In Canada They Know How to Treat Hunting Accidents

Corey Blake was sentenced to two years' probation and $5,000 in fines for shooting a woman he thought was a moose in 2011. (CBC)

Local CBS News

A man from Notre Dame Bay was sentenced to two years probation in a Gander court on Friday for shooting a woman he thought was a moose in November 2011.

Corey Blake, 36, pleaded guilty in March to criminal negligence causing bodily harm, hunting without a license and breaching his probation after mistaking Joan Primmer, 68, for a moose one afternoon while he was out hunting.

Judge Jacqueline Jenkins said the accident had a devastating impact on both the victim and the shooter.

Jenkins said the victim had been scarred both emotionally had physically, and Blake is still haunted by her screams.

She sentenced Blake to almost $5,000 in fines on top of the probation, with the condition he no longer own firearms, adding that the condition was almost unnecessary because Blake said he will never hunt again.

Murder Rates Canada vs. The US - With a Pro Gun Spin Job

via Extrano's Alley, a gun blog

The United States homicide rate was 4.7 per 100,000 people. When the United States population is broken down by demographic groups, those rates range from 0.7 to 17.1 per 100,000 population. Since the two neighbors have vastly different demographics, and there appears to be no official breakdown of the demographics of Canadian homicide victims, the United States population and homicide rate must be “normalized” to Canada’s.

Canada’s official “police reported” a total of 676 “violations resulting in death,” that is, homicides, which results in a raw calculated 2011 rate of 1.9 per 100,000 population.

Returning to normalization, the US demographic group with the highest homicide rate, 17.1, comprises 12.6% of the US population, but only 2.5% of Canada’s population.

When the homicide rates among the various US population groups is “normalized,” with the various components of the United States population represented in the same percentage as Canada, the US homicide rate is – 2.0! The difference is not only trivial, both numbers are rounded, Canada’s down and the United States up. The actual difference is 0.07!

Isn't that a riot? The way pro-gun guys twist and rationalize is truly funny. They can take any statistics, like Canada is 1.9 and the US is 4.7 and twist it into the actual difference is 0.07.

The simple and obvious fact is Canada, much like the UK, has a murder rate far lower than the US.  Surely one of the factors in this difference is gun availability.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Parti Quebecois Victory Rally Marred by Gun Violence

The BBC reports

A gunman has killed another man at a separatist Parti Quebecois election victory rally in the Canadian French-speaking province of Quebec.

The shooting followed preliminary results indicating the party was on course to form a minority government after nine years in opposition.

PQ leader Pauline Marois was giving a victory speech in Montreal when shots were heard at the back of the hall.

She was rushed off the stage and a man was arrested.

The gunman's target was unclear but the 50-year-old suspect was heard shouting "The English are waking up", as he was led away in handcuffs.

She's the first female Premier and this was a major victory for the French speakers. Those are two good reasons right there for the gun nuts to act out.

Because Canada has strict gun control, incidents like this are rare. We could learn something from them.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

US Guns Flowing into Canada

The Times Union reports

From 2007 through 2011, Canada submitted 6,574 guns to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for tracing — a fraction of the 99,000 guns Mexico asked ATF to trace.

Virtually all of the guns recovered in Canada were traced to U.S. sources, with just over half linked to a retail purchase in the U.S. By contrast, ATF data showed just over two-thirds of guns from Mexico were traced to U.S. sources — a U.S. manufacturer or importer — and just under one-third were linked to a U.S. retail purchase.

"Virtually all," what do you think about that?

The Benefits of the Canadian Gun Registry

Steve McCullough writes in the Winnipeg Free Press

I recently became a gun owner for the first time in my early 40s. I proudly own .22 and .30-06 rifles for target shooting and hunting. My experience with Canadian firearms licensing and gun-registration systems has been entirely positive and has left me strongly in favour of the long-gun registry the Harper Conservatives, as promised, are moving to dismantle.

The mind-boggling initial costs of the registry are indefensible, but its cancellation doesn't earn the people of Canada a refund. Its ongoing costs seem quite reasonable, given the scale and importance of the task. The argument it contains incomplete or inaccurate information should lead us to improve it, not delete it. No information is much worse than partial information. Requiring us to register our gun doesn't criminalize gun owners: It draws the line between law-abiding gun owners and criminals.

That makes sense to me. How about you?

Please leave a comment.

The Differences Between Canada and the US

Quotes from a wonderful article in The First Perspective about the Canadian Gun Registry.

“The American right to bear arms is not part of our Canadian values, up here we’ve chosen peace, order and good government,” she [Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Ont.)] said. “They’ve chosen life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the right to bear arms."

'Listen, I’m a gun owner and the fact is that the underpinning of the entire message of the Conservatives is "Once we know where the guns are, they’re going to come and take your guns away," which is not at all part of the Canadian psyche or possibility,' says Liberal MP Justin Trudeau.

'The arrival of, not just American right-wing politics like this, but the polarization that comes with it, really worries me,' says Liberal MP Justin Trudeau on the Conservatives' spin on ending the long-gun registry.

Of Beavers And Bullets

By Arthur Black, Special to Courier-Islander August 19, 2011

Know what I like best about Canada's national symbol, the beaver?

It's not imperial. Not for us the American eagle with its razor talons, the British bulldog with its gobful of teeth or the ballsy Gallic rooster that struts symbolically for France.

Canadians chose a docile rodent with buck teeth, a pot belly and a tail that looks like it was run over by a Zamboni. We could have opted for a ferocious wolf, a majestic moose, a mighty bison or a fearsome polar bear.

We went with the flabby furball that wouldn't harm a black fly.

Maybe that set the pattern for our provincial emblems because they're pretty bland and inoffensive too.

British Columbia has the Steller's Jay; Newfoundland and Labrador went for the Atlantic Puffin. For Ontario it's the Common Loon (perfect-what with having Ottawa and all) and New Brunswick stands behind the mighty Black Capped Chickadee.

I'm not sneering about this. I think it's positively endearing that Canadians chose non-threatening, peaceable symbols to represent their provinces. For our prickly cousins to the south, it's a little different. They go for state guns.

If you like this go to http://www.canada.com/Beavers+Bullets/5276603/story.html

Read the rest, it's hilarious and its true.

American Gun Owners - A Breed Apart

The Vancouver Sun reports

Two American tourists spent five days in jail, put up $50,000 each in bail and are facing three years behind bars after border guards seized a small arsenal of firearms at the U.S.-Canada border crossing last week.

Danny Cross, brother-in-law Hugh Barr and their wives were on their way to Alaska to celebrate Cross's wedding anniversary when they were stopped at the Aldergrove-Huntington border on July 11.

Cross is 64 and from Texas; Barr is 70 and from California.

The Canada Border Services Agency said that when officers searched their 2008 Winnebago after they said they had nothing to declare, the officers found a derringer-type pistol, a cowboy-style revolver, three semi-automatic pistols and a shotgun.

As gun ownership increases, so do incidents like this at the Canadian border which show the absolute thoughtlessness and stupidity of some gun owners. I suppose like real smuggling, many more get away with it.

I don't feel it's safe for people who would do something this stupid to own guns in the first place. Maybe we need to organize an I.Q. or basic literacy test along with the background check. For sure, the standards are way too low naw and something needs to be done.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Canada's Gun Registry - Alive Still

By a vote of 153 to 151, the Canadian Gun registry stays alive. Phew, that's even closer than the Heller and McDonald decisions, of course this Canadian one went in the right direction.

Now, I guess they have to work on its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

The NRA Fighting the Good Fight in Canada

Bloomberg Businessweek published an interesting article about the NRA's involvement in Canadian politics.

The part I liked best is this, although I realize the results of polls like this are only appreciated by the side they support.

A Harris-Decima poll of 1,000 voters conducted Aug. 26 to Aug. 29 found 48 percent think it’s a bad idea to scrap the registry, compared with 38 percent who say they want it eliminated, the Canadian Press reported Sept. 7.

What's your prediction? Are they going to do away with the registry?

Please leave a comment.

The Canadian Long Guns

The Chronicle Herald reports on the Police and other organizations in Halifax who have weighed in on the long-gun registry issue. They've joined their counterparts across the country Wednesday in support of the federal long-gun registry.

Halifax RCMP Supt. Darrell Beaton said an RCMP evaluation of Canadian firearm programs showed that long-gun related homicides have dropped since stricter controls started in 1991, from 271 that year to 190 in 2006.

The evaluation also stated that even though opponents of long-gun registration say there is a lack of criminal activity involving long guns, 2005 statistics show they were used in 25 per cent of shooting deaths. That number climbed to 72 per cent for spousal shootings and 10 of 13 police officers killed on the job were murdered with long guns.

What does it all mean? If we could only get rid of the handguns, we too could have a high percentage of shooting deaths from long guns. Then we could go after them. This sounds like the perfect blueprint for total gun elimination. I wonder if I've discovered something here. Maybe I could sell this idea to someone. What do you think?

Gun Registry Saves Lives

The Province published an article lamenting the fact that the gun registry in Canada seems to be doomed.

Doctors, the police, women's groups, psychiatrists, public health and victims groups have all urged the government not to abandon the gun registry, but the Conservatives aren't listening and Jack Layton of the NDP seems prepared to let the registry die.

To these politicians this seems to be all about votes in rural communities. But ironically, these are the areas with the highest rates of gun deaths by suicide and domestic violence. As a rural psychiatrist I can tell you, without question, that in rural Canada, the registry saves lives. While vocal opponents may dominate the discussion, there are plenty of us in rural Canada who believe in the critical importance of this tool to prevent suicide and domestic violence.

She doesn't say exactly how it prevents suicide and domestic violence. Maybe it's so obvious we can figure it out for ourselves. What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

Canada's Gun Registry Works Just Fine

CBS News Canada reports on an interesting development in the gun-registry debate.

An RCMP evaluation report of Canada's long-gun registry concludes that the program is cost effective, efficient and an important tool for law enforcement.

One section of the report states: "The program, as a whole, is an important tool for law enforcement. It also serves to increase accountability of firearm owners for their firearms."

The report found that the cost of the program is in the range of $1.1 million to $3.6 million per year and that the Canadian Firearms Program is operating efficiently.

“Overall the program is cost effective in reducing firearms related crime and promoting public safety through universal licensing of firearm owners and registration of firearms," the report states.

Now, what's so hard about that? Does it take official reports to conclude that "It also serves to increase accountability of firearm owners for their firearms." I've been saying that right along.

Wouldn't it be useful for law enforcement personnel to know what guns are involved prior to entering a domestic disturbance scene or approaching a pulled-over driver?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Canadian Gun Dealer Arrested

Seattlepi reports.

Federal agents said Thursday they have arrested a Canadian gun dealer who kept a stash of sniper rifles and ammunition at a Washington storage unit near the U.S. northern border.

Oliver King - who also uses his given name, Hamid Malekpour - was arrested Wednesday in Ferndale, which is about 10 miles south of the Canadian border. He made an initial appearance Thursday at U.S. District Court in Seattle on charges of making false statements to a government agency and being an alien in possession of firearms.

"Being and alien in possession of firearms?" Now that's a law I'll bet FatWhiteMan can get behind. What do you think?

Canada Warns Ann Coulter

Think Progress reports on the reminder sent to Ann Coulter by a Canadian University where she is scheduled to speak.

Far-right pundit Ann Coulter will be in Canada this week for “a trio of speaking engagements,” including one at the University of Ottawa. In advance of her visit, a senior official at the school sent Coulter a letter warning her to use “restraint, respect and consideration” in her remarks and telling her to review the country’s hate speech and defamation laws. From the letter:

I would, however, like to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or “free speech”) in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here.

You will realize that Canadian law puts reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. For example, promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges. Outside of the criminal realm, Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind.

In the past, Coulter has bashed Canada, saying, “They’d better hope the United States doesn’t roll over one night and crush them. They are lucky we allow them to exist on the same continent.” In response to the letter, Coulter writes, “I was hoping for a fruit basket, not a threat to prosecute.”

It's interesting how this touches on our frequent discussions of the responsibility these right-wing celebrities have for their words. It's fascinating that in Canada, not only do they not have an antiquated and nonsensical 2nd Amendment to interfere with their common sense laws, they seem to have a better understanding of the ideas contained in the 1st.

What's your opinion? What do you think the danger is in trying to define violations of the "free speech" aspects of the 1st Amendment? Is it always the slippery slope - if they outlaw this today what will happen tomorrow?

Do you think the University spokesman was out of line issuing that warning instead of offering a fruit basket?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Cuba's Gun Registration

FishyJay provided the link to this fascinating article about Cuba. The Havana Journal reports.

Cuba has declared a two-month amnesty for citizens to register unlicensed guns, and says those passing aptitude and psychological tests will be allowed to keep their weapons.

The move is unusual in a state where almost no one except some active military personnel and plain-clothed state security agents are allowed to possess weapons.

Even most police officers are required to leave their pistols at the station or in a regional barracks when on vacation or leave, and young men participating in mandatory military service are given unloaded firearms for most exercises.

Starting Feb. 12, Cubans will have the “exceptional and one-time only” chance to register their guns with police, and will be allowed to keep them provided they are over 18 and have passed the proper tests administered at police stations.

According to a weekend bulletin carried by state news media, gun owners must “maintain conduct consistent with the appropriate norms of social behavior, meet security and protection conditions for the firearms and pay established taxes.”

Cubans were encouraged to register any weapons they owned in the years after Fidel Castro and his band of rebels toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959. But later authorities used a list of those who had sought licenses to go door-to-door and encourage them to turn over their firearms - even antiques considered family heirlooms.

While Cuba is among the safest countries in the hemisphere, it is not unusual to find firearms in Cuban homes, though most are weapons improvised from household materials or guns that were smuggled into the country and bought on the black market.

The call to register arms is for Cubans civilians, and the bulletin stated that “security and protection agents, detectives and bodyguards will be summoned by the Ministry of the Interior” for an independent licensing process.

How do you think that would go over in the U.S.? Is that how they did it in Canada?

Please leave a comment.

Gun Debate Canadian Style

They seem quite laid back compared to their counterparts south of the border. But they certainly mentioned some of our favorite themes.

Ecole Polytechnique Massacre

Ifpress.com reports on the rally held the other day to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Canada's most famous mass shooting.

On Dec. 6, 1989, 14 women were killed simply because they were women when a gunman attacked Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. Several commemorative events were held yesterday to remember that sad day, including a private ceremony at the school for families of the victims and another featuring a huge human chain formed around a city park.

More than 500 people turned out for the solemn event at Place Emilie-Gamelin, which honoured the memory of those wounded and killed by Marc Lepine's 20-minute shooting spree, which has become known as the Ecole Polytechnique massacre. The ceremony was organized by a Quebec women's group as part of Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which was declared by the federal government in 1991.

I couldn't help but notice one of my favorite themes so well captured in this tragedy. But I guess you could say guys like Mr. Lepine are bad news for women, or guys like Mr. Lepine who have guns are bad news for women. It's not just the guns, right?

Several well-known political figures from the province, including Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe and head of the Parti Quebecois, Pauline Marois, were on hand for the ceremony.

Asked if the treatment of women has made any progress since Lepine's attack two decades ago, Marois said there is still work to be done.

"I think there has been progress, but not enough," she said. "Because as long as there will be victims of violence, the battle won't be won." Duceppe said he wanted to be on hand because, as he put it, "it's our duty to remember."

There may have been insufficient progress made in the problem of violence to women but sparked by this incident there was major progress made in the problem of gun availability in Canada. In fact theirs has been a model society as far as gun control laws go, at least until recently.

The violence 20 years ago helped garner support for tougher gun laws in Canada, leading to measures such as the controversial gun registry. In November, Parliament took the first steps to scrapping the long-gun registry for rifles, which would include the Ruger Mini 14 used by Lepine. The move, which provoked outrage in Quebec, would also strike about eight million records on hunting rifles from the registry.

Duceppe used the events yesterday to highlight what he said was the importance of maintaining the gun registry. "The registry is in danger of being abolished. The Conservatives are completely short-sighted.

What's your opinion? Could it be that, not unlike the United States, in Canada there's a very vocal minority effecting changes which the majority either oppose or are insufficiently passionate to resist? Is that what's happening with the famous long-gun registry in or northern neighbor?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Crazy About Guns

The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed piece about the gun mania that exists in America. They made an interesting observation that in America the response to high-profile shootings like the one in Seattle the other day is to get your gun and keep it handy. In Canada it's just not so. Although I usually shun comparisons between countries and even more avoid comparing guns with cars, these examples seem appropriate.

Had Sunday's victims been, say, Mounties, it wouldn't necessarily have sent Canadians scrambling for the gun racks. But then, such killings are far less common in Canada. According to the FBI, the U.S. homicide rate in 2008 was 5.4 for every 100,000 people; 67% of those killings were committed with guns. In Canada, the homicide rate was 1.8 per 100,000, with 33% of the killings committed with guns. Notice a pattern? Canada has stricter guns laws than the United States, requiring owners to pass a safety course and get a license before buying a gun, rather like drivers must do here. The need for a driver's license seems obvious to most Americans -- after all, a car with an untrained driver behind the wheel can be deadly.

What's your opinion? Isn't it hard to dispute that the gun laws in Canada contribute to their statistics? And what about that simple example of the acceptance of licenses to drive cars based on the fact that "an untrained driver behind the wheel can be deadly?"

Please leave a comment.

Illegal Guns in Canada

YorkRegion.com reports on the illegal handguns that have been taken off the streets in their area of Canada.

The Uzi submachine gun can spew hundreds of rounds per minute. The Glock handgun, capable of firing up to 33 bullets from a single magazine. The tiny Beretta pistol with silencer delivers noiseless death.

These lethal weapons and others were recently and illegally in the hands of criminals. Wednesday, the seized weapons were neatly and safely displayed as part of a police services board presentation on illegal firearms and weapons in our neighbourhoods.

The cache represents some of the 68 hand guns seized in 2007, the 41 last year and the 56 to date this year.

As for illegal long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, police took 188 of them off York streets last year.

This year, the tally is 196.

There's nothing like a little sensationalism when talking about guns I always say. I like that "noiseless death." But the point is well taken, guns are being removed from the streets.

The Canadians feel it's popular culture that glamorizes guns, entertainers, rappers and the like. This combined with the lucrative business of gun running, makes for a serious problem.

A legal standard 9mm pistol sells for approximately $500.

On the street, the same unlicensed weapon fetches up to eight times the price.

Do you think they're exaggerating? If those numbers are true, it's no wonder there's a thriving gun smuggling underworld. And where do you suppose those guns are smuggled from?

Of the 3.65 million firearms produced in the United States in 2008, hundreds are smuggled into Canada each year.

Of the 253,000 handguns and more than two million rifles and shotguns legally registered in Ontario, 16,000 of the former and 70,000 of the latter are in York Region.

Instead of "hundreds," wouldn't you think it's more like thousands or tens of thousands. Why not just call it 90% and get it over with?

Here's a shocker:

Firearms kill more within the 15 to 24 demographic than cancer, drowning and falls combined.

What's your opinion? I can see that cancer might not kill too many in that age bracket, but I always thought falls and drownings did. Does this sound like a credible statistic to you?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.