Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights

The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR) is a Canadian gun rights organization.

Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights
FormationAutumn 2015
FounderTracey Wilson
CEO & Executive Director
Rod Giltaca
Websitefirearmrights.ca

History

The organization was founded by Tracey Wilson in the autumn of 2015 shortly after the Liberal Party of Canada won the 2015 Canadian federal election, splintering from the National Firearms Association.[1][2] Rod Giltaca was the CCFR's first president and currently is the CEO and executive director.[3][4] Giltaca said he shot his first firearm in San Diego, California, and later "shifted [his] entire career to the firearms industry".[3]

In 2018, a Liberal fundraising email described the group as "Canada's NRA", referring to the National Rifle Association of America.[2] The CCFR responded by stating the Liberal Party was "using scare tactics like implying American lobby groups or politics are influencing Canadians or American style-gun laws are imminent".[5] The Liberal Party later stated that the reference to the NRA was about the Canadian gun lobby as a whole, rather than the CCFR specifically.[6]

In 2019, the organization encouraged members to make official complaints about medical doctor Najma Ahmed who was advocating for legal prohibition of assault rifles and pistols in Canada.[4] The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario rejected the complaints against Ahmed as "an abuse of process."[4]

The group is opposed to the federal government's Bill C-21 amendments for gun control.[7][8] In November 2022 Giltaca said, "[the government's] plan is to ban all firearms from civilian ownership in Canada," adding that ideology was driving the ban.[9]

Online code "POLY" controversy

In November 2022, the group promoted an online shopping discount code "POLY" in relation to the PolySeSouvient gun-control group. The group's name derives from the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, in which a gunman killed fourteen women.[10] Massacre survivor and gun-control advocate Nathalie Provost criticized The CCFR on December 2nd, describing the code as "incredibly disrespectful".[10][11]

On December 3, 2022, Montreal Canadians goaltender Carey Price posted on Instagram, expressing his support for the group and opposition to the Bill C-21 (firearms legislation) amendments. Two days later Price tweeted that he disagreed with the group's use of the promotional code.[7] Price then said he still stood by his opinion on the amendments, but acknowledged and apologized on Instagram to those impacted by the massacre.[12] On December 5, 2022, The group released a statement, clarifying that the code was a reference to PolySeSouvient's Twitter account, and not the Polytechnique shooting.[10][13][14]

On December 18, 2022, the Montreal Gazette issued a retraction of, and apology for, statements it previously published in a column that indicated the group's promo code was meant to reference and make fun of the mass shooting at École Polytechnique. It said that the promo code was instead a reference to PolySeSouvient's Twitter account.[15]

Organization

The organization rejects the politicization of gun control legislation and calls for evidence-led solutions.[16]

The group was described in the book Firearms Law and the Second Amendment as an "activist group".[17] In 2021, The Walrus described the CCFR as "Canada’s most prominent pro-gun group".[2]

References
  1. Gillis, Megan (August 14, 2016). "Ottawa's 'Gun Goddess' has sights set on reframing Canada's firearms debate". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  2. Somerset, A. J. (September 11, 2019). "Why Gun-Rights Advocates Partner With Islamophobic Groups". The Walrus. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  3. Naumetz, Tim (December 1, 2021). "Canadian leader of gun-rights group says he started out in U.S." iPolitics. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  4. "Regulator rejects complaints against Toronto doctor who called for gun ban after Danforth shooting". CBC. May 15, 2019. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019.
  5. Wilson, Tracey (April 7, 2018). "It's working; Trudeau targets CCFR in fundraising e-mail". Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  6. Naumetz, Tim (April 12, 2018). "Gun bill battle grows after 'Canada's NRA' reference in Liberal fundraiser". iPolitics. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  7. Beneteau, Josh (December 5, 2022). "Canadiens, Carey Price apologize for 'unfortunate timing' of social post on gun law". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  8. Raycraft, Richard (May 30, 2022). "Government tables bill to limit handguns, pledges to buy back assault-style weapons". CBC. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  9. "Gun group says firearms ban driven by ideology as government stresses public safety". CTVNews. November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  10. "Polytechnique mass shooting survivor slams gun rights group for using 'POLY' promo code". CBC. December 2, 2022.
  11. "Shooting survivor objects to firearm coalition's 'disrespectful' sales promotion". CTV News. December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  12. Stevenson, Verity (December 5, 2022). "Price apologizes, says he did know about Polytechnique shooting". CBC.
  13. Van Dyk, Spencer (December 6, 2022). "Feds mark 33rd anniversary of Polytechnique shooting amid contention over gun control legislation". CTVNews. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. Wilson, Tracey (December 5, 2022). "Statement on Promocode". Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  15. "Retraction and apology". Montreal Gazette. December 18, 2022.
  16. SCHWARTZ, N. S. AIMING FOR SUCCESS: Toward an Evidence-Based Evaluation Framework for Gun Control Policies. World Affairs, [s. l.], v. 185, n. 3, p. 442–470, 2022. doi:10.1177/00438200221107412. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=158246487&site=eds-live&scope=site. Acesso em: 7 dez. 2022.
  17. Mocsary, G. A., Kopel, D. B., Johnson, N. J., Kilmer, D. E., Wallace, E. G. (2021). Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy [Connected EBook]. United States: Wolters Kluwer.
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