WUNRN
Please See 3 Parts of This WUNRN
Release.
Press Release - Canadian Federation
of University Women
CANADA - GOVERNMENT STUDY OF BILL TO
END LONG-GUN REGISTRY EXCLUDES GENDER IMPACT
“This
blatant exclusion is extremely troubling” said Brenda Wallace, CFUW National
President. “During the House of Commons study, women’s organizations were given
only limited opportunities to provide input, and even then, our recommendations
were completely disregarded. At a UN meeting in February, Status of Women
Minister Rona Ambrose admitted that no gender based analysis of the Bill had
been done. Now it seems as if the Senate is trying to silence women’s concerns
all together. We need to be heard.”
The
Committee heard testimony from witnesses over four days. On the final day of
presentations, March 29th, three panels had originally been scheduled; however
this was changed to two panels at the last minute, indicating time was
available in the schedule for additional witnesses.
Shelters,
transition houses and other groups working to end violence against women are
deeply concerned about unexpected provisions in Bill C-19, which, will not only
dismantle the long gun registry, but remove mandatory verification of a buyer’s
licence when purchasing a gun, and end requirements for firearms dealers to
maintain records of sale.
“Many
people are unaware that these changes are in the bill, and that they could have
severe ramifications for the safety of women and children” said Stefanie
Lomatski, Executive Director of OCTEVAW.
Amendments
to close these dangerous loopholes in Bill C-19 were rejected at Committee in
spite of witnesses repeatedly stressing the added risk to public safety.
“This
bill seriously weakens the ability of police to remove weapons from men who
pose a threat to their families, and makes it much easier for them to purchase
long guns with fake or invalid licences. This is a very dangerous change for
the women we serve,” said YWCA
A prime
example of the danger this poses is the 1998 Arlene May murder case. Arlene May
was shot to death with a long gun her ex-boyfriend procured with a revoked
license that was never removed from his possession. The Coroner’s Inquest
identified the lack of mandatory licence validation as a major loophole in the
system at the time.
"Too
many women like Arlene May have already died at the end of a long gun. Taking
away protection provided by licence checks means there are sure to be many
more," said Eileen Morrow, Coordinator of the OAITH.
“Advocates
of Bill C-19 have contended that our position is purely based on emotion. As I
stated during the SECU committee hearings on this piece of legislation this
past November, such a statement is inappropriate because it challenges the word
of those most intimately affected by gun violence, the victims themselves,”
said Manon Monastesse, Provincial Director of the Fédération de ressources
d'hébergement pour femmes violentées et en difficulté du Québec. “The Quebec
Government has developed a policy on domestic violence, of which one of the guiding
principles is to ensure the safety of victims of domestic violence. It also
implemented three action plans, which contain specific measures for law
enforcement and the family law system. Among these provisions, in the Manual of
Police Practices, there is a requirement for the police to confiscate firearms.
Clearly, emotion is no longer a factor, as our position has become official
government policy.”
Tony
Bernardo, Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA)
and a member of the Public Safety Minister’s Firearms Advisory Committee, used
his testimony to the Senate Committee to push for more reductions in safety
measures by opposing the spousal notification system that is part of the
process to obtain a gun licence. Spousal notification is a critical component
of the licensing system to help protect vulnerable women.
“Eliminating
the notification would have very obvious and serious implications for women’s
safety. We are all left wondering why the CSSA is able to have such a prominent
voice in this process, while women’s services providers who deal with these
issues every day are excluded completely,” said Carolyn Goard of the Alberta
Council of Women’s Shelters.
The Senate should exercise due diligence by ensuring that the gendered impacts of the legislation are properly understood and addressed. This requires listening to the organizations that work with and represent women experiencing violence.
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CANADA - SENATORS APPROVE BILL TO END
CANADA'S LONG-GUN REGISTRY
By:
Jordan Press - 04/5/2012
OTTAWA
-- The Conservative government vowed during the 2011 election to eliminate the
long-gun registry. On Wednesday night, the bill to officially end the registry
had its final vote in the Senate.......
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CANADA - QUEBEC PROVINCE AIMS TO
KEEP GUN REGISTRY
Apr 16, 2012
Quebec aims to become Canada's only province to continue
maintaining a gun registry.
The long-gun registry was officially ended on April 5. After it had passed through the House and Senate, Governor-General David Johnston signed off on the decision to shut down the registry, which kept records on who owned non-restricted firearms (mainly shotguns and hunting rifles). Destruction of existing records has begun, but is expected to take some time to complete — perhaps months.
But the Quebec provincial government filed a court injunction on the same day royal assent to scrap the registry was given. Quebec wants the government to preserve all the records regarding guns owned in Quebec, so the province can establish its own long-gun registry to replace the federal version — something it says would be cost prohibitive to do if the existing records were destroyed and Quebec had to start from scratch. A court hearing on the ultimate fate of the federal government’s records on gun owners in Quebec is set for June, but in the meantime, Quebec did win the injunction, halting the destruction and even requiring firearms owners in Quebec to continue registering their guns as before. This has created a two-tiered system of firearm laws in Canada. Quebec has a long-gun registry. The other provinces and territories don’t........
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