TheGunBlog.ca — Canadian gun owners won a court victory today as they fight Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mass criminalizations and confiscations begun in May 2020.
Disclosure, Revocations
Justice Antonio Skarica of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered details of the RCMP’s unprecedented “nullification” of firearm-registration certificates in 2020, and equated them to revocations.
Trudeau’s administration and his allies in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have opposed the judge’s conclusions. They may appeal the decision.
Why It Matters
- Today’s win orders transparency on who at the RCMP invented “nullification” and when, since nothing in law allows such a mechanism.
- If the court concludes the RCMP’s “nullifications” are illegitimate, invalid, or unlawful, the ruling could help gun owners targeted by Trudeau to keep their guns.
- Today’s victory is the second time gun owners have won in higher courts, compared to zero for Trudeau.
- It expands the type of evidence that provincial judges may order from the federal government in future hearings under Section 74 of the federal Firearms Act.
- The win was led by five gun owners who represented themselves in court without a lawyer.
Context
- The RCMP invented “nullification” in 2020 as a tactic to help Trudeau confiscate popular rifles and shotguns from 70,000 government-licensed owners as part of a much broader crackdown.
- The RCMP’s “nullifications” may be unlawful, unlike the honest citizens they targeted.
- Trudeau’s governing Liberal Party and the RCMP have refused to disclose details of the “nullifications,” both in court and in responding to questions from TheGunBlog.ca.
Judge’s Disclosure Order
“The Crown is to provide disclosure relevant to the scripts used to identify the respondents’ firearms which is to include who created the scripts, when they were created, who was involved directly or indirectly in writing the scripts, who was consulted and the involvement of the Registrar in creating the scripts and the involvement of the Registrar in the preparation and dissemination of the July 20, 2020 letters the respondents received from the Registrar.” (Paragraph 50)
Source: Justice Antonio Skarica, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, 03 November 2022
Judge Says ‘Nullification’ Is Revocation
“Accordingly, the Registrar, by “nullifying” and making registration certificates “no longer valid”, has revoked the registration certificates listed in the July 20, 2020 letters sent to the respondents: Stark at para 70.” (Paragraph 23)
Source: Justice Antonio Skarica, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, 03 November 2022
Updated November 04
DOJ and RCMP Comment
The Department of Justice (DOJ) in Ottawa responded on November 04 to our invitation to comment on the ruling. The applicant in the case was the Attorney General of Canada (AGC), also the Minister of Justice.
“You may contact RCMP media relations team for this question at: [e-mail address],” replied Geneviève Groulx, a spokesperson for the DOJ.
We then contacted the RCMP.
“As you may understand, the decision is still being reviewed. We have no further comment. Any question on AGC, please refer to DoJ,” replied Camille Camille Boily-Lavoie, a spokesperson for the RCMP.
Trudeau Failure
- In addition to about 150 cases like today’s challenging Trudeau’s political attacks in provincial courts across Canada, six groups of gun owners are fighting him in Federal Court.
- His confiscation fantasy faces massive opposition from gun owners, provinces, and police, as well as huge political, financial, and logistical obstacles.
- Trudeau has no idea how to execute his confiscations. He failed to complete them by his April 2022 deadline and is on track to fail again.