Skip to content

BCWF looks forward to end of Long-Gun Registry

BC Wildlife Federation President Rod Wiebe sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper congratulating him on winning a convincing majority in the May 2 Federal election and stating that the BCWF is pleased its campaign to scrap the long-gun registry can now move forward with the support of his government. The letter also stated that the BCWF looks forward to working with the new government on issues relating to hunting and angling and the protection of our outdoor heritage.

“We are confident that the Federal Justice Ministry’s agenda includes shifting the focus to criminals and addressing violent crime and not Canadians who happen to own firearms. We also look forward to the creation of a National Fish and Wildlife Advisory Panel, which you announced in April,” President Wiebe wrote.

“Firearms owners have waited more than a decade for the repeal of the 1995 firearms legislation (Bill C-68), which has criminalized normal Canadians who own firearms and created a large, expensive and ineffective bureaucracy.

“Specifically, we look forward to working with the government to introduce legislation to make the following changes once the long-gun registry has been scrapped:

“Eliminate firearm licences or change the duration to life-time licences; absent-minded owners are not a threat to public safety, violent criminals are;

“Eliminate the automatic check of legal firearms owners when a person is stopped for a traffic offence and replace it with an instant check of criminal/parole/probation records; hunters and target shooter are not a threat to public safety, violent criminals are;

“-Renounce the agreement to implement the UN marking regulations (Firearm Markings Regulation SOR 2004-275) that was passed in 2004;

“-Introduce legislation to fix the long-existing technical problems in the current gun laws that were contained in MP Garry Breitkreuz’s 2009 private member’s bill C-301;

“Cancel the introduction of the proposed new gun show regulations;

“Curtail the RCMP’s attempts to unilaterally reclassify firearms.”

With over 100 member clubs and approximately 38,000 individual members, the BC Wildlife Federation is the longest standing, province-wide voluntary and locally funded conservation organization in British Columbia. BCWF members contribute countless hours of volunteer time to habitat and conservation projects around the province each year as well as make substantial donations to the benefit of all outdoor users in BC.

 

For further information, please contact Rod Wiebe, BCWF President at 250-240-7685