|
New Brunswick, Canada |
SINCE 1862 |
Thursday December 19,1996 |
Under the gun
New Brunswick Liberal MPs who backed Ottawa's new gun laws find
themselves at the wrong end of an angry electorate in the runup to the
next federal election
By JACQUES POITRAS - Telegraph Journal
WITH NEW FEDERAL gun laws passed but coming into effect only in 1998, you
would expect that 1997 will be relatively quiet on the firearms front.
There is just this little matter of a federal election.
Liberal
Members of Parliament seeking a new mandate in Ottawa, especially those
representing rural ridings, are waiting to learn what their electoral fate
will be.
If they go down to defeat, some of the blame will certainly
be placed on the controversial package of gun restrictions passed into law
last year.
The politicians, of course, will tell you that the anger
has dissipated, or that the critics approve of the wonderful job they've
been doing on other issues.
Not so fast, say the gun enthusiasts.
"There's going to be some [ridings] where there are some changes," said
Robert Johnston, an outspoken critic of the law from St. Stephen.
He
said MPs who came out against the law then voted for it - like his
representative, Harold Culbert - could be punished.
"There are some
people [expletive deleted] off at him," Mr. Johnston said yesterday.
"He was dead set opposed to it, then there was a meeting at the high
school, and - whoa! - he turned around and put his tail between his
legs."
Mr. Culbert, the MP for Carleton-Charlotte, Paul Zed of
Fundy-Royal and Charles Hubbard of Miramichi all said they had problems
with the bill. Like other critics, they suggested the proposal targeted
law-abiding gun owners rather than criminals.
But when the final vote
came up in the House of Commons in June 1995, only Mr. Hubbard cast a nay
vote. Mr. Zed and Mr. Culbert ended up supporting it.
"There are those
who voted for me who became disappointed in me because of this issue," Mr.
Zed said, "and there are those who never voted for me who are disappointed
in me."
"Those people who voted for me have to ask how I managed this
issue," he added.
The MP was referring to his well-publicized - by
himself - decision to enroll in the course required to obtain a gun
licence.
Mr. Zed added that he intends to acquire a gun soon.
He
may need it to keep away angry voters.
"I think there's a certain
percentage that won't forget," said Charles Polley, who owns a gun-and-reel
shop in Moncton.
He said he has seen 75 per cent of his business
evaporate because of the new law and earlier restrictions passed by the
Progressive Conservatives.
He said his days of supporting the current
party in power are over.
"I won't donate a cent to the Liberal Party
of Canada or of New Brunswick for the rest of my life. I used to be an
active worker, but they hurt me and I won't do it again."
A key
component of the bill is the mandatory registration of all firearms. It was
that provision that Mr. Hubbard could not swallow and which led him to vote
against his own government.
He was the only Liberal MP from New
Brunswick to vote against the bill. A total of nine government MPs broke
ranks on the issue.
As the anger simmers over the law, the federal
government is busy tabling specifics of how it will be applied.
Justice Department spokeswoman Hana Hruska said regulations will be set out
in the coming year to deal with shooting clubs, export and import of guns
by individuals, replicas used in movies, and storage of guns by police
officers.
She said many of the specifics already put in place - like a
one-time fee of $10 for all your guns if you register them all at once -
shows critics may have been exaggerating.
"There's a lot of
misinformation out there and I think once people know what this system is
about, that will dissipate and people will relax," Ms. Hruska said.
Also expected in 1997 is an official announcement on the location of the
federal gun registry.
Premier Frank McKenna has already said it will
be located in the Miramichi area, but Ms. Hruska said no official decision
has been made. She would not comment on the Premier's statement.
Mr.
Polley said gun owners will be busy at work in the coming year as well -
but not in a way that the government would like.
He said many of his
customers are planning to register the guns they use often and conceal the
rest.
"The auxiliary items, if you want to use that term, won't be
done," he predicted. "They just will not do it. They're determined."
"I'm hearing all sorts of stories about hideouts. There's some very
creative carpentry work being done."
Ms. Hruska said that is
unfortunate, since there is one price for all registration if gun owners
co-operate.
Mr. Polley said MPs have miscalculated if they think the
issue will simply fade away as the months go by.
It is hard for him to
forget as he does his bookkeeping.
"It's just about what killed the
industry across Canada," he said.
"I'm in business - barely. I'm
wasting time here but I'm in good financial shape because of other things
I've done. Thank God I did it, too."
He has an acquaintance who was
offered $1,000 for two rare, collectible guns several years ago. Today they
are worthless, he said.
Despite the obvious anger from critics like
Mr. Johnston and Mr. Polley, MPs like Mr. Zed insist they at least have the
respect of their opponents.
"I've had some of the most vitriolic
opponents of the bill come in and say, 'We still oppose the bill but we
respect the process you've established,'" he said.
"I ask people to
judge me on 10 issues, and if I get nine out of 10 or eight out of 10, I'm
happy."
He said that his constituents will understand, for example,
that he gave up a little on the gun law to please MPs from big cities where
gun-related crime is a constant problem.
In return, though, he was
able to get those big-city MPs to agree to water down severe changes to
employment insurance - changes that benefitted seasonal workers in New
Brunswick, he said.
"It's like an elastic band," he said. "There are
certain stretches that have to occur ...
"I don't think constituents
and the media should be led to believe that this is only a rural New
Brunswick issue. This is also an urban issue."
And with that, Mr. Zed
defended not only his decision-making process but the law itself.
"A
lot of the rhetoric that surrounded the issue has proven to be not true,"
he said.
"The reality is that the law is aimed at repeat criminal
offenders and people that are committing firearms offences and using guns
in the commission of offences."
For Mr. Johnston, though, it's a
question of democracy.
"When it comes to the politicians," he said,
"and we say, 'Stand up for us,' they say, 'Listen to me and do what I say
or you'll get nothing from me.'"
There is one thing Mr. Culbert won't
get from Mr. Johnston next year: His vote.
Received: from ampere.iee.org.uk (193.130.181.10)
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Subject: Request for permission to post
From: tjetg@nbnet.nb.ca (tjetg)
To: "Frank H. Ryder"
Dear Mr. Ryder:
Thank you for your letter. We are glad you enjoyed Mr. Poitras'
article.
Mr. Reynolds has moved on: our new editor-in-chief is Scott Honeyman.
You may post the article in its entirety with full acknowledgements.
Regards,
Krista Blair
Research Dept.
