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NEIGHBOURLINK BMAD MAY CLOSE P. 4 EDITORIAL P. 6
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$1.30 Inc. GST Vol. 37 No. 41
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Firearms Act could combine license, reduce regulations Rebecca Watson Omineca Express Gun laws could soon change for all Canadian hunters and target shooters. The Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act has been accepted into Parliament and if passed, will amend multiple portions of the current gun registry. The proposed bill C-42 will first off create a six-month grace period at the end of a five-year license to stop people from immediately becoming criminalized. Gary Mauser, chair of the BC Wild Firearms Committee, is confident the legislation will be popular among BCWF members. “It’s simple, less paperwork,” said Mr. Mauser. “Most hunters follow the [rules] with little difficulty, but sometimes people are absent minded and they forget to renew their license. If they do they are instant criminals, their firearms are confiscated and may even serve jail time. This bill gives people a second chance.” The considered legislation will also merge the Possession Only License (POL) and the Possession and Acquisition License (PAL), so people who didn’t have to take a test (Firearms Safety or Firearms Handling) will no longer be limited. It will also require mandatory firearms safety courses for all first-time gun owners, which means the abandonment of the challenge provision. “It’s stupid, expensive and useless to mirror imposition on honest people. Most young people historically learn from their parents, aunts or uncles. This bill eliminates the possibility of challenging, which several of us in the Firearms Advisory Committee (FAC) pointed out could hurt young applicants in small communities around Canada,” Mr. Maser said. A lack of firearm safety instructors has already proven to be a challenge, especially for isolated northern communities. Steven Blaney, conservative and minister of public safety, (the group spearheading the bill) has made comments to an unidentified source that he intends to eliminate these challenges. Another part of the bill will make transportation of guns part of the licence. Nathan Cullen, New Democrat MP for Skeena-Bulkley Continued on page 2
Photo by Rebecca Watson
FALCONRY: Cameron Schalmp, Gr 12 student, holds Shay, a trained one-and-a-half year old red-tail hawk, used in the falconry course at Northside Christian School in Vanderhoof.
Hunt with Shay, bird-of-prey Rebecca Watson Omineca Express Hunting is a popular sport in Vanderhoof but only a hand full of students are learning it ‘bird-of-prey’ style. Falconry dates back thousands of years and means to hunt wild quarry using a trained bird. A falconer flies a
falcon and an austringer flies a hawk, just as students at Northside Christian School do with Shay, a one-and-a-half year old red-tail. Part of the course is raptor identification, bird anatomy, trapping and caring for the bird. However, training the bird to hunt proves to be the most
exciting part of the class. Jaedon Voth, Gr 12 student, says the only way to train him is to use positive reinforcement. “Their only interest is food and they will always want to feel full so that’s why positive reinforcement works. Continued on page 2
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