Public Safety committee  Yes, I have mentioned that. Perhaps 20 years ago wasn't enough. As I age, the years seem to pass by more and more quickly. I'm referring to the time pre-1995. As a young boy, I used to have an air gun and a pellet gun. I was never bothered by the police, even though I was out w

Public Safety committee  Yes, absolutely. Anything can be used as a weapon, and an air gun and a pellet gun are not exempt from that. Under the definition of a weapon in the Criminal Code, I could throw my coffee cup at you with intent and be charged with assault with a weapon. The same could be said for

Public Safety committee  Personally I don't know of any problems yet, but as I said, let's take care of a problem with a preventative measure before something happens. This bill will cover something that has left a hole in the legislation, with a potential for misuse and for charges to be laid. Why don't

Public Safety committee  No, I don't. However, given the thousands of people who are in my organization, I don't have a daily discussion with them over this. My concerns are with the potential for something bad to happen. This is something that would be like a preventative measure. We don't want to see

Public Safety committee  I don't believe I said that anything was exempt. I was working within the confines of this bill, and the recommendation I made was to put section 86 into the list of sections that section 84 of the Criminal Code will affect. I don't believe I said anything should be exempt. That

Public Safety committee  Yes, okay. That makes a difference. As you know, in the law, terminology can mean everything. I'm very up on the terminology. The one thing I had mentioned was that as a firearms instructor—and I will state that I am a former firearms instructor due to exigent circumstances; I s

Public Safety committee  I can add a little bit. If there is a problem with the police distinguishing the two and the pellet gun's being used in the commission of a crime, it is already covered under the definition of a weapon in the Criminal Code and they can lay charges as such. However, for the gener

Public Safety committee  The businesses would be outdoor stores and stores that specifically deal with paintball guns. Canadian Tire sells BB guns and whatnot. Right now, they're not subject to the same laws that a regular rifle would be subject to. The businesses would have to come up with the facilitie

Public Safety committee  I think my colleague who is sitting with you there today put it very eloquently: businesses, kids, and adults will be open to charges they may not even be aware that they could be charged with. This is something that's buried in the legislation. Not everybody is aware of it unt

Public Safety committee  Thank you very much. Thank you to the committee for giving me this opportunity to speak to Bill C-637. I'll give you just a little background. My name is Todd Brown. I have been doing in-depth research on the Firearms Act. I have written over a dozen articles and reviews on cu

Public Safety committee  Yes, we are all live. I just want to make a quick correction. That is the Concerned Gun Owners of Alberta.