On Monday, October 23, the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs (SECD) will hear testimony from Robert Freberg, Saskatchewan’s Chief Firearms Officer (CFO), in relation to Bill C-21. Dr. Teri-Jane Bryant, Alberta’s Chief Firearms Officer, will testify before the Senate as well, either Monday or Tuesday. At press time we did not have confirmation of when, only that both CFOs would be in Ottawa to testify on Bill C-21 next week. We also learned from another source the Liberal government plans to ram Bill C-21 through the Senate much as they did through the House of Commons earlier this year. The timeline shared with Canadian Shooting Sports Association is that the clause-by-clause analysis of Bill C-21 would begin in early November, with third reading in early December, probably timed to give the prime minister a photo op and public statement on December 6, the anniversary of Marc Lepine’s (aka Ghamil Gharbi) heinous attack, where he murdered 14 female engineering students before taking his own life. The time to act is NOW. After Justin Trudeau’s minions rammed Bill C-21 down Parliament’s throat in May, Bill C-21 went to the Senate, where Trudeau had “encouraged” senators to rubber-stamp it into law before Summer Recess. That didn’t happen. Since then, Trudeau’s polling numbers continue to fall, and he is desperate for a public relations win of any kind and grandstanding on the graves of fourteen murdered women is just the opportunity he would use to try and stop his free-fall in the polls.We can’t count on all of Trudeau’s self-inflicted wounds to derail this horrible bill. Yes, his own government’s gross missteps in recent months have distracted Trudeau from his assault on Canada’s safest citizens, but that won’t last. Bill C-21 was never about “keeping Canadians safe” from violent criminals. Neither Trudeau nor Jagmeet Singh care about stopping violent, repeat offenders from maiming or killing ordinary Canadians. If they did, they would listen to firearm owners, hunters, sport shooters and police officers. They would adopt measures to focus Bill C-21 on criminals instead of RCMP-vetted and federally-licensed firearm owners. The Liberal/NDP coalition doesn’t care about preventing domestic violence or keeping women safe when leaving abusive relationships. If they did, they would listen to the many voices at committee who expressed their opposition to Bill C-21’s proposed red- and yellow-flag laws. Bill C-21 is horribly flawed, no matter what side of the debate you’re on. Advocates from all sides agree on this. Yet Trudeau and the lapdog that keeps him in power, Singh, refuse to listen to any of them. They think they know best, and will ram their absurd measures down our throats, no matter what anyone else thinks. This means the Senate is our last hope to bring common sense back into this discussion. All it takes for bad laws to pass is for good men and women to do nothing to stop them. Our fate and the fate of the future of hunting and sport shooting is in our hands. Some day your grandchildren will thank you for this small act of courage taken today. Senator Contact Information Find contact information for the Senator(s) who represent your province or territory here: https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/ Tony Bernardo is executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
