TheGunBlog.ca — A New Brunswick court official said it “has no jurisdiction” to review the federal government’s surprise May 1 nullification of firearm registrations, leaving gun owners looking to assert their legal rights and avoid confiscations and jail.
The Court Attendance Supervisor was responding on Sept. 18 to Jeffrey Young after he asked the court under Section 74 of the Firearms Act to review the sudden termination of his certificate for a firearm registered with the federal police.
Mass Criminalizations
Young is among almost 70,000 Canadians suddenly targeted by the federal cabinet with sweeping criminalizations, prohibitions and confiscations.
Canada’s governing Liberal Party, working in secret with the federal police, acted without cause to instantly cancel the registration certificates in the middle of the day on May 1.
The Liberals made it illegal for federally licensed firearm owners to have some of the country’s most-popular rifles and shotguns, threatening the owners with prison.
Court Quote
The New Brunswick court “has no authority to review the validity of the regulatory amendments of the Government of Canada,” Emma Wilson, the court attendance supervisor, said in the letter to Young, which he sent to TheGunBlog.ca.
The court “has no jurisdiction to accept your request for a review,” the official said.
Access to Justice
Lawyers have said that court staff who refuse a hearing could be violating due process and obstructing access to justice.
Many provincial courts are allowing Section 74 hearings to proceed, showing the complexity, confusion and arbitrariness of Canada’s legal framework for private firearm ownership.
Unprecedented Attack
The Liberal attack on hunters, farmers, ranchers, sport shooters and firearm collectors is unprecedented in law or regulation.
In addition to perhaps hundreds of individual requests for Section 74 reviews, six major cases are in Federal Court to challenge the assault as unconstitutional, illegal and abusive.
The government, the federal firearm regulator, judges, lawyers, firearm businesses and hundreds of thousands of targeted owners are scrambling to respond to what many view as a violation of ethics, justice, governance and the rule of law.
Criminalize and Confiscate
The Liberals specifically targeted owners among the 2.2 million adults with a firearm Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) authorized by the federal police.
Many of them never had firearm-registration certificates because they owned so-called “Non-restricted” rifles and shotguns. They don’t require explicit police approval and registration for every purchase or sale.
The legal status of owners instantly changed on May 1.
- They are now in illegal possession of “Prohibited” fireams and face criminal charges, confiscation and jail if they buy, sell, move or use any of the guns.
- They also face jail unless they allow police to confiscate their newly blacklisted rifles and shotguns by 30 April 2022.
No Authority
“There exists not a shred of legislative authority for the ‘nullification’ of a registration certificate — which, as codified in law, remains valid until either surrendered, or revoked,” Young told TheGunBlog.ca. “Neither has occurred.”
Court Letter to Jeffrey Young
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