The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - August 06, 2019


A Safer Canada – Gun laws that target criminals

Hosted by
Jamie Schmal
Mentioned
Bill C-63 Jamie Schmael Justin Trudeau Andrew Scheer Ralph Goodale Bill Blair Stephen Harper Bill C Airfinger Lacombe
A Real Plan to Protect our Environment – part 2 Largest E-Petition in Canadian History – Protecting Law-Abiding Canadians

Episode Stats


Length

18 minutes

Words per minute

181.09

Word count

3,304

Sentence count

167

Harmful content

Toxicity

2

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, Blaine Calkins, Conservative MP for Red Deer-Lacombe, joins me to talk about Bill C-71, a piece of legislation that has been introduced in the Senate that could impact the rights of responsible firearms owners.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.220 This is The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm your host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton Corps, the likes Brock, and this week our topic is responsible firearms ownership.
00:00:11.200 You're listening to The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:00:16.860 The cost of living keeps going up, deficits keep going up, and he has to raise taxes to pay for his out-of-control spending.
00:00:25.380 Talk is cheap, except when this finance minister does it. It's very expensive.
00:00:30.000 It's the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court.
00:00:45.000 Welcome to The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm your host, Jamie Schmael.
00:00:49.000 With me is Blaine Calkins, the Member of Parliament for Red Deer Lacombe. Thank you so much for joining us.
00:00:54.320 You are the person that knows everything about responsible firearms ownership, or so I'm told.
00:00:58.680 Well, the record for my own personal firearms ownership is, so far, so good.
00:01:02.940 Perfect. Well, let's get right into it, because it is a very large topic in general.
00:01:07.840 Why don't we start with Bill C-71? It's a piece of legislation the Liberals have tabled and put forward that is now passed the Senate and is going to have an impact on firearms owners.
00:01:19.900 So maybe you can give us a brief description of what it's about and what the implications will be.
00:01:24.080 So the problem with Bill C-71, as every responsible firearms owner in this country knows, and everybody who has a PAL or an RPAL knows,
00:01:33.100 is that licensed firearms owners are not the source of firearms issues or firearms crimes in Canada.
00:01:40.580 There's a lot of misinformation out there.
00:01:42.460 There's been a lot of misconstrued use of statistics and data in a vain attempt to try and actually demonize law-abiding firearms owners.
00:01:51.180 Bill C-71 is, again, another political agenda, not actually an agenda that actually addresses the root issues of crime.
00:02:02.200 It doesn't do anything to go after gangs or it doesn't do anything to stop the flow of illicit or illegal firearms from coming across the border.
00:02:10.940 So I'm very pleased that our leader, Andrew Scheer, has said that we will repeal Bill C-71 after we form government in this fall, Jamie.
00:02:20.740 And then we can actually pass legislation that goes after things like the revolving door of criminals who seem to just get nothing but a slap on the wrist.
00:02:30.280 Bill C-75, which we're not talking about in specificity today, but actually, you know, is not helping at all when it comes to dangerous criminals or people who steal or steal firearms, per se.
00:02:42.060 And put in place legislation that actually goes after gangs and criminals and those who are trying to manipulate the law in order to, you know, use firearms in a way that's not lawful.
00:02:55.560 So we know from the statistics, the actual statistics, that Canadians are safest when they're actually in the presence of a law-abiding firearm owner.
00:03:03.620 If you happen to find yourself in a situation where you're dealing with an illegal firearm, chances are there's not a law-abiding firearm owner around.
00:03:12.560 So what will the Conservative Party do if elected for responsible firearms ownership and dealing with the problem of gangs using illegal firearms?
00:03:23.820 Well, the problem is just the offensive language and the pejorative tone that Bill C-71 has towards law-abiding firearms owners.
00:03:30.900 So we're going to repeal the bill, Jamie, as you know.
00:03:33.820 I hope very much so that you and I will both be back and we'll have another 100 colleagues to join the already 100 or so that we have.
00:03:42.040 And that's what it's going to take.
00:03:43.980 So we're going to rely on the votes of every law-abiding firearms owner for anybody for whom this is a ballot box issue to make sure that your voice is heard
00:03:51.960 and make sure that you elect a Conservative majority government that's able to do what we did under the leadership of Stephen Harper, for example.
00:03:59.540 We got rid of the Wasteful Ineffective Long Gun Registry and, of course, we passed Bill C-42, the Common Sense Law Firearms Act,
00:04:05.880 where we built in things like the automatic authorization to transport right into the RPAL licensing system.
00:04:13.320 So there was nothing wrong with this current regime.
00:04:16.000 There was nothing that needed to be fixed.
00:04:17.140 And, you know, the misinformation that's coming out of the Prime Minister's mouth where he says things like you don't have to show a license to buy a firearm
00:04:24.140 when it says right in the criminal code that anybody who buys or sells a firearm without a license is guilty of an indictable offense
00:04:30.240 and uses words like keeping track of, you know, having businesses keep track of records.
00:04:36.260 Well, that's just code for a backdoor gun registry.
00:04:40.460 And, you know, these changes in the legislation are, again, targeting the wrong people.
00:04:45.100 We're going after law-abiding people, making their lives more onerous rather than actually targeting criminals.
00:04:51.100 Now, just to be clear, for those maybe listening in an area that they're not familiar with firearms legislation,
00:04:58.460 maybe we could just remind people that Canada does have strict laws and regulations when it comes to firearms ownership.
00:05:08.860 So the reality is, is every firearm in Canada is banned unless you're actually a licensed owner.
00:05:15.040 I don't know of any other property in this country where you actually need a license to own it.
00:05:19.500 You might need a license to drive a car, but you certainly don't need a license to own one.
00:05:22.860 That's not true when it comes to firearms.
00:05:24.500 So every firearm that's not in the possession of a law-abiding firearm owner is already banned.
00:05:29.200 And we have numerous levels of classification.
00:05:31.800 We have non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited firearms that already adequately address.
00:05:38.060 We've had a handgun registry since the 1930s, I believe, for restricted firearms.
00:05:44.380 We have one of the most onerous and regimented background check systems in the world.
00:05:51.120 Firearms owners have had to have these background checks now for some 20, 30 years.
00:05:54.660 So we've already got this highly regimented process in place to deal with firearms ownership and all the firearms legislation.
00:06:05.040 We don't need any more.
00:06:05.980 What we actually really need to do is go after those who would use firearms in the commission of an offense,
00:06:12.080 those who would smuggle firearms across the border,
00:06:14.480 those who would buy firearms under the guise of a license for the purpose of getting it into organized crime.
00:06:22.580 In the sense it's called a straw purchase, nothing in C-71 actually addresses this.
00:06:26.480 Why not?
00:06:26.880 If that's the bill of goods that Ralph Goodale and Bill Blair and Justin Trudeau are trying to sell us,
00:06:32.520 then why isn't there anything in the legislation that actually says that?
00:06:35.900 Why isn't there the word gangs appearing in the legislation anywhere?
00:06:41.740 So Bill C-71 is simply a political tool so that the prime minister can claim an emotional victory
00:06:47.980 for those who don't understand or want or think that they need their government to do more
00:06:53.000 when it comes to law-abiding firearms owners.
00:06:55.640 But really what we need to do is tackle crime.
00:06:57.620 But doesn't what it also does, kind of the side effect to this too,
00:07:01.680 is give people where these gang shootings are taking place, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver,
00:07:06.640 a false sense of security.
00:07:08.440 Because when Justin Trudeau and Bill Blair come out and say,
00:07:10.860 hey, we're going to do this, we're going to reduce the amount of shootings by doing A, B, and C,
00:07:17.220 but not really actually addressing the exact problem.
00:07:21.840 And for people not paying attention, they might hear this and go,
00:07:25.560 okay, something's happening, not knowing what,
00:07:27.600 and not realizing that there's going to be no impact
00:07:29.920 and that the gangs are still going to have, in the vast majority of cases, illegal firearms.
00:07:35.900 Well, of course, because criminals don't follow the law.
00:07:38.080 Exactly.
00:07:38.320 That's what makes them criminals.
00:07:39.600 So anytime we pass laws for people to follow,
00:07:42.500 the only people that it's going to affect are law-abiding firearms owners.
00:07:45.380 So that's the fallacy behind the entire logic of the Liberal government,
00:07:49.880 which is why this bill is nothing but propaganda.
00:07:53.980 It actually does nothing.
00:07:55.200 And it would actually, Jamie, I would agree with you,
00:07:57.300 create that false sense of security or lull people into thinking
00:07:59.780 that something's been done to make the community safer.
00:08:03.420 When, in fact, during the committee hearings on Bill C-71, where I was at,
00:08:08.680 I specifically asked Minister Goodale and his department officials
00:08:11.380 for specific studies or any type of research or anything at all
00:08:16.040 where they would commit to, if Bill C-71 came to pass, as it's about to,
00:08:22.780 what the reductions in suicides, what the reductions in gang violence would be,
00:08:28.920 and none of them could quote any studies,
00:08:30.780 could actually reference anything at all to suggest that the passing of this legislation
00:08:35.120 would do anything to curb actual gun crime or gun violence in Canada.
00:08:39.240 So like you know, like I know, like virtually 2.3 million other Canadians know,
00:08:45.120 this piece of legislation doesn't do anything to actually tackle the problem.
00:08:49.900 It just makes life more onerous for law-abiding, tax-paying citizens of this country.
00:08:54.400 Absolutely.
00:08:54.740 And now we have the Liberals on again, off again,
00:08:58.480 talking about, Airfinger's quote, banning handguns.
00:09:02.600 Now, this to me, I shake my head every time they talk about this.
00:09:06.740 It is just absolutely nonsensical, in my opinion,
00:09:11.120 as to what they actually, what actually they want to accomplish
00:09:15.520 is totally different than what they are talking about.
00:09:18.580 Because as you mentioned, handguns are already banned.
00:09:22.020 There's already a rigorous process.
00:09:24.420 Gangs are getting their illegal handguns from the United States
00:09:28.660 in the vast majority of cases.
00:09:30.260 This is going to do nothing to actually solve that problem.
00:09:34.500 No, it won't.
00:09:35.180 And of course, they're trying to make this an election issue.
00:09:38.600 There's no doubt about it that they want to create this aura
00:09:41.580 that this actually needs to happen in order to garner votes in the upcoming election.
00:09:47.140 Look, there are thousands of Canadians who lawfully participate in various sport shooting events.
00:09:53.960 We have Olympic athletes that participate in these events.
00:09:58.060 We have hunters.
00:09:59.700 We have recreational shooters, people who go out and just want to plink at targets at a range.
00:10:06.500 We have farmers who use these as tools for what they need to do
00:10:11.940 to either deal with predators or pests or other menaces.
00:10:16.940 Look, these folks are not Canada's problem.
00:10:19.720 These are law-abiding, salt-of-the-earth, tax-paying, patriotic Canadians
00:10:24.020 who are actually, this is an affront, this legislation is an affront to them
00:10:27.700 because what the government's actually doing is it's pointing to every law-abiding firearms owner
00:10:31.280 in this country and saying, you're the problem.
00:10:32.720 Yeah.
00:10:32.840 And we know that that's simply not true.
00:10:36.480 So this flirting with this handgun ban and this so-called assault rifle ban,
00:10:42.220 these firearms are already, they're already unlawfully owned unless you have something
00:10:48.680 called a restricted possession acquisition license or an RPAL.
00:10:53.340 And, you know, if you don't have this license, this firearm, you are banned from having it.
00:10:58.020 And by the way, every restricted firearm in Canada is already registered.
00:11:01.940 These firearms have to be registered.
00:11:03.640 There's a central registry where these firearms are kept.
00:11:06.040 You're only allowed to have them in a handful of places.
00:11:08.460 You're allowed to have them locked in a locked box.
00:11:11.200 We have to have a trigger lock on them in a locked facility in your locked home.
00:11:15.460 And you're only allowed to transport it to a range for the purpose of using it at that range.
00:11:20.420 It's the only place you're lawfully allowed to use it is at a range or a shooting competition.
00:11:24.500 And you can transport and you're only allowed to transport that firearm to and from those places.
00:11:29.740 They've changed it in Bill C-71.
00:11:32.260 If you even wanted to take that firearm to a gunsmith to get it worked on, you're now going to have to phone the government of Canada and get permission to take it to a gunsmith.
00:11:41.040 So the restrictions that are already in place for very much restricted firearms are already there.
00:11:47.720 The problem is the hug-a-thug, soft-on-crime approach that the Liberals and the NDP and the Bloc and every other left-wing political party other than the Conservative Party of Canada is that when people are actually using firearms for the purpose of criminal activity, there seems to be little or no consequence.
00:12:04.620 And that's the problem.
00:12:05.700 I'm glad you brought that up because you also talked about it at the beginning of the show here about C-75, which has a number of effects on a number of sentencing regimes.
00:12:16.000 Maybe you can talk about that as well.
00:12:17.440 The hug-a-thug, as you pointed out, the Liberals' light on crime, catch and release that they seem to be promoting.
00:12:24.280 Maybe we could talk about the consequences and how the Liberals are watering that part down.
00:12:29.060 Well, it's clear that through Bill C-71 and C-75 that they're giving up on gangs and they're ganging up on gun owners. 0.91
00:12:36.060 This is just a ridiculous approach.
00:12:39.380 You know, you take a look at even simple provisions like breaking and entering for the purpose of theft, watered-downs. 0.59
00:12:46.360 And so, for example, if you break in and steal a firearm that's worth more than $5,000, the penalty is now going to be the same as if you stole a firearm that was less than $5,000.
00:12:53.520 Because they've basically watered down all of the provisions in the criminal code that have a maximum penalty of 10 years or less and made them into something called a hybrid offense, which means that the Crown can pursue summary conviction with basically just a fine and a slap on the wrist.
00:13:09.620 So these are really, really frustrating provisions, and especially, you know, in central Alberta right now where I'm from and all over Alberta and the Prairie provinces and the rural areas where rural crime is actually at devastatingly high numbers, to be actually pointed at and saying, well, now we're going to come after you and your firearms out here in these remote rural areas because you're the problem.
00:13:29.660 So, you know, this government gets it wrong on so many fronts, and this is just another example.
00:13:34.560 So the revolving door, the only thing that's going to happen for criminals in this country with the Liberals in charge is a little bit of motion sickness because they're going through the revolving door that much faster as they're let out of jail.
00:13:44.820 Well, maybe we can quickly talk about the rural crime.
00:13:47.100 I know you're heavily involved with that and the task force that was put together.
00:13:51.520 And my community is rural, but not as rural as yours.
00:13:56.660 So in many cases, I'm sure it could be half an hour more before police arrive on the scene.
00:14:03.380 So you want to ensure that those sentences are painful enough for those criminals, you know, doing the crime that it's an actual deterrent, not, as you said, a revolving door and it's no big deal.
00:14:16.200 Well, first, Jamie, it's not a competition who's got more rural in their area.
00:14:18.800 You represent fine folks in your riding as I do in mine.
00:14:24.360 And look, the problem is, is criminals in some parts of the country have figured out that if they commit a crime far away from a police detachment or from a response, a law enforcement agency that can provide a response, chances are they can get away with it.
00:14:38.900 And, of course, that's why we've seen some unfortunate incidents where people who are fed up, frankly fed up and at their wit's end, with continually being harassed, robbed, and feel that not only their property, but maybe even themselves are in danger and their families are in danger, are making decisions that they wouldn't normally have to make.
00:14:57.120 And this is simply because, and there's so many documented cases, Jamie, there's so many cases where people can get charged with breaking and enter, you know, 40 or 50 times, 40 to 50 different incidents, possession of stolen property from 40 or 50 different incidents.
00:15:10.860 This is, you know, and they'll go into a court, the RCMP will take them in there, the local police will take them in, and then they'll be out on bail the next day just to go someplace else and resume what they were doing before.
00:15:23.920 And this is what we call the revolving door.
00:15:26.720 And even if they do get a sentence, the sentence is so light, there seems to be no impact for the cumulative effect that they've had on the communities that they're victimizing over and over again.
00:15:38.060 And this is what needs to stop.
00:15:39.440 This is absolutely what needs to stop.
00:15:41.100 And it makes absolutely no sense to the people that I represent anyway, that if they do stand up for themselves or their property, they seem to end up getting in more trouble than the thieves that conspired to come and deprive them of their property in the first place or to do them harm.
00:15:52.120 So there's a real sense that there's not much value in being a law-abiding citizen in Canada right now.
00:16:00.380 And that's just the unfortunate approach that the Liberals seem to always find themselves taking and putting Canadians in.
00:16:07.160 And I am so looking forward to October 21st this year because we need to change this government.
00:16:13.060 We need to change the direction this country is going in on so many different fronts, and this is one of them.
00:16:17.140 Well, Blaine Calkins, give us a quick parting note, a parting message that you would like the law-abiding firearms community to know.
00:16:27.120 Well, listen, folks, I'm one of you.
00:16:29.140 I'm a law-abiding firearms owner.
00:16:30.600 I'm a hunter.
00:16:31.600 And we're going to need all of your help in October of this year.
00:16:35.160 So if these issues matter to you, if the right to own property, the privileges that you have to not be made by the stroke of a pen a criminal because somebody somewhere that's unaccountable to you decides to change the law, which is exactly what Bill C...
00:16:53.560 We didn't even dive into that on Bill C-71.
00:16:55.440 If you're a law-abiding firearms owner and these issues matter to you, the Conservative Party of Canada is a home for you.
00:17:00.820 Trust me, this is a home for you.
00:17:02.720 We need your vote.
00:17:03.560 We need your help and any other resources that you can provide to us to ensure that we defeat Justin Trudeau.
00:17:08.900 And we must defeat him with a majority Conservative government because we already know, it's already been alluded to, that if we do not form a majority Conservative government with Prime Minister Andrew Scheer,
00:17:19.380 the Liberals will form a coalition with whoever's left on the left to make sure that Andrew Scheer is not the Prime Minister.
00:17:28.000 There's all kinds of forces at work there.
00:17:29.700 We need to make sure that sanity and common sense are restored to the decision-making process, respecting individual Canadians and their rights in the passage of laws in this country.
00:17:39.780 And only the Conservative Party of Canada is that party.
00:17:42.360 Well said.
00:17:42.880 Blaine Calkins, Member of Parliament for Red Deer Lacombe, thank you so much for joining us here today.
00:17:47.400 Pleasure, Jamie.
00:17:47.900 I'm Jamie Schmiel, your host, Member of Parliament from Halliburton Corps at the Lakes Brock.
00:17:51.720 This is the Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:17:53.860 And remember, low taxes, less government, more freedom.
00:17:57.280 That's the Blueprint.
00:18:01.540 Thank you for listening to the Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:18:06.140 To find more episodes, interviews and in-depth discussions of politics in Canada, search for the Blueprint on iTunes or visit podcast.conservative.ca.