FIREARMS FACTS UPDATE

JUSTICE MINISTER PASSES THE BUCK ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BILL C-68, THE FIREARMS ACT

GARRY BREITKREUZ'S LETTER TO THE HONOURABLE IRWIN COTLER, P.C., M.P., MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR CANADA

DATED JANUARY 22, 2004

Dear Minister:

Re:  FIREARMS ACT VIOLATES CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Congratulations on your appointment as Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Canada.  Having such a strong advocate of human rights in as Minister gives us all hope that the mistakes of previous ministers now have a chance of being corrected.

Please find attached a copy of a research paper by Dr. F.L. (Ted) Morton University of Calgary titled: How the Firearms Act (Bill C-68) Violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Professor Morton documented what he considers to be the following Charter violations in Bill C-68:  Right to liberty, Right to security of the person, Right to procedural fairness, Right against unreasonable search and seizure, Right to privacy, Right to be presumed innocent, Right against arbitrary detention, Right to freedom of expression, Right to bear arms, Right to counsel upon arrest or detention, Right to property, and Equality rights.

I am not asking you to accept Professor Morton’s findings or his conclusions but rather read them for yourself and determine in your own mind if the Parliament went too far when Bill C-68 was passed in 1995.  If you reach any of the same conclusions that Professor Morton has, we would appreciate hearing how you intend to rectify this injustice.

Sincerely,

[ORIGINAL SIGNED]

Garry Breitkreuz, MP

Yorkton-Melville

cc            Dr. F.L.(Ted) Morton - University of Calgary

                Mrs. Sheila Fraser – Auditor General of Canada

                Ms. Jennifer Stoddart – Privacy Commissioner of Canada

JUSTICE MINISTER IRWIN COTLER'S RESPONSE TO

MP GARRY BREITKREUZ DATED AUGUST 10, 2004

Dear Mr. Breitkreutz:

Thank you for your correspondence enclosing a copy of a research paper by Dr. F.L. Morton entitled How the Firearms Act (Bill C-68) violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  I apologize for the delay in responding.

I appreciate receiving this research paper and have taken the liberty of sharing it with my officials who have an interest in the matters raised.  Nevertheless, I should point out that the Firearms Act falls within the responsibility of the Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada.  You may wish to forward a copy of the research paper to Minister McLellan for her information. 

Thank you again for bringing Dr. Morton's research paper to my attention.

Yours sincerely,

[ORIGINAL SIGNED]

Irwin Cotler

---------------------------------------------------------

HOW THE FIREARMS ACT (BILL C-68) VIOLATES THE CHARTER OF RIGHT AND FREEDOMS

Study directed by: Dr. F.L.(Ted) Morton, University of Calgary

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/violatescharterofrightsandfreedom.htm