Maclean’s: Conservatives made deal to quiet dissent on C-51, gun group says

Conservatives offered a deal with the National Firearms Association to quiet C-51 dissent, and then broke their promise.  Article by Laura Payton for Maclean's The president of the National Firearms Association says the Conservative government offered to make changes to its gun licensing bill if the NFA held its fire on the controversial bill C-51, then reneged on the agreement.

Sheldon Clare, who is running as an independent candidate in British Columbia’s Cariboo-Prince George riding, posted the details of the alleged arrangement to quell dissent about C-51 on his Facebook page Monday. Clare said the NFA’s opposition to C-51, which became law in June, was well known, and that there were “great legal minds” already arguing for changes. But the organization also decided to cancel its committee appearance to discuss C-51 because the government offered to make changes to C-42, another bill that worried the NFA.

A lawyer for the NFA had been scheduled to appear before the House public safety committee last March, along with Open Media, another opponent of the bill. C-51 gave sweeping police powers to Canada’s intelligence agencies and offers no corresponding increase in oversight, raising the ire of privacy advocates.

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