Gunreference1
08-21-2010, 04:31 AM
Firearms registry: Gun control
Sat, Aug 21 - 4:53 AM
RCMP Chief Superintendent Marty Cheliak, the respected Mountie in charge of the Canadian Firearms Program, was summarily pulled from his job this week and sent off to language school. The official explanation: "He does not currently meet the linguistic requirements of the position."
What was Chief Supt. Cheliak’s sudden linguistic deficiency?
Failing to shut up is the believable answer.
Chief Supt. Cheliak has been a credible defender of the firearms registry that the Conservative government is hoping to take down by way of a private member’s bill this fall. Last spring, he told Parliament the registry "contributes to police officer safety and the safety of all Canadians." Next week, he was to speak to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and receive an award for his efforts in ensuring that front-line officers’ support for gun registration is not ignored in this debate.
All this put Chief Supt. Cheliak at loggerheads with the government position, as repeated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday, that the registry has been "wasteful" and "ineffective."
The Tories hope to swing enough votes from rural Liberal and New Democrat MPs to realize their dream of making the long-gun registry the long-gone registry. But netting these loose fish will be harder if Parliament can call on a senior Mountie who isn’t afraid to give an expert opinion, grounded in actual law-enforcement experience, that challenges the simple dogma that there’s nothing to think about here but the mighty inconvenience to farmers and duck hunters.
Both Mr. Harper and the RCMP say politics played no role in Mr. Cheliak’s reassignment. But the alternate explanation is pure bunk. We are supposed to believe there was some compelling operational reason to send the RCMP’s leading authority on gun control off to muzzled exile at French school just as Parliament is to debate the registry.
The government is certainly entitled to try to scrap the gun registry. But it needs votes from other parties to do so and it’s wrong to try to get those by silencing public service experts and limiting Parliament’s access to relevant information.
This is rule by dirty tricks and it’s not good for the quality or the integrity of government.
( edits@herald.ca)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorials/1197931.html
Steve
Sat, Aug 21 - 4:53 AM
RCMP Chief Superintendent Marty Cheliak, the respected Mountie in charge of the Canadian Firearms Program, was summarily pulled from his job this week and sent off to language school. The official explanation: "He does not currently meet the linguistic requirements of the position."
What was Chief Supt. Cheliak’s sudden linguistic deficiency?
Failing to shut up is the believable answer.
Chief Supt. Cheliak has been a credible defender of the firearms registry that the Conservative government is hoping to take down by way of a private member’s bill this fall. Last spring, he told Parliament the registry "contributes to police officer safety and the safety of all Canadians." Next week, he was to speak to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and receive an award for his efforts in ensuring that front-line officers’ support for gun registration is not ignored in this debate.
All this put Chief Supt. Cheliak at loggerheads with the government position, as repeated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday, that the registry has been "wasteful" and "ineffective."
The Tories hope to swing enough votes from rural Liberal and New Democrat MPs to realize their dream of making the long-gun registry the long-gone registry. But netting these loose fish will be harder if Parliament can call on a senior Mountie who isn’t afraid to give an expert opinion, grounded in actual law-enforcement experience, that challenges the simple dogma that there’s nothing to think about here but the mighty inconvenience to farmers and duck hunters.
Both Mr. Harper and the RCMP say politics played no role in Mr. Cheliak’s reassignment. But the alternate explanation is pure bunk. We are supposed to believe there was some compelling operational reason to send the RCMP’s leading authority on gun control off to muzzled exile at French school just as Parliament is to debate the registry.
The government is certainly entitled to try to scrap the gun registry. But it needs votes from other parties to do so and it’s wrong to try to get those by silencing public service experts and limiting Parliament’s access to relevant information.
This is rule by dirty tricks and it’s not good for the quality or the integrity of government.
( edits@herald.ca)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorials/1197931.html
Steve