http://www.theinfozone.net/
December 10 2005
Canada's Liberals Handgun Ban a Smoke and Mirrors Effort?
The Liberal announcement of a handgun ban appears to have run into a problem.
Ralph Goodale
Liberal Minister of Finance, Ralph Goodale, embroiled in a growing scandal himself, is telling his constituents that the proposed ban won't be enforced anyhow.
Goodale .pdf of email
The Minister of Finance seems to be mired in a deepening controversy over an announcement Goodale made which changed the taxation rules for income trusts in Canada.
CTV News reported, "Goodale has insisted all along that no advance word came from his office. "The Finance Department is very meticulous about these matters," he said Tuesday. "There was no specific advance notice whatsoever."
"But a representative of Canada's most influential seniors' lobby group says he got a phone call on the morning of Nov. 23, several hours before the markets closed, and before Goodale made his announcement."
"Protocol is that a finance minister never gives word of a policy change while the markets are still open."
"The day they made the announcement they phoned us and said something is going to be said," the associate executive director of Canada's Association for the Fifty Plus, William Gleberzon, told CTV News."
"Gleberzon said the call came from a senior policy advisor in the finance minister's office."
Former Liberal strategist, Warren Kinsella writes on his highly popular and controversial blog, "There can't be much doubt, now, that Ralph Goodale's office disclosed confidential information - and that, in the hands of unscrupulous investors, millions of dollars could be made with that kind of information before the markets closed on November 23, 2005. As is well-known in the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC), a recent campaign for Laurier Club donations went precisely nowhere (cf. the big Laurier Club event with the Prime Minister on November 10 at the Arcadian Court was supposed to see 1000 new members attend and raise $1 million - and it, um, did not )."
Kinsella continues, "What is less known, however, is this: was there a surge in Bay Streeter donations to the LPC in the immediate aftermath of the income trust leak and volte face? Were some investors who benefited from the tax change then immediately hit up by LPC canvassers, perchance?"
This news comes as polling results show Liberal support in southwestern Ontario starting to fall, as the Conservatives have gained nine points in the latest poll.
Paul Martin
Paul Martin had to delay his announcement banning handguns because the bus following the Liberal leader's bus got lost on the way to the announcement. There is apt symbolism in the Prime Minister's tour getting lost. This decision by the Prime Minister that is not likely to reduce the growing problems with gangs and guns in Canadian cities.
If the goal were to actually reduce crime, this announcement will fail. This plan is not likely to disarm the gang members and drug dealers who have shot and killed over 50 people in Toronto this year.
Confiscating the legally-owned property of law abiding Canadian firearms owners does not disarm criminals.
Great Britain banned handguns in 1997. The BBC reported in 2001, that "A new study suggests the use of handguns in crime rose by 40% in the two years after the weapons were banned."
Hardly the effect the British government promised their citizens.
To make an impact, Paul Martin should confiscate the illegal handguns used by criminals, not those owned by law-abiding Canadians. This move will not affect the criminal use of illegal handguns by gang members. This move will punish hundreds of thousands of of law-abiding Canadians for the misdeeds of local criminal gang members who don't obey any laws.
On CTV Television immediately following the announcement, the sister of a man shot down in the streets of Toronto was interviewed. When asked if this announcement would make a difference or if it was just politics, she replied that is was just politics.
This announcement breaks promises made to Canadian gun owners made by the Liberal govenment. "The Firearms Act is about licensing and registration, not confiscation," is what then Justice Minister, now Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said in 1998.
The Liberal government is addressing the escalation of gun violence in Canadian cities by proposing an immediate ban on handguns as part of a five-part strategy to make our communities safer, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced in Toronto today.
“We do not accept the threat these weapons pose to Canadians,” said the Prime Minister. “To make our communities safer we should ban handguns outright.”
The Canada Handgun Ban is part of the Liberal government’s comprehensive effort to make communities across this country safer.
This plan would include federal legislation that would enable provinces and territories to legally prohibit handguns within their borders. It would toughen penalties for gun crimes, help eliminate the supply of illegal handguns, and increase protection for communities across the country.
Prime Minister Martin’s five-part strategy to ban handguns and make safer communities would include:
Banning handguns through an amendment to the criminal code that would invite provinces and territories to participate to make the ban national; an amnesty and buy-back program to collect existing handguns; and a national Gunstoppers Program to provide financial rewards for information leading to removing an illegal gun from the street.
Toughening penalties by re-introducing legislation to crack down on violent crimes and gang violence, by doubling the mandatory minimum sentences for key gun crimes.
Waiving re-licensing fees for owners of long guns in order to encourage full compliance with the Canada Firearms Program.
Encouraging community-based action by intensifying prevention efforts. This would include a $50-million Gun Violence and Gang Prevention Fund to focus on youth at risk and continued investment in skills development programs to engage young people in the workforce.
Investing in law enforcement, including $225 million over five years for an RCMP Advanced Community Safety and Rapid Enforcement Team, $10 million a year for 10 years to increase the number of graduating RCMP officers, $50 million over five years for a Rural Community Safety Plan to provide resources for crime prevention initiatives in communities with less that 100,000 residents, and investments to stem the illegal smuggling of firearms into Canada.
Legitimate target shooters who meet requirements would be eligible for an exemption to the handgun ban.
“Supporting a handgun ban in Canada is a statement of principle, but it is also a statement of purpose,” said the Prime Minister. By banning handguns and enforcing a comprehensive policing efforts, the Liberal government will get these dangerous weapons off our streets and help to stop gun crime.
:banghead: