http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/stories/000901/4074203.html

Friday 1 September 2000
Police pull gun law support

Alberta officers say Ottawa broke promises

Emma Poole, Calgary Herald

Rank and file police officers in Calgary and Edmonton will withdraw their backing of Ottawa’s
gun control registry today — a move they hope will spark opposition to the controversial law
from departments across Canada.

“Alberta is putting a resolution forward that is to withdraw support for Bill C-68,” said
Calgary Police Association president Al Koenig.

“The Alberta federation feels that the gun legislation promises made by the federal government
have not been kept.”

The provincial association will vote against the controversial registration at the Canadian
Police Association’s annual meeting being held in Halifax until Saturday.

If a majority of provinces vote against the legislation, the Canadian association, which
represents front-line officers across the country, will withdraw its support.

“The gun registry as it sits right now is causing law abiding citizens to register their guns
but it does nothing to take one illegal gun off the street or to increase any type of penalty
for anybody that violates any part of the legislation,” said Koenig.

But supporters of the legislation — which requires firearms owners to obtain licences by Jan.
1, 2003 — say if the association pulls its support it will surely send a message to criminals
that law enforcement in Canada doesn’t care about gun activity.

“Gun registration will provide vital safety information to police officers and be a very
valuable tool in detecting stolen or smuggled firearms and prosecuting related crimes,” said
Emile Therien, president of the Canadian Safety Council.

“We’re talking public safety here.”

Therien is confused that the association would reconsider its gun control position after five
years of support for the legislation.

This isn’t the first time a provincial association has challenged the legislation at a national
meeting.

Last year in Regina, delegates from Saskatchewan called on the federal group to withdraw its
support for the gun registry,

The Firearms Act, passed in 1995, requires gun owners to obtain licences by the end of this
year and register each firearm by the beginning of 2003.

The Quebec delegation has already stepped forward and declared its support for the
registration. On Thursday, the group reaffirmed it would be voting for the legislation and
feels it is an important aspect of firearms control.

“Registration of firearms and licensing of their owners are essential for the protection of
both public and police officers against unfortunate accidents, domestic violence and other
tragedies,” said Quebec’s police association president Yves Prud’Homme.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is in full support of gun registration and
supports the registry fully, said Calgary police deputy Chief Rick Hanson.

But Koenig said there are just too many bogus issues in the current legislation for the
association to support it any longer.

“When we find that nothing is being done as far as protecting citizens and protecting officers
then the focus of this legislation is going the wrong way,” he said. “The focus should be for
stricter penalties for criminals, not targeted against average Canadians without criminal
records, that will become criminals if they don’t register their weapons by January 1, 2003.”

Koenig said he is unsure how the other provincial associations will vote, although he knows
Alberta is not alone in its concerns.

“It will probably be a very close vote, but I don’t think it’ll be a landslide either way,”
said Koenig. “I think a lot of the people who were supporters in the past are now considering
withdrawing their support.”