto, Port-au-Prince or Beirut, the permissive gun laws in the United States offer the world's criminal market easy access to an extraordinary range of lethal weapons. In fact, 50% of handguns recovered in crime in Toronto come from the United States. 80% of guns used in crimes in Mexico come from the U.S."

This same quote was used by Rebecca Peters of the International Action Network on Small Arms in her presentation to the United Nations in July 2005.

"If you don’t regulate guns within each country, you don’t have any chance of regulating their movement between countries, because guns easily cross borders. The legal sale of guns to civilians in one country becomes a source of illicit guns in the country next door.

For example, Mexican authorities estimate that 80% of guns used in crimes in Mexico originate in the US, and in Toronto, Canada some 50% of the guns used in crime came from across the border in the US. 60% of the world’s guns are in the hands of civilians, according to the Small Arms Survey; and civilians are the principal victims and perpetrators of gun violence. Illicit weapons almost always start as legal guns, and a minimum standard to regulate legal gun ownership is therefore a crucial component of combating the illicit trade – a point that was reinforced by the 1997 UN Crime Commission."

The same figure was also used in another report a Brief to the Sub-Committee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade authored by Ms. Cukier;

"Of the handguns recovered in crime in major cities such as Toronto, it is estimated that over half originate in the US and are smuggled into Canada using many of the same mechanisms used to divert legal firearms to illegal markets in the US, particularly straw purchases and gun shows."

The only problem with this quoted statistic is that no one can find a study or survey that can provide a legitimate source for the quoted claim.

Scholar John Lott asks, "If an American President just made up numbers in talking to a representative of another country, I can only imagine the press furor:"

The Globe and Mail one of Canada's national newspapers reported on page six of their paper on October 27, 2005; "Prime Minister Paul Martin incorrectly blamed the United States for gun crime in Canada by using an unsubstantiated figure to assert that 50 per cent of this country's gun crimes involve smuggled firearms, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins said yesterday."

Ambassador Wilkins said that Canadian officials had admitted that in meetings with Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State "that that figure was just grabbed out of thin air." The ambassador insisted the Canadian government should focus on joint efforts to combat gun-running rather than pointing fingers.

 

[bg]

NAFTA works in odd ways doesn't it..

 

[MechAg94]

My understanding is that the ATF is allowed to keep statistical information about the NICS check, but not buyer idenfication information.

I am not an expert though and have had no formal training.

 

[Art Eatman]

From the article:

"Now serving a one-year sentence in North Carolina, he was convicted of giving a bogus Houston address when he bought the guns."

Impossible! We have NICS!

, Art

 

[robertbank]

Art Eatman

Nope and there was a major bust of gun running/drug running in Toronto awhile back. With all the infor now being shared across the 49th due to the Terrorist threats I am not surprised to hear it is being applied to illegal purchases of guns in the states by these characters. Police forces in our two countries have shared info for years and when it comes to the terrorist threats both our countries have been working hand in hand sharing info. I suspect for the few times we hear about such sharing through arrests etc there are many more instances of cases where nothing is said and the BG's get caught.

I think we are living under a different set of rules since 9-11 and like it or not our governments are going to do what ever is necessary to prevent another attack. That said the terrorists only have to get lucky once.

Incidently the 50% gun factor is a total myth. Anti's just quote whatever they want to "quote", another word for make-up to make their argument seem plausable.


Take Care