Another blunder-Firearms Act

“Canadian Firearms Centre does not send renewal notices to permit
holders: quiet Quebec hunter may unwillingly become first Canadian to be
tried for not having a valid firearms license, a criminal offense”

Press Release
Canadian Unregistered Firearms Owners Association (CUFOA)

CUFOA will be at the Trois-Rivi??res courthouse on March 3 to show their
solidarity with Jean-Fran??ois Laflamme. Mr. Laflamme is a 24 years old
hunter who may soon have a criminal record for failing to realize his
firearms permit was expired before he went moose hunting last fall.
Because the Canadian Firearms Centre does not send renewal notices to
permit holders, Mr. Laflamme became the first person in Quebec to be
charged under the Firearms Act for not having a valid firearms license
(section 91 of the Criminal Code).

“This is a prime example of the chaos that characterizes the coming into
full force of this law, despite the billion dollars that the federal
government has thrown at it. Above all, Jean-Fran??ois?? story shows how
this law insidiously turns honest citizens into criminals. People don’t
end up with criminal records if they forget to renew their cars??
licenses or their drivers?? permits. It’s aberrant, and it can happen to
any hunter”, says Claire Joly, CUFOA Quebec Spokesperson.

To show their support for Mr. Laflamme, CUFOA members from Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia will attend his pro forma
court appearance on March 3. They will then turn themselves in to the
authorities and try to get arrested. CUFOA is using peaceful civil
disobedience to demand the repeal of the Firearms Act of 1995. Since
January 1, half of dozen of their members have been openly proclaiming
that they are in contravention of the law. Their goal is to challenge
its the constitutional validity before the courts.

So far, the activists have been ignored by the federal government. “Bill
C-68 will not make Canada safer, violates the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms and has criminalized 2 million citizens at the very least. One
thing is sure, we are united with Jean-Fran??ois Laflamme”, states Ed
Hudson, CUFOA Secretary. “We are guilty of the same so-called crime as
Mr. Laflamme. The law must be applied equally to all citizens. The
government must arrest us on the same charges”.

Jim Turnbull, CUFOA President, stresses, ??The government claims the
Firearms Act of 1995 is worth saving, yet they refuse to fully enforce
it. They must have the political courage either to arrest us so we can
challenge it before the courts, or to recognize their error and
dismantle this unjust, irrational law. Be assured that we will not give
up. We will not rest until the Firearms Act is repealed ??.

CUFOA, a national organization dedicated to the protection of the rights
and freedoms endangered by Bill C-68, supports all laws which enhance
public safety and promote responsible firearm use. CUFOA demonstrated on
Parliement Hill on January 1, and in Montreal on January 3, 2003.

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For further information and background info, please contact:
Claire Joly
CUFOA Quebec Spokesperson
(450) 659-9414
[email protected]
http://www.cufoa.ca