The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - February 04, 2020


Largest E-Petition in Canadian History – Protecting Law-Abiding Canadians


Episode Stats

Length

10 minutes

Words per Minute

171.80913

Word Count

1,793

Sentence Count

155

Hate Speech Sentences

2


Summary

On this episode of The Blueprint, Conservative MP Glenn Motts and I discuss the growing petition to oppose the Liberals' order to ban certain types of firearms, and why it's a bad idea. We also discuss why the Liberals should not punish law-abiding Canadians for not breaking the law.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 You're listening to The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:00:08.320 The cost of living keeps going up, deficits keep going up,
00:00:12.060 and he has to raise taxes to pay for his out-of-control spending.
00:00:16.840 Talk is cheap, except when this finance minister does it. It's very expensive.
00:00:22.940 It's the fact that he punished two strong women for doing the right thing
00:00:27.460 while he moved hell and high water to protect his buddies at SNC-Lavalin from facing a day in court.
00:00:36.620 Welcome back to The Blueprints, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:00:39.780 I'm your host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament for Halliburton Corps, the Lakes Brock in Ontario.
00:00:44.300 And with me for the second half of the show is Glenn Motts.
00:00:47.820 He is the MP for Medicine Hat, Cardston Warner in Alberta.
00:00:51.660 He's also the Associate Critic for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
00:00:56.520 Glenn, thank you for joining me, and I think you know why you're here.
00:01:00.300 It's great to be here, Jamie. Thank you. Yes.
00:01:02.260 I'm excited about the petition that's being circulated.
00:01:05.680 That's what I want to talk to you about.
00:01:06.740 Absolutely.
00:01:07.460 On track to be the highest signed petition in Canadian history.
00:01:12.580 Tell us what the petition is all about.
00:01:15.080 Well, first of all, I have a constituent in my writing, Brad Manasiniak,
00:01:18.520 who initiated this petition, and it was designed specifically to oppose the Liberals' Ordering Council plan to ban certain types of firearms.
00:01:33.460 And it's timely because it does a couple of things.
00:01:36.880 One, the Ordering Council bypasses the democratic process, which is wrong in a democratic society.
00:01:41.680 And number two, the focus of this ban is entirely contrary to what the needs of public safety are.
00:01:49.080 It focuses on law-abiding Canadians.
00:01:51.940 It does not focus on the criminals.
00:01:54.240 And the impact of public safety will be negative in this regard.
00:01:58.800 And so we're just saying, come on.
00:02:00.420 If we have gaps in our system that have to be addressed, let's have a conversation about that.
00:02:06.460 Let's fix those.
00:02:07.600 Let's not arbitrarily punish law-abiding Canadians who are the most vetted and the most law-abiding segment of our Canadian population, those firearm owners.
00:02:18.440 Now, obviously, I think you and I can understand why the Liberals would try this tactic.
00:02:25.040 Maybe to the people watching and listening, you can maybe explain your thoughts on that.
00:02:30.120 Well, I mean, they've used terms that are confusing to the public.
00:02:33.140 They use terms that sound reasonable to the public.
00:02:35.560 We're going to ban military-style assault rifles.
00:02:39.700 Well, to the undiscerning ear, that sounds like a reasonable thing to do.
00:02:43.040 Sounds scary.
00:02:43.740 Absolutely.
00:02:44.700 Well, what the truth is, is military-style assault rifles, there is no definition in Canada.
00:02:50.920 And that, a military-grade firearm, is designed to, A, fire automatic, which means one pull of the trigger will have multiple rounds.
00:03:00.560 And then it has a multiple-round and a large-round magazine capacity.
00:03:06.660 Those types of firearms in this country are already banned, already prohibited, and they have been for decades.
00:03:12.700 So, first of all, it is nothing but an exercise to try and, you know, a political game of policy to try and appease, you know, their electorate, as opposed to actually making a difference where public safety criminals don't follow the law.
00:03:28.300 Absolutely.
00:03:28.900 And this will not impact anything to do with the gangs who are, you know, impacting public safety in our neighbourhoods.
00:03:36.380 You're a former police officer.
00:03:37.800 You know all about this.
00:03:39.000 So, what the government, in a way, is doing is putting more rules on top of people who are already following the law.
00:03:46.380 Exactly.
00:03:47.000 Do they just, in some magical way, expect all the criminals just to say, wow, there's a new law, we're just going to put down our illegally obtained firearms and call it a truce, maybe sing kumbaya or something?
00:03:58.760 I don't understand the thinking here.
00:03:59.880 Well, I don't understand it either, and neither do Canadians.
00:04:02.240 So, when you look at how, you know, this petition is growing exponentially, like we're at 128,000 now, just over 130,000 is the record.
00:04:11.640 Canadians are just starting to wake up to this is an issue for them.
00:04:15.300 And the fact that, you know, we already know this is going to impact law-abiding people.
00:04:21.340 It won't have any impact on criminals.
00:04:23.200 Criminals don't follow the law.
00:04:24.940 And, you know, the thing that we don't know is the Liberals are saying, well, you know, let us decide.
00:04:29.680 It will be done through regulations and order and counsel.
00:04:32.900 And the cost of this, the cost of this, you know, they've said, well, maybe $250 million.
00:04:37.700 You know, it'll have a positive impact.
00:04:39.600 The police have been calling for this.
00:04:40.840 Well, none of those things are true.
00:04:42.360 It's going to far exceed $250 million.
00:04:45.480 It will punish those who already follow the law and who do not pose a threat to public safety.
00:04:50.800 And that's the thing that Canadians have to appreciate.
00:04:53.000 And we know from evidence and, you know, let's have an evidence-based conversation about this and discussion about this.
00:04:59.560 The Liberals brag, you know, they brag about how they're, you know, they're evidence-based decision-making.
00:05:04.740 And yet they don't do.
00:05:05.540 This is an emotion-based.
00:05:07.320 Firearms need to be looked at based on their function and their capacity, not how they look.
00:05:13.920 And so that's kind of the target they're going after.
00:05:16.660 And, you know, we have to, you know, we have to really consider who this will impact.
00:05:23.340 And it's not going to have the desired effect that they are hoping for.
00:05:27.880 And the fact that they are misleading Canadians with language that they're using and, you know, is just, you know, again, I guess, truly a liberal strategy.
00:05:38.260 Well, I think it also provides a false sense of security.
00:05:40.660 Take the United States, for example.
00:05:42.020 The city of Chicago is a gun-free zone.
00:05:44.360 We have multiple-digit shootings and homicides every single weekend.
00:05:49.760 It is not actually taking care of the problem here in Canada, which is firearms illegally smuggled over the border.
00:05:57.280 Well, and that's just, yeah, I mean...
00:05:58.320 And targeting gangs and criminals.
00:05:59.740 Yes.
00:05:59.960 Gangs and criminals.
00:06:00.560 Toronto Police Chief Adams has come out recently.
00:06:03.420 I'm sorry, it's not Adams.
00:06:04.400 It's...
00:06:05.120 Senators.
00:06:06.500 He came out recently and said that, you know, listen, they know their crime guns in Toronto are over 80%
00:06:12.740 illegally obtained from the United States.
00:06:15.240 Well, let's start focusing on that.
00:06:17.980 And we're going to spend, you know, to me, upwards of a billion-plus dollars on this.
00:06:22.180 Let's focus on a number of things.
00:06:23.880 Let's get a task force to make sure that we can close the gap at the border where firearms are being smuggled in from.
00:06:31.680 Let's address programming to keep youth out of that sort of a lifestyle.
00:06:37.280 Let's deal with addictions and mental health treatment so that, you know, we can make a difference on, you know, the drugs are driving the gang violence, you know, in our communities.
00:06:48.120 Let's ensure that the law enforcement and the courts have the resources they need to hold those who commit violence and gun violence to a higher account.
00:06:57.640 Like, those are things that the community expects from government to do.
00:07:01.420 But that's all harder to do.
00:07:02.900 Well, it's exactly harder to do.
00:07:04.560 It's easier to make law-abiding people to follow more laws.
00:07:06.860 That's right.
00:07:07.160 And then you can say we've done something.
00:07:08.780 Right.
00:07:09.100 And at the end of the day, it will have zero impact, Canadians.
00:07:11.720 It will have zero impact on public safety in this country.
00:07:14.200 And that's one of the reasons I'm fighting it.
00:07:16.020 That's why I'm standing with Canadians to say we need to stop this.
00:07:19.400 We need to have a voice of reason behind this.
00:07:21.960 So let's look at the evidence that we can move forward to develop policies that actually positively impact public safety, targets criminals, and not falsely goes after, wrongly goes after those Canadians who do not pose a threat.
00:07:38.620 Absolutely.
00:07:38.980 Where can people find that petition?
00:07:42.040 You can follow my social media, Facebook or Twitter.
00:07:47.540 You can certainly go to ePetitions.
00:07:49.340 If you just go online and put in ePetition 2341, it will automatically pop up to a link.
00:07:56.980 And it's there.
00:07:58.780 I don't know where we're at now, but we're probably closing in on 129,000.
00:08:02.640 We want to make this number one in Canada.
00:08:04.500 Well, and I think we're just touching the surface.
00:08:07.260 I mean, we've got over 33,000 signatures who have been unconfirmed, which means they're not counted in that total.
00:08:13.920 And so we're asking everybody to make sure that if you haven't signed it and you are about to, check your, you know, you need a confirmation email.
00:08:20.940 That's the way the system works.
00:08:21.980 If you can't find it in your emails, check your junk folder.
00:08:24.620 And if you have trouble, call, you know, get a hold of my email account, glennmonts.parl.gc.ca, and we will help you make sure that that confirmation is looked after.
00:08:35.320 Here's a little fun fact for you, Glenn.
00:08:37.100 I'm sure you know this and some of our listeners and viewers might know this.
00:08:41.420 But, for example, in Toronto, right downtown, at Union Station, for 81 years, there was a licensed shooting range above Union Station.
00:08:51.480 Really?
00:08:52.000 81 years.
00:08:52.580 It was closed in 2008 when David Miller, the left-wing mayor of Toronto, shut down all, basically shut down all licensed firearm ranges in Toronto.
00:09:03.020 So, really, the only, from my understanding, there's only one area you can shoot in Toronto.
00:09:08.320 It's a range, but it's rimfire.
00:09:11.060 And so that is slowly dying off, memberships going elsewhere.
00:09:14.640 So, really, there is no licensed place to shoot in Toronto anyways, but the gangs and criminals are already shooting.
00:09:19.060 I was going to say, well, somebody hasn't told the gangs that.
00:09:20.900 That's the thing.
00:09:21.540 And, you know, we do know that there is a huge following of licensed firearm owners in Toronto who are, you know, hunters and sport shooters.
00:09:31.840 And, you know, this miscaddened approach that the Liberals are doing is just plain wrong.
00:09:39.220 Glenn, I wish you luck in your petition.
00:09:40.780 Thank you.
00:09:41.200 Let's make it number one.
00:09:42.040 If you're listening or watching this blueprint, please go to Glenn Mott's Facebook website.
00:09:47.840 You name it.
00:09:48.680 Sign the petition.
00:09:49.580 Let's make it number one.
00:09:50.560 Let's show the Liberals that we mean business here, that they should be going after the criminals and the gangs,
00:09:56.140 not law-abiding firearms owners.
00:09:58.520 Thank you so much, Glenn.
00:09:59.500 Thank you, Jamie.
00:09:59.920 Thank you very much for coming in.
00:10:01.720 Remember, this is the blueprint.
00:10:03.320 Low taxes, less government, more freedom.
00:10:05.980 And that's the blueprint.
00:10:13.040 Thank you for listening to The Blueprint, Canada's Conservative Podcast.
00:10:16.020 To find more episodes, interviews, and in-depth discussions of politics in Canada,
00:10:21.900 search for The Blueprint on iTunes or visit podcast.conservative.ca.