I'm Erin O'Toole, a candidate for CPC leader, and this is my firearms policy

[ErinOTooleCPC]

Hello members of Gun Owners of Canada.

My name is Erin O'Toole and, as some of you may have heard, I am running to lead the Conservative Party of Canada

I am the only candidate with a detailed firearm policy, and when I say I will overhaul the existing system, I mean it. In that spirit, I am inviting you to read about how I plan to stand up for you at www.erinotoole.ca/firearms. I welcome your questions and feedback on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/erinotoolecpc

A bit about me: I was born in Montreal, raised in small-town Ontario and served and studied across the country. After high school, I enrolled in the Royal Military College and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, where I was a navigator on a Sea King Helicopter.

In 2012, I ran for Parliament in the riding of Durham and was later appointed Minister of Veteran Affairs. I am now running to lead the Conservative Party of Canada.

The grassroots members have a big role to play in setting party policy. I want you to know I am on your side. If you have been waiting for a candidate who will call out the Liberals for trying to claim that more regulations on YOU will reduce crime, I am your candidate. To win this leadership race, I will need your support. If you support my policy and want an ally as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, take out a membership and donate $22 or whatever you can spare on my website today at www.erinotoole.ca

Sincerely,

Erin

P.S. I will come back in a few days and also answer questions in this thread. There is also a dialogue happening on my FB page about this issue that you're welcome to be part of: https://goo.gl/LGZhDL

[GonZo]

Welcome to the forum. I just read your rather short policy that does not have much in the way of specifics. One question that I would have is what is your view on the AR-15 and it's status as a restricted firearm? This simple answer would tell a lot of where you stand on firearms issues.

Asking here as facebook is not my thing.

[lone-wolf]

It's pretty awesome to see you join, I hope you stick around for longer than to pimp out your fb page.

I'll parrot GonZo's question on the ar15. I can hunt with my mini14, why shouldn't I be able to do the same with my ar15?
There's dozens of questions on firearms alone. Your detailed answer on that would indicate whether it's lip service to us or not.

Edit:
With the candidates running around, there's going to need to be another long gun registry destroying level promise to get our attention.

Have a read through the forums here and CGN, sift through some non-sense(although we don't argue about whether or not the word fart is offensive...) and you'll find some of the most informed, dedicated, and underrepresented voters out there.

[CobraGuy]

Interesting. Would like to hear more details on your plan before I donate.

[CLW .45]

In response to one of your campaign emails I wrote this:

Erin,

Please understand this. Firearms law, as it stands, is designed to disarm our nation. That is unacceptable.

Anything that is done with the law and regulations must, yes must, include the following:

1. "Need must be removed from sections 20 and 28 of the act.

2. Prohibition must be repealed.

3. Criminalization of mere possession must be repealed.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to write.

Thanks,

Wayne

And your response is?

[Wendell]

...My name is Erin O'Toole and, as some of you may have heard, I am running to lead the Conservative Party of Canada. I am the only candidate with a detailed firearm policy, and when I say I will overhaul the existing system, I mean it. In that spirit, I am inviting you to read about how I plan to stand up for you at www.erinotoole.ca/firearms. I welcome your questions and feedback on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/erinotoolecpc...

That is probably awesome for people on Facebook.

Standing Up for Firearm Owners

I will fight the Liberals and defend law-abiding firearm owners.

As Prime Minister, I will end the politicization of firearms and rollback measures that have no impact on public safety. Within 180 days of forming government, I will overhaul the classification system to ensure that it is clear, fair and has law-abiding firearm owners directly involved in the process. Will you stand with me and support my campaign to lead the Conservative Party by purchasing a membership and making a donation?

Canada is a nation with proud rural and outdoor traditions. Learning to hunt or target shoot with a family member is a way of life for millions of Canadians and must be respected. Firearm owners, be they hunters, farmers or sport shooters are among the most law-abiding citizens in Canada.
As leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, I will:

Oppose efforts to reverse the former Conservative government’s policy advances on firearms, including new restrictions on transportation and use, which I will repeal within 180 days of forming government.
Oppose regulations that do not advance public safety and instead penalize law abiding firearm owners. This includes the arbitrary reclassification of firearms and magazines.

As Prime Minister of Canada I will:

Commission an expert-driven redesign of firearm classification based on a clear legislative definition of the term “variant” in consultation with manufacturers, owners and law enforcement.
Mandate a return to the 180-day period for the re-designed classification system to release firearm import decisions and put final authority for classification decisions back in the hands of cabinet.
Focus the resources of the federal government on criminals engaged in the trafficking and use of illegal firearms instead of imposing more layers of bureaucracy on law-abiding Canadians.
Support specialized illegal firearms enforcement led by the CBSA and RCMP working closely with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, to target smuggling operations before illegal firearms reach the border.


<https://erinotoole.ca/policy/firearms/>

Anybody who isn't on Facebook - being unable to leave any comment there - can leave a comment on his website.

https://erinotoole.ca/contact/

[Zinilin]

Erin;

In the last policy convention a number of amendments on firearms were voted, almost unanimously, into the party policy. The amendments included “A Conservative government would streamline firearms classification by adopting the Simplified Classification System.”

Yes or No question...

Will you commit to introducing the enabling legislation for the Simplified Firearms Classification System within your first two years as government leader?

[Zinilin]

Erin;

Essay Question...

What legislation will you introduce in your first three years as government leader to decriminalize the ownership, possession and storage of firearms by Canadians?

[TJSpeller]

Mr. O'Toole, thank you for coming onto the Gun Owners of Canada web site. To my limited knowledge, I believe that's the first time any significant politician has come here, identified themselves by name, and asked for input. Thank you for doing that. It shows me that you take gun owners seriously as a key part of the CPC base.

I would echo Zinlin's question. Do you understand the significance of, and agree to support, the changes passed in the last CPC Policy Convention in Vancouver with respect to firearms, ESPECIALLY the Simplified Classification System, which is very important as it would eliminate the RCMP's seemingly unlimited and arbitrary power to define any firearm as a variant of any prohibited and restricted firearm.

And please do bear in mind that many of us (and not only gun owners) intentionally DO NOT use FACEBOOK and never intend to. I have been disappointed to see many politicians in the past few years migrate most of their online activity to Facebook because it's convenient and easy. This is a mistake, as it will shut out some of your audience, and arguably it would disproportionately shut out people who are inclined to listen to your message as a conservative.

[Strewth]

Hello Erin, welcome to the forums. Great to see a leadership candidate taking the time to open themselves to the online firearms community.