Bruce Montague writes...

I cannot directly answer most points about this case. That is not an admission of guilt or criminal intent; it's a matter of not letting the crown know ahead of time what my defence is. Many of these "accusations" are inflammatory in nature, because they are not even crimes.

The following comments from the users of an online discussion forum provide possible insights into the police charges.

DaveGP

I have always assumed people were innocent until proven guilty.

Why are we so prepared to believe newspaper stories based on chest-pounding statements to the press from the police and/or government-appointed Crown prosecutors? (as in "25,000 rounds of ammo = wow! it is to quiver and shake and give thanks to the Lord and premier Dalton for once again protecting us from our enemies").

Another more likely view is that these are garbage charges set up add to Bruce's attorney's workload, make him use up his resources faster, and set up a plea bargain which will send a message to other dissidents while at the same time avoid having to take the fundamental injustice of Canada's firearms laws up to to the Ottawa Supreme Court.

I hate to see one of our own who is putting up a lot of his life on the line for our freedoms being slagged because of this BS. After all these are Paper laws.

JohnC

Be patient. How many times have we seen bogus charges heaped on gun owners, which makes impressive front-page news, especially for a very unpopular provincial government. Later on, the charges are usually tossed out, but the media reports it in a three-line article on page 42. The public never notices that part.

Consider the mag capacity charges for a moment. How many of us here have legal, pinned, normal capacity magazines that couldn't be returned to prohibited status with a drill or grinder in less than 30 seconds? Maybe the mags ARE blocked, but the Crown is trying to attack Bruce based on the PERMANENCE of the modification - this could have an impact on many of us if a court decides that rivets, glue, welding, etc., are not "permanent" enough. Perhaps the police have misidentified the magazines (semi-auto versus bolt-action), which has certainly happened before and resulted in charges. Perhaps the mags are dual-use - they fit two different types of firearm, but could be considered "overcapacity" for one of them. Perhaps they are unassembled parts - just mag bodies, followers, springs, etc., sitting in plastic bags. How many on this board have mag components sitting around that would be illegal if assembled? I hope you get my point.

If I was the Ontario AG, I would be trying to drive a wedge between Bruce and his base of support (the firearms community), because this would impair the steady flow of donations. Make no mistake - the Crown wants Bruce to fold, and heaping on charges which paint him as a threat to society is exactly the way to do this. Bruce has no way to respond to the accusations and innuendo except in court. In contrast, the Crown can keep piling on charges and issuing new press releases pretty much at will.

I know we are all law-abiding on this board, but think about what a government-issued press release might say about YOU, if you were in this situation. Inflammatory terms like "assault-type rifle", "sawed-off shotgun", "arsenal", "hidden room", etc., would probably be used for many people here.

Please - resist the temptation to judge, and instead leave that to the courts.

Plinker

As much as everyone tries to keep their nose clean, think about the photo op that would be created if your stuff was being hauled out the front door by the Boys in Blue.

Have you counted how many rounds of .22 (and other) ammo you've got at home? I would guess that most of the guys on this board have a few thousand rounds of "whatever" sitting at home. Sure, no one's breaking the law, but if you do get investigated for some infraction that involves firearms, be prepared for the seizure and the inflamatory photo op (as well as the torrent of criminal charges). It's the rule of "throw enough shit on the wall and something's bound to stick".

Until then, this guy is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

A-Zone

My grandfather used to reload like crazy. I can gaurentee you he had way more than 25,000 rounds in his house at one time. I saw a closet full (floor to ceiling) one time with boxes of just reload shotgun shells. This would not be the first time the police screwed up and pressed charges without knowing what they are talking about. I agree they are probably just trying to scare Bruce. We should all be showing support for somone that is fighting for the best interests of us all.

BothBarrels

I believe that Plinker has hit the nail on the head. Bryant and Dalton are really afraid that if this makes it to the SCC they will lose so they are trying to deprive Bruce of legal funding. How slimey can you get, oh I forgot they are Lieberals.

LCQ

What makes anyone think that NWEST would operate in anyway different? After all it's the same party in power now as was then.

RECCE