Firearms owners on an emotional rollercoasters as federal government’s Bill C-21 takes a shot

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Ryan Dahlman

By Ryan Dahlman

For those who are hunters, it was as satisfying as downing a 16-point buck.

Bill C-21, a bill which greatly restricts the type of legal firearms which can be purchased and owned in Canada, has been delayed in being rushed through the Commons’ public safety committee. Media reports indicate the federal government is going to hold this Bill back. 

Then on Dec. 15 the Alberta government — saying “Nyah Nyah nyah” to the federal government when they feel it is necessary —made a major announcement: “On May 1, 2020, the federal government banned more than 1,500 types of firearms and put an amnesty in place until October (30) 2023. When that amnesty expires, otherwise law-abiding Albertans could face jail time under the Criminal Code simply for possessing property they legally purchased. With Alberta taking back constitutional jurisdiction for handling charges under the Firearms Act, Alberta’s Crown prosecutors will now determine whether or not to pursue charges.

While respecting operational independence on individual cases, the new protocol issued by the attorney general provides prosecutors with guidance on how to evaluate the public interest when determining whether or not to pursue charges.”

Take that Justin Trudeau. 

So begins one of the first shots taken by Danielle Smith and the provincial government regarding federal jurisdiction and what Albertan will accept. 

Other than Saskatchewan and maybe Quebec, you can see the rest of Canada withe trolling their eyes or just getting annoyed. 

It doesn’t help Alberta sovereign, but not sovereign desires, when the Premier and southeast Albertan MLA Danielle Smith gets quoted as saying, “The way I described it to the Chiefs that I’ve spoken with is that they had fought a battle over the last number of years to get sovereignty respected and to extract themselves from the paternalistic Indian Act, we get treated the exact same way from Ottawa.”

Facepalm, that oughta help with national leverage. 

The gun issue isn’t going to go away. The 2020 order-in-council ban prohibited 1,500 types of firearms that day, no warning. Then there was an amendment made last week, a measly 478 pages. 

Federal; Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino stated in the House of Commons Dec. 9, “We have a plan to eradicate gun violence once and for all. We are not going to target those guns which are used conventionally for hunting.”

Hunters and gun enthusiasts, check for yourself: https://firearmrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-List-G46-final.pdf

This federal backtracking, going forward, backtracking, stopping, delaying etc. is frustrating for voters and fuelling the fire for Wild Rose sovereignists. 

This makes it interesting for the next provincial (for sure) and federal elections (anticipated) as the fires to get more power away from the federal government. What’s interesting is that Saskatchewan is doing something similar and have similar concerns as hunters there are also up in arms regarding the gun ban as well as other issues. 

Not sure if it is federal  strategy to get Alberta separated from the rest of the country by making them so angry that the short-fused Smith would react ultra negatively, hence galvanizing eastern provinces and making the Liberals more heroic in the eyes of voters there. Of course this is advantageous because of the far more seats in the east than in the west. Maybe it’s because the Liberals under Trudeau seem unlikeable to those of us in the west due to this inconsistent policies not to mention ones which alienate the western economy: firearms, energy and change to electricity, yay electrical combines to name a few.

There is also of course transfer payments, money for health etc. 

A shot in the dark: 2023 will be a rough ride on the prairies.

Ryan Dahlman is the editor of Prairie Post and the 40-Mile Commentator