00:00:00.000Since the arrival of Europeans in North America, firearms have been a crucial and celebrated part of Canadian life.
00:00:12.000From becoming essential to hunt and eventually adopted by Indigenous people,
00:00:17.000firearms are part of a tradition that has lasted in Canada and still exists to this very day.
00:00:22.000A lot of people in cities cannot conceptualize why a firearm would be necessary,
00:00:28.000not realizing there are swaths of Canadians across the country from west to east and north to south
00:00:34.000who use firearms to feed themselves and their families, who use them as a hobby, who use them also for protection.
00:00:41.000Rural crime continues to be on the rise.
00:00:44.000Police response times are sometimes in the hours.
00:00:48.000Using a firearm in self-defense is legal in Canada and this has been demonstrated in court decision after court decision after court decision.
00:00:57.000Although that doesn't mean that those who are involved in tragic situations where they need to do such a thing,
00:01:03.000do not have to defend themselves and prove that point time and time again.
00:01:07.000One such person is Eddie Maurice in Alberta.
00:01:10.000In 2018, he was at his home outside Okotoks when he heard someone on his property,
00:01:16.000quite a rare phenomenon for that part of the province, and went to check it out.
00:01:20.000Basically, I just opened that door and then I seen the criminals that were inside my vehicle and I just started yelling at them to leave.
00:01:30.000And they weren't. They were still going about just stealing my stuff.
00:01:35.000So, you know, at that point, that's when you're just like, OK, what do you do?
00:02:03.000So that's when I fired a horn shot off, you know, into the ground where it's safe operation of it.
00:02:11.000And then they finally did take off after they realized, like, you know, I'm there and they need to leave.
00:02:21.000The bullet ricocheted and hit the criminal.
00:02:24.000Eddie Maurice was charged with aggravated assault and careless use of a firearm.
00:02:29.000Charges it took tens of thousands of dollars, six months and six court appearances to defeat.
00:02:35.000He was successful, although that didn't stop him from having to shell out the legal bills.
00:02:39.000It also didn't stop police from for a time suspending his firearms license and seizing his firearms.
00:02:45.000You know, when you're in the middle of nowhere and it's pitch black outside, you know, people don't understand that you can't see anything.
00:02:55.000You can't see anything. You can't hear anything.
00:02:57.000And you don't know there are two, six, ten people around your place.
00:03:03.000So, no, it's one of those you have it.
00:03:07.000I don't want to use it, but you've got to scare someone.
00:03:10.000Like, because nowadays criminals, you know, you hear the stories.
00:03:14.000They're always armed. They have weapons. They're hurting other people.
00:03:36.000They just touch your vehicles and walk away.
00:03:39.000You know, it's all those unknowns of what's going to happen.
00:03:44.000And when you're in a rural setting, I guess a lot of people in the city or towns, they don't understand.
00:03:50.000It's not only the police response, but you're the first responder for any emergency on your place.
00:03:58.000You know, if you have a fire, well, the response time for the fire department is going to be the exact same as the police.
00:04:04.000So what are you going to do for an hour is let your house burn or are you going to try to help put it out and then, you know, wait for them to show up to help you.
00:04:14.000When the situation happens, you're talking seconds to minutes.
00:04:18.000You're not talking enough time to call the cops to get them to come out to your place.
00:04:23.000As Eddie mentioned, it took the RCMP two hours from the 911 call to arrive.
00:04:28.000And when they did, they weren't exactly there to help.
00:04:48.000And it was pretty much I opened the front door and they're like, you're under arrest and you need to come with us.
00:04:54.000This rural urban divide is one of the biggest issues in the firearms discourse.
00:04:59.000People in cities are making these decisions to win the votes of other people in cities who have never touched a firearm in their life and may not have ever met a firearms owner in their life.
00:05:09.000Nonetheless, these problems that exist for rural Canadians and the cultural attitudes towards firearms exist.
00:05:15.000It isn't just farmers and ranchers who have firearms as a part of their existence and identity, however.
00:05:21.000John Banovich is a longtime member of the film industry.
00:05:24.000He's a documentary producer and videographer who specializes in shooting bears.
00:05:29.000No, not shooting them with firearms, shooting them with this much more beautiful weapon, his camera.
00:05:34.000He goes deep into the wilderness to film Canada's nature and splendor and beauty.
00:05:39.000But doing so, as he admits, sometimes brings some unpredictability.
00:05:43.000When we get to these remote locations, there isn't any cell service.
00:05:47.000There is an internet. It's very remote.
00:05:50.000I mean, yes, you can usually have a GPS transponder of some kind for emergencies and press a button and hopefully somebody comes in, you know, a day or two.
00:06:04.000So there's very little support at all for us once we're in these remote locations.
00:06:10.000We bring along measures like, you know, bells and we can set up a parameter on camp.
00:06:14.000So when we're sleeping at night, you know, there's some simple methods that we can use to at least warn us.
00:06:21.000We bring bear spray, although bear spray is, for the most part, relatively ineffective.
00:06:26.000In perfect conditions, sure. But this is Canada.
00:06:31.000There's always a wind. There's always rain. There's always snow.
00:06:34.000There's always weather conditions, which really hamper the effectiveness of bear spray.
00:06:40.000Firearms are our most efficient and effective tool.
00:06:43.000For the longest time, John had what's known as an authorization to carry or an ATC, a rare but legal permit allowing him to carry a handgun on his person for limited purposes, such as going out into the bush where you are your best and only line of defense.
00:07:00.000Shortly after the Liberals came to power, however, the government made it more and more difficult for people to get ATCs, including renewals for people like John who had had them for years.
00:07:11.000It is virtually impossible to get an ATC anymore.
00:07:14.000So now we've had to default to something much bigger, much heavier, much slower, less effective, carrying a shotgun on my back.
00:07:22.000And if you can imagine having this camera on my shoulder and carrying this tripod on the other side of my body under my arm and wearing a shotgun on my back.
00:07:30.000Now, wildlife encounters, especially bears and cougars, they don't happen at great distances.
00:07:36.000For example, I'm not going to see the cougar coming from 100 meters away.
00:07:40.000It's going to know about me long before I know about it.
00:07:43.000Usually there's surprise encounters and they're in a very short range, a very short distance, which does not give me much time to respond.
00:07:49.000You may think, well, what's the big deal?
00:07:51.000He's still allowed to carry a gun, just not his handgun.
00:07:56.000Well, John demonstrated without the firearms, mind you, the difference between how he would respond to an impending animal attack with a shotgun versus with the handgun he had been allowed to carry for years without issue.
00:08:09.000Now, I've got a shotgun back here, it's getting tangled up in my tripod and in my long lens, it's getting tangled up.
00:08:16.000Even if I wear it across my back, right diagonally, it's still, when I drop this, it's going to get tangled up.
00:08:21.000So, oh, there's a bear. Drop the tripod.
00:08:23.000Now I've got to get both hands out here and, you know, chamber around and get ready.
00:08:27.000Versus, versus the other method, the old method, the more efficient method, which is bear.
00:08:36.000Can you see the difference? Holy cow, right?
00:08:40.000I mean, I go home. I get to go home to my family.
00:08:43.000Versus, okay, now that bear's had several more seconds to get on me.
00:08:49.000In the bush, that difference of a couple of seconds can be the difference between life and death.
00:08:55.000John doesn't want to herd animals, but he wants to be able to protect himself when he's at work capturing the beauty of the Canadian wilderness.
00:09:05.000They're punishing me, a law-abiding firearm owner.
00:09:10.000They're punishing me for trying to do my job.
00:09:13.000I would think that they'd want to support me because I pay taxes.
00:09:16.000And wouldn't they want to collect my taxes?
00:09:18.000Just saying. I mean, that's one way to, you know, fund our national debt is to have people working and supporting themselves,
00:09:26.000and not being a burden to the system, but actually providing to the system.
00:09:30.000After all, I mean, I'm a Canadian. I pay taxes. That makes me part of the government, you know, from a logical standpoint.
00:09:38.000So I would hope that they would see the benefit in this, allowing me to do my job and allowing me to do my job safely.
00:09:45.000And I want to go home at the end of my work day, just like a police officer and just like anyone else.
00:09:52.000I'm sure all those politicians in Ottawa, they want to go home, too, at the end of their day.
00:09:57.000And they want to go home and be safe and spend time with their family. I'm no different.
00:10:01.000An aspect of gun culture that's often overlooked is civilian ownership of non-civilians, people in the armed forces, veterans, active or retired police officers.
00:10:12.000One of those is Ryan Stacey, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who now consults on firearms for film.
00:10:19.000He was the armorer on the film The Revenant, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio.
00:10:23.000Ryan Stacey, while a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, fought on the shooting team around the world, including winning the coveted Bisley tournament in the United Kingdom.
00:10:33.000He continued competing after he left the armed forces.
00:10:37.000The military guys are shooting C7, but the reality of the civilian side is the AR-15 is probably the most accurate platform out there.
00:10:46.000And it's really the only one that can put you at the top for those elite level scores.
00:10:52.000And accuracy, because it is an accuracy game.
00:10:56.000Ryan Stacey's competition firearm is, or was, the AR-15.
00:11:01.000A popular, albeit misunderstood, semi-automatic firearm made for the civilian market specifically.
00:11:08.000It's lightweight and customizable, and now prohibited in Canada.
00:11:13.000Justin Trudeau's May 2020 Order and Council made it illegal to transport, fire, or sell AR-15s.
00:11:20.000Meaning Ryan can no longer compete using the firearm that has won him medals and trophies around the world.
00:11:26.000Now I can take it out of my safe, oogle it and drool on it, and then put it back in the safe.
00:11:32.000This is the first light that it's seen since May, because I can't even take it in practice with it anymore.
00:11:38.000Despite the federal government's promise of a buyback program, nothing has yet materialized.
00:11:44.000Even though in May 2022, less than a year from now, the two-year amnesty period is set to expire.
00:11:51.000Nevertheless, the promise to give gun owners some compensation for seizing their property is cold comfort to Ryan.
00:11:58.000I would ask the government how much this AR-15 is worth.
00:12:02.000It's won 16 or 17 provincial championships.
00:12:06.000It's won six national championships in a row.
00:12:09.000It's set almost every record on the books in the DCRA.
00:12:13.000And how much are they going to give me for it?
00:12:49.000It's a valid question and one the government isn't answering.
00:12:53.000Ryan's time on the Canadian Armed Forces competitive shooting team made him a better soldier, he says.
00:12:59.000But he needed to supplement his military training with private practice as a licensed gun owner.
00:13:05.000Obviously shoot, move and communicate. Shoot is the first one.
00:13:08.000So you're not a viable soldier. You're not effective unless you can shoot.
00:13:13.000Now there's shooting and there's actual shooting.
00:13:17.000I wanted to achieve the actual shooting, which was far beyond just your basic personal weapons test qualifications
00:13:27.000and your 80 rounds a year or whatever is to make you qualified, which is a joke.
00:13:33.000Even being on a military shooting team, there was just not enough practice to make you that elite level shooter that I wanted to be at.
00:13:40.000So for me, having my own AR-15 was 100% massive factor of getting to that level.
00:13:48.000So I had to put down a lot of time and money and my own all my own stuff to get to that elite level.
00:13:56.000So when I got out of the military, I thought, well, I can't give this up because I'm sort of at that level and I want to keep it going.
00:14:02.000Even after speaking with numerous gun owners about the effect of the Order and Council on their lives,
00:14:08.000Ryan shared a concern I hadn't heard before, one that quite frankly shocked me.
00:14:13.000I do worry about the military folks as well because it will come back to bite us in the ass at some point overseas.
00:14:20.000Yeah, I know for a fact that there were guys that shot on military shooting teams that may or may not have survived some of the contacts that they had overseas in Afghanistan.
00:14:34.000If they weren't able to deploy the tactics and skills that they had learned shooting in service rifle competitions in particular.
00:14:43.000When we started getting ready for the OIC, I collected a lot of thoughts from guys that had shot on shooting teams, but it also served overseas.
00:14:54.000And my basic question was, did what you learn on the shooting teams help you overseas, a shooting service rifle, help you overseas during the conflict?
00:15:06.000And I have a pile of letters from guys that say exactly that same thing.
00:16:11.000Like when I go back to Ottawa to shoot at Nationals, I go to see my other family, basically.
00:16:18.000The guys and girls that I don't get to see for a year.
00:16:22.000You know, we're all camped in the same houses and in the same area and, you know, there's a mess there.
00:16:30.000So there's always that community that, you know, you come together once a year and you trade your stories and you see everybody and you compete.
00:16:39.000And it's pretty awesome to be amongst people that are of the same mindset as you are.
00:16:46.000It's really, it's so much more than the shooting that's been taken away.
00:16:51.000Yeah, it's, it's just hard to, to fathom that the government has done this supposedly.
00:17:09.000Like we're just regular people that go out and, and have this as part of our being.
00:17:15.000So, um, yeah, it's, it sucks that it's been taken away from everybody just for no reason.
00:17:22.000To get votes really is really what it comes down to.
00:17:25.000When I set out on this project earlier this year, I expected what I'd find would be a group of Canadians who are dejected, discouraged and demoralized.
00:17:34.000After all, they have good reason to be something they've invested tens of thousands of dollars, years of their life into as being vilified and maligned by the government.
00:17:43.000Well, certainly I encountered a lot of frustration and in some cases anger.
00:17:48.000I also saw a great deal of resilience.
00:17:51.000Whether it was the competition shooter, the mom and pop gun store owner, or anyone else who fits into this rich tapestry of firearms ownership in Canada.
00:17:59.000What I saw from these folks was a sense of community and a sense of resilience.
00:18:04.000They're not going to take an order in council or a ham fisted bill like C21 lying down.
00:18:10.000They're going to stand up and they're going to say, no, we are a part of this country and we have every right to be heard and every right to exist.
00:18:17.000As Rod Giltaka said, they're not seeking anything more than being left alone.
00:18:22.000Well, it's not a hobby. It's a culture. It's a lifestyle. It's our identity.
00:18:30.000There are a lot of cultures and a lot of identities that I don't identify with, that I don't see value in.
00:18:36.000But never do I think, you know what, if those people just evaporated, that would be fine with me.
00:18:42.000I couldn't care less. Or I'd really like to see the government really crush them.
00:18:46.000This is a problem. And this is why, despite our political adversary saying, this isn't dividing Canadians, you're dividing Canadians for making a big deal about it.
00:18:56.000It's like, no, the government is dividing Canadians in a time where division is out of control.
00:19:03.000You have Canadians sitting back right now, maybe even watching this, that would think, yeah, I have no problem with the police using force,
00:19:13.000breaking the doors of the homes of gun owners down with a ram and taking their things because I don't own any guns and I don't know why anyone would own guns.
00:19:23.000We've owned guns for hundreds of years in Canada for good and sufficient reasons.
00:19:28.000And, you know, people need to start thinking about those things before they cheerlead the government using force against an identifiable group of Canadians.
00:19:37.000More importantly, gun owners in this country are enjoying and embracing the fact that they're partaking in a hobby and a sport that is immensely normal.
00:19:46.000And it's brought them together with people from all walks of life, from all corners of the country.
00:19:50.000And that is what gun ownership is in Canada.
00:19:53.000It's not about criminality, it's not about extremism, it's about community and passion.