If not the RCMP, who operates the Firearms Centre, was that an act of parliament?It is not my job to educate you. If YOU choose to talk about something, then YOU educate yourself about it. Finding random crap on the internet and demanding that I dispel your incomprehension is not how it's done.
http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/sc-1995-c-39/latest/sc-1995-c-39.htmlhttp://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/regu/sor-98-462/latest/sor-98-462.htmlthey were legal and registered as restricted when they were purchased.You could also investigate the doctrine of legitimate expectations as applied to the statements of state agents.
But no, apparently they were NOT legal, and they were registered only as a result of some sort of mistake.
Presumably the importer made a case that its firearms were not covered by the definition of "prohibited firearm":
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/import-importer-eng.htmCurrently, you do not need an import authorization under Canadian law for non-prohibited firearms or firearm parts. ... The U.S. authorities will not issue an export permit unless they have evidence that Canada will allow these goods to be imported. An International Import Certificate (IIC) issued by DFAIT will provide the required evidence. There is no fee for an IIC.
Presumably, the importer's representations satisfied whoever was making the determination at the time. Evidently, new information came to light or the original information was reconsidered. I don't actually know. Maybe you could find out. I've done some looking around to see how the process works, but no particular luck; this doesn't seem to say, for instance:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d19/d19-13-2-eng.pdfI'm not actually intimately familiar with the procedure followed for commercial importations of firearms to Canada. You're the one who wants to talk about it, so maybe you can come up with the necessary background info.
You quote:
That quest for proof will be part of the owners' fight in court, where they are questioning the RCMP's ability to reclassify the weapons. Hagen said his understanding of the law is that only the federal cabinet can initiate a reclassification.
Yes, fucking duh. It's called "the Governor in Council", and if you read the legislation and regulations I have linked to, you will get that.
This is why I have already said that the RCMP does not "classify" firearms. I assume that it was asked for an interpretation by the commercial importer, as to whether the firearms in question were prohibited or restricted.
However, Cheliak said he doesn't believe the weapon has actually been reclassified, but classified for the first time. A proper classification was done with the physical inspection of the firearm.
Certainly sounds that way, doesn't it? After all, your initial link indicated this was some new model of firearm. It was not included expressly in the existing regulations. (As far as I can tell, it still isn't.) This is why the regulations include that "any variants or modified versions of them" formulation that I referred to before. Maybe this was a whole brand new kind of thing. I wouldn't know.
The commercial importer seems to have slipped the things by the first time. As I say, I DON'T KNOW the details of the process or the characteristics of the firearms in question.
And yes indeedy, oh look:
Those who turned over their weapons were eligible for reimbursement from the Ministry of Public Safety, which is rare.
Apparently, it was decided that the doctrine of legitimate expectations applied to make the government liable to those who had relied on the initial assessment.
Damn, isn't it awful when Canada turns out not to be some jack-booted police state where your door can be broken down in the middle of the night and scarlet-tunic-ed thugs can make off with your private property?
That is from the CBC, though? That's pretty dreadful. Canada does not have a "Ministry of Public Safety" federally. Some provinces have ministries. The federal government has departments.
Huh. Looks like my surmise was right, though, eh? The importer had slipped one by:
"It was a purpose-built fully automatic firearm with the fully automatic features disabled by <Norinco> which were not reported to us," Cheliak said. "It is very easily converted back to automatic."
So is this little tempest in a teapot about played out now?
The RCMP was approached for some sort of ruling as to what class of firearm these things fell into.
The importer concealed material facts from the RCMP.
The truth was discovered too late, after some individuals had purchased the items at retail.
Real liability surely lies with the importer, which induced the RCMP to give an erroneous opinion by providing incomplete/misleading/false information.
The federal government is offering compensation to those who have suffered prejudice as a result of reliance on the RCMP ruling based on the false facts supplied by the importer.
Everybody's happy.
Except some far right-wing gun militants. I care. I truly do.
If this was all you could come up with in the way of dirt on Cdn firearms policy ...