Liberals Ask Federal Court to Order Gun Owners to Pay Government’s Legal Bill
TheGunBlog.ca — Canada’s governing Liberal Party asked the Federal Court to order gun owners to pay part of the government’s legal bills in the cases to stop the firearm confiscations begun in May 2020.
Justice Catherine Kane’s ruling of October 30 said the Liberals didn’t ask to have their costs covered.
Their lawyers have now told the court that’s incorrect and asked Kane to review the file, Edward Burlew, a lawyer for one of the challengers, told TheGunBlog.ca today.
‘Calculated to Put Ice in Your Veins’
“This is calculated to put ice in your veins if you are thinking of suing the federal government in federal court about your gun rights or property rights,” said Burlew, who represented John Hipwell.
Tracey Wilson, the vice president of public relations for the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR), said the costs are “likely in the tens of thousands” of dollars, split across the six cases.
The government also appears to want to discourage gun users preparing to appeal Kane’s opinion to validate the forced rifle and shotgun seizures.
‘Let’s Dance’
“It’s them mocking us. An additional little “f*ck you” to gun owners. If they think that’ll prevent us from appealing they can think again. Let’s dance,” Wilson said.
Government lawyers will ask for $170/hour, according to the Federal Court Tariff, and each application will have its own “bill of costs“ prepared, Burlew said. The total is unknown.
‘Punitive and Inappropriate’
“The Generoux applicants will oppose the motion for costs on the grounds it’s punitive and inappropriate given we are there defending our rights, and it will not discourage or distract us from attempting to appeal what we view as a miscarriage of justice,” Christine Generoux told TheGunBlog.ca.
1,200 Guns Already Destroyed
The Liberals are pushing ahead with their crackdown on government-licensed firearm users and businesses, confiscating guns as owners die.
They seem to have abandoned their fantasy for rapid expropriations via home raids or other tactics.
“Since the prohibition on May 1, 2020, approximately 1 200 prohibited firearms that were formerly restricted and registered have been turned in and destroyed,” the government said yesterday, without saying how it seized the gear.
Back to the 1800s
The Liberals are working to return Canada’s gun technology to the 1800s by erasing designs of the past century.
- They began destroying all legally owned handguns last year.
- They’re now preparing to eliminate all centre-fire, semi-auto, mag-fed rifles and shotguns through Bill C-21 and a new decree.
Federal Court Case Summary Table
| Court Number | Date Filed (2020) | Lead Party | Lead Rep/Lawyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-569-20 | May 21 | Cassandra Parker | Solomon Friedman |
| T-577-20 | May 26 | CCFR | Michael Loberg |
| T-581-20 | May 27 | John Hipwell | Edward Burlew |
| T-677-20 | Jun 29 | Michael Doherty | Arkadi Bouchelev |
| T-735-20 | Jul 10 | Christine Generoux | Christine Generoux |
| T-905-20 | Aug 11 | Jennifer Eichenberg | Eugene Meehan |