Dropping RCMP firearms chief not political: Harper

A CTV co-host shares her view on the suspicious timing of the removal of the Mountie in charge of the RCMP firearms program and the allegation that the government is getting rid of people who take positions they don't agree with.

CTV National News: Daniele Hamamdjian reports

The federal government and the RCMP are denying any political motivation for the replacement of Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak as the RCMP's acting director for the Canadian Firearms Program.

CTV National News: Craig Oliver on the decision

CTV's chief political correspondent says most of the police officers he has spoken to, as well as a senior officer in N.B., believe the decision to replace Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak was politically motivated.

CTV News Channel: Strategists on the removals

Conservative Strategist Tim Powers and Dan Brock, Michael Ignatieff's former principal secretary, discuss the removal of Marty Cheliak, and whether or not it is a move to quash criticism plan to kill the long-gun registry.

CTV News Channel: Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Prime Minster Stephen Harper says the removal of Cheliak is not a political issue and the Tories are in favour of getting rid of the gun registry, but it in no way means they will abolish all measure against firearm control. He says in terms of staffing decisions, they are made by the RCMP.

CTV News Channel: David McGuinty, Liberal MP

The Liberals are accusing the Tories of playing politics with the gun registry. Liberal MP David McGuinty says the Conservatives have a habit of pulling people from their jobs when they dare to speak out and speak truth to power.

Watch: See all Videos in the Player

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Marty Cheliak speaking to the media outside the Mayerthorpe RCMP detachment Friday, March 4, 2005, when he was Alberta Superintendant for Western RCMP. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Wed. Aug. 18 2010 9:18 PM ET

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the replacement of the RCMP's acting director for the Canadian Firearms Program was a decision made by the Mounties, without political interference.

"This is an RCMP staffing matter, it's not a political matter," he told reporters at a news conference in Nova Scotia.

The Mounties announced Chief Supt. Jeff Francis is now serving as the acting director general of the Canadian Firearms Program, taking over for Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak.

Cheliak had been serving as head of the Canadian Firearms Program, which oversees the controversial long-gun registry, for the past year.

According to a release from the Mounties, the director-general position is a bilingual job and Cheliak "does not currently meet the linguistic requirements of the position."

The RCMP says it has identified a new director-general who will be announced shortly.

At present, Cheliak is on leave, after which "he will be pursuing French language training," the RCMP said in the release.

The change at the firearms program comes only weeks before Parliament is due to resume debate on a private member's bill to kill the long-gun registry.

Harper said that while the government favours the abolition of the long-gun registry, there are a number of firearms control measures it supports that will stay in place.

Liberal MP David McGuinty said it appeared there was a political dimension to removing Cheliak from his position with the firearms program.

And he thinks the Conservative government and RCMP Commissioner William Elliott "owe Canadians an explanation" as to why Cheliak was removed from his position.

"Why would this be happening? (Cheliak) has been a very diligent advocate for the continuation of the gun registry, for the improvement of the gun registry, for the refining of it," McGuinty told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday.

"The vast majority of Canadians believe there is a need for a gun registry in Canada."

McGuinty said the Liberal Party is calling for Cheliak's reinstatement.

Cheliak first joined the RCMP in 1979, completing his field training in Regina.

He then served in Manitoba, the Yukon, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Nunavut.

Last May, Cheliak appeared before a Commons committee, telling MPs the information provided by the registry "is vital to the prevention and investigation of crime related to firearems."

Cheliak was scheduled to speak at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in Edmonton next week, a speech that was to include information about the efficacy of the registry. He was also to receive an award for his work on firearms issues.

"Couldn't the language training wait another week?" wondered Canadian Police Association president Charles Momy.

It is unlikely Cheliak will deliver that speech as scheduled. However, an RCMP spokesperson said Cheliak can attend the conference to accept his award.

With files from The Canadian Press

Comments are now closed for this story

Darrell Hartwick
said

This is an excellent move. The police are here to enforce rules and should NOT get involved in politics. Cheliak did a lot to promote his career by promoting the billion dollar boondoggle that is this gun registry. It is good that he is gone and with any luck the registry will follow him down the drain.

Linda in Vancouver
said

So let me see if I get this Liberal message to police officers.If you are attending a crime scene, you go to the long gun registry.If there are no firearms listed in the registry,it's safe to enter the premises. Give me a break.Any real police officer doing a real job,who is inclined to follow that advice is clearly not smart enough to be an active police officer in almost any city I know. Criminals do not register their guns.How hard is that to understand?Frankly,if I were enforcing the law,I would proceed with my duties by assuming that there is a weapon at every crime scene.Registry notwithstanding,it's always wise to err on the side of saftey.If the registry gives a police officer a sense of security,it could easily do more harm than good. Just the same as the pedestrian who got run over stepping in front of a car."I had the right of way,how come I got run over?

Lest we forget
said

And the RCMP face pension clawbacks very similiar to our Combat Veterans. High time to start supporting those who put their lives on the line to protect us. The Vetererns only voice was silenced/fired by Mr Harper.

PaulAB
said

In All Honesty, who here really truly believes that a gun registry prevents crime? If you do then I think you should have to register vehicles to prevent people from drinking and driving too!! Oh wait, we do register vehicles and yet......hmmmm somehow people still perform criminal acts with them! And as sure as I am writing this, If I was to want a gun for criminal purposes I sure wouldnt be heading off to register the thing! It will just remain the gun the feds dont know about. Simply put.....more laws = more crimes/criminals = more revenue for lawyers=more administrative and policing costs=net gain of something negative that the tax payers get to pay for.

CMQ in NB
said

OK maybe McGuinty missed something here in demanding an explantion.... It's all about language. Some jobs just require being bilinguaI and the RCMP is one of them. I am not saying there wasn't any politics, there are always politics, the point I am trying to make is this, even though something is stated as obvious and there is no way to prove otherwise, what will be explained? The Liberals really need to come up with something more than this smoke and mirrors game if people will support them again. I used to be a strong supporter but am tired of no policies in favour of mudslinging. Please deal with the issue of the gun registry and where you stand on that issue. Then when you finally have policies in place let the people decide who they want to elect. We ARE SOOOOO lacking policy in this country.

Scott
said

Why do some people actually believe that the criminal element will stop being criminal because they have to register their guns?I guess that since we currently have gun registration laws there actually aren't gun crimes anymore! After all the criminal element all went out and registered their guns when the law was brought in.So isn't all of this a moot point?

Dude
said

Let us ask the OMBUDSMAN for his opinion. No, forget it! Let us ask the Complaints Commissioner....

Woolchester
said

I carry a possession only license. Registering handguns and other automatic weapons is a no-brainer for me. Do I appreciate 'big brother' telling me to register my long gun: no! I do not consider myself a 'redneck' but I do consider myself a responsible gun owner both before and after the gun registry. Most guns, used in crimes, are not registered. All the gun registry has achieved is the spending of millions of dollars and endless paperwork for honest Canadians. What felon has registered his/her firearm? This money could best have been spent elsewhere: healthcare, education, and infrastructure! Need I go on?!?

PV
said

I love how gun control advocates ignore all the statistics just to implement their own personal delusion that they are safer when only criminals carry guns. You think America is high in violent crime, yet the Leiden University in Holland study shows that industrialized nations with the most strict gun control laws have the highest per capita violent crime rate. Australia, England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Canada are ranked higher than America (which didn't even make the top ten list) in overall violent crime. In Britain, gun-related crime had risen more than fourfold in the UK from 1998-2007 after confiscating citizen's guns (google Ministers 'covered up' gun crime). Clearly gun control is not working. Ask yourself this... if you are about to be attacked, which you would rather have: a cell phone to call the police, or a gun. Open carry deters crime and that's a fact.

Stu from London
said

I don't like the government's decision, and I don't like the response from the Opposition.

Chris in Ontariariari-Oh!
said

More liberal hypocricy from David McGuinty as they are the one's pushing for bilingualism in the top echelons of government bureucracy.Their unwillingness to bend on biligualism in the Supreme Court is just one example.Just another way to ensure votes from Quebec at the rest of Canada's expense.If Harper were to try to overturn the R.C.M.P.'s decision the liberal's would say he didn't support official bilingualism,what a joke and these clowns want to run the country.It's a good thing my memory isn't failing me or I might forget all the crap they dished out the last time they were in power.

James Montreal
said

The vast majority of Canadians don't have a clear understanding of what the long registry is about. This program affects only long guns, restricted guns such as pistols and revolvers already have stricter laws and they are staying in place. The long gun registry only targets law abiding citizens, who already obey and conform to the gun act. If the majority of people knew what the huge cost to the tax payer was, and the little or no benefit it has to stopping crime, it would have been scrapped a long time ago.

cheryl9608
said

Good, get rid of biased civil servants, get rid of this dangerous registry, and leave my rights to own private property alone...I take it you are ok with me growing pot on my own private property.

GHW
said

When I was 12 years old in 1971 I took the hunters safety course and got my first pellet gun the following Christmas. Later I had a shot gun and a 22 for goose and chicken hunting. Like most long gun owners I was a responsible gun owner and when the long gun registry kicked in I reluctantly decided to just get rid of my guns. I did not want to have my name on some police watch list nor did I want to get arrested for owning a gun. The fear driven special interest groups living in big cities do not care about hunters and farmers rights, they are just mad about violent crime and long gun owners are easy targets. No pun intended. The fact is the registry does nothing to reduce crime and scrapping it doesn�t mean JP is going to be able to walk around with concealed hand guns. SCRAP THE LONG GUN REGISTRY. I want to go hunting again.

Island Man
said

Dictator & Bully= Harper....just saying

the big gulp
said

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the replacement of the RCMP's acting director for the Canadian Firearms Program was a decision made by the Mounties, without political interference.We all know Steve is telling the truth "this time". Conservatives, wake up and get a leader with conservative values and not some republican wannabe.

Paul West Coast
said

Give us a break, of course it was politically movtivated to remove the head of the long gun registry. Who do you think you are kidding Mr. Harper?

Cara
said

It is not a political move. It is standard staffing practice in the civil service, agencies, RCMP etc. that if the position is bilingual (which most are) you can only act in that position for a limited time until a bilingual incumbent is found to fill it. If he was bilingual, no problem, he would have been given the job permanently in the first place. He's not bilingual so he was acting until a bilingual person could be found to fill it. That's happened and now his acting time is up. Plain and simple, happens all the time to government employees at all levels. You can ask any civil servant in the NCR and they will tell you how it works with anglos and bilingual positions. Stop trying to make everything political and anti-Harper. This is most certainly not the case. Has been government policy since Trudeau.

Indigo
said

"Not political"...o.k., Steve, thanks for making that clear.

allan
said

The liberals are demanding the reinstatement of the fire arms chief by the RCMP. By saying this, the liberals are saying they would control the RCMP!

al
said

People need to be a bit logical about this and stop fear-mongering!! As a Police officer, I have used the Gun registry, several times, but it does not save lives and it is not useful. It is a huge waste of money.Remember, the officers that are shown supporting the registry are top management. On paper, the registry seems like it would work, but it is not practical and most front-line police would tell you it is not useful.Think about it, if you go to a house and search the firearms database, it comes back negative, do you think that the police should assume there are no guns there? There can never be a survey, but what percentage of criminals do you think take the time to register their guns?? On the other hand, there should be stats on how many crimes were comitted with registered guns?? My guess would be below 10%. HARPER is not talking about no gun control, but merely more effective gun control.az

Jim Kane
said

And the Pope isn't Catholic??? Give me a break Mr. Harper, your vendetta against anyone who may disagree with you, shows a consistent pattern of petty revenge.

Ryan
said

Do not say that supporters of this are clueless!! I am a FAC carrying Saskatchewan hunter. I am not too ignorant too realize that my rifles are killing machines and the RCMP have EVERY right to know where they are. If the RCMP says that its a useful program then who are we to say it isnt??? Answer that please before you go off on a redneck tirade about your rights.... READ THE CONSTITUTION... not a word about gun ownership in there

Barb Miller
said

Not Political! Does Harper think we are STUPID?Of course it wasn't political when he replaced the brave, out-spoken Veteran's Ombudsman Ret. Col. Stogran either. Or when Harper replaced the Governor General or when he fired Doug Tripple and David Rotor. Funny thing about Harper speak up against ANY of his policies and your GONE.And these five are the tip of the iceberg, really...Well I say it's time we Canadians replace Harper

Graham
said

Fact is Mr. Cheliak grossly overstepped his bounds by personally and arbitrarily reclassifing firearms from restricted to prohibited status, The Norinco T-97 and the High Standard 10B 12 guage shotgun come to mind in the last few months. It is not the job of the police to CREATE LAW or policy. it is their job to enforce the laws. end of story.

Allan Eizinas
said

Yesterday, Pat Stogran (Veterans Ombudsman) and to-day Marty Cheliak (RCMP). They are both in good company. Others who took their responsibility seriously, took the government to task and suffered for it, include Bernard Shapiro (ethics), Munir Sheikh (StatsCan), Peter Tinsley (military police complaints), Kevin Page (budget office), Paul Kennedy (RCMP complaints), and Marc Mayrand (chief electoral officer). In this Harper government the message is loud and clear; Speak truth to power � and get fired!

Matt
said

Hey David McGuinty: Care to site even ONE poll that shows Canadians are in favour of the long gun registry? A CTV Question Period poll asked that very question a few months back. IIRC there were somewhere around 30,000 votes with a little over 95% in favour of SCRAPPING the Long Gun Registry.

P in Ottawa
said

Here is a question I have yet to see anyone ask the police.If an officer responds to a domestic disturbance he/she will check the database to see if a firearm is registered at that address.If a firearm is registered the officer will approach with caution. This even though a firearm may or may not be involved in the incident.Ok make sense so far.However if the database says No firearms at that address, all police training manual and procedure say, �approach with caution, as a firearm may be present� the latter being an un-registered gun.Ok my point is this, regardless of what the registry says, police procedure are assume a firearm is present (and any officer that has been doing his/her job for a while will tell you the same).So if police are responding to a situation and procedure says always assume firearms are present, then why bother with the registry?

al
said

This happens on a daily basis. The Liberals should do some research before spouting off on something they know nothing about. Unfortunately it is a reality that there are many positions in the RCMP that you need to have French for. I know an officer that will have to move his family to another location just because 86% of the jobs in certain areas of the RCMP need french. By the way, this area only has 4% that only speak french and it is in Ontario. There are many issues with the language laws in NE Ontario. The Chief Sup. is just another casualty of the French only club.az

JP
said

HARPER is running scared-This will all come back to BITE HIM in the next election He has destroyed the RCMP, sold out to Americans and has divided Canada like never before.He treats the Vets, The RCMP and anyone else that speak against him like trash. SHAME on you and your Party

Jim in the West
said

While I don't agree with JP's sidearm choices, I too am waiting for the day that Concealed Carry is legal in Canada. I have tremendous respect for our law enforcement officers, but lets face it people - you investigate crimes that have happened far more often than you prevent them. I trust you to keep my society functional, but I can not trust you with my safety. If 'trouble' should come for me and my family one day, I have far more faith in my firearms to keep me alive then I do my telephone and a 911 call.

GHW
said

Finally one of my favorite topics. I for one can�t stand the fact that a bunch of ill-informed special interest groups and their fear ridden minions living in big cities can make irrational unfounded laws like the long gun registry. When I was 12 years old in 1971 I took the hunters safety course and got my first pellet gun the following Christmas. Later I had a shot gun and a 22 for goose and chicken hunting. I like most long gun owners was a responsible gun owner and when the long gun registry kicked in I decided to just get rid of my guns, why? Because I didn�t want to have my name on some police list to be randomly discriminated against. Nor did I want to get arrested for owning a gun that I, my father and his father before him had the right to own without discrimination. Off course the police like the registry. Any information is helpful but this doesn�t make it necessary or right. This country is for the people not the police or fear driven special interest groups. SCRAP THE LONG GUN REGISTRY!!! I want to go hunting again.

Lindsay Gray
said

I have to laugh when I read that a police officer (such as Cheliak, in this case) is a "strong supporter of the gun registry."
It's something like saying a policeman is a strong supporter of licence plates on cars, or a policeman is a strong supporter of a computer database for criminals.
Of course the police (with perhaps some very few exceptions in detachments in rural Canada) want to have the long-gun registry. Why would the police NOT want all the power and information that is possible at their disposal. So the fact the police, or a senior officer, "strongly" wants a rifle registry is hardly a balanced and objective argument for its existence.
If it were possible, the cops would love to know what room in the house you're sleeping in !!

The Other Lowell in BC
said

so the issue here isn't his bilingual status but more to the point, his political views which just happen to be contrary to Harper's. We have a PM who makes a mockery out of anything that is democratically based. When can we get rid of him.

Henry Wysmulek
said

WendysaidBut Canadian police are adamant that the registry, which requires gun owners to register each rifle or shotgun, is needed to protect the lives of police officers and citizens. --------------------------------------------------------------Most police automatically assume you have weapons before going in, the ones that do not are usually the ones we read about in the news.Britain has proven that total gun bans are ineffective at reducing crime or deaths, as we witness over and over and over again.Stop listening to the propaganda.

Dave in Calgary
said

Has anyone really looked at all the changes the Tories have made in the Civil service over the last 4 years. It is scary. It is only now that some of these changes are becoming public.The government has chosen to govern by regulation. The Government of Canada has fundamentally been changed without the public's knowledge or approval.

Tim
said

As Inevitable as the sun rising the next day, here come the lefties where their harebrained conspiracy theories and their perpetual "Blame Harper" comments on almost everything they disagree with. It's entirely predictable that these comments would show up.

Paul out West
said

The Conservatives have such an ideological bent. Anyone who speaks out in a positive way in support of good public safey policy such as the long gun registry is silenced. The Conservatives rule like a dictatorship. All Canadian Police Organizations across Canada support the long gun registry but the Conservatives are bent.

Jamie, Ottawa
said

The government appears to be in full on panic mode. Support is slipping, they recognize their time may be coming to an end soon so they're scrambling - stats can, now this - anything that attempts to disprove their distortions by showing the facts is under attack. Once this government is defeated and its dirty secrets revealed we're going to be stuck with Liberal governments for a long time. Those of us who consider ourselves progressive conservatives don't have a home in federal politics anymore and incredibly the Liberals are looking like the safer vote.

TEA in SK
said

Good, get rid of biased civil servants, get rid of this dangerous registry, and leave my rights to own private property alone...

S. Humane
said

So two kids die from bullying related suicide.A teacher from Peterborough is allowed to teach five years even though he has been red flagged for asking female students to sleep over among loads of other tell tail delights...he is convicted on repeat offences. The administators are allowed to get off scott free.A school principal throws dog dirst at a child....nothing happens, she is allowed to collect $150,000 job.A school board has lost $800,000 to theft over ten years.I think the RCMP could be spending their resources far better on a ONTARIO INVESTIGATION UNIT to solve ONTARIO SCHOOL CRIME. How many kids do you think will be gun down in Ontario this school year? How many more sex offenders will be allowed to teach in Ontario schools?Ask your MPP and see if they are as clueless as the reast of Canada. All this is public knowledge that we prefer not to hear.

B. Kelley, Ontario
said

@Wendy - There is absolutely no correlation between registering firearms and crime prevention. Criminals don't register their guns and law abiding citizens don't commit crimes with them. The only reason that the Police Chiefs of Canada endorse the registry is because the computer system used by the registry is the product of one of their major sponsors. Money talks. Ask any front line police officer and he will tell you that they ALWAYS assume that there is a gun in a car, a home or on a person they are dealing with. They do not rely at all on the registry because any potential weapon is unlikely to be registered and would not show up on the system. Expecting the worst and hoping for the best is a police officer's best friend.

Intelligent Liberal
said

Harper thinks he can fix the problem with a bandaid solution by replacing the UNI ANGLO RCMP Gun Head with a proper bilingual one, but there is a lot more to the problem. The firearms themselves were purchased in FOREIGN COUNTRIES and are not properly bilingual, stenciling needs to be translated on all weaponery. Plus the gun registry needs to be fully re-instated in order to stop crime against women.

dean in NL
said

and now for more verbal diarreia.......Wendysaid But Canadian police are adamant that the registry, which requires gun owners to register each rifle or shotgun, is needed to protect the lives of police officers and citizens. Harper is putting police officer's lives at stake all in the name of gaining votes. It's a shame what Harper is doing to Canada, soon our gun laws will resemble the US & along with that will come the increased crime rate that the US has, Harper policies will only make our streets more dangerous. We need an election before Harper destroys anymore of our great nation.

JP
said

@Luc. I'm not trying to scare people!! HA HA HAHAHA HAHAHA. Wow man. What did i say that was scary? Is it scary for you to think of someone with a gun? The thought alone scares you? I was being earnest serious...I can NOT wait to carry on my person the MANY hand guns I already own and shoot IN the city at the range several times a week. I weekly drive RIGHT through the city to the range with SEVERAL HAND GUNS in my car, and sometimes my XCR 5.56 assault rifle too, and take them out of my trunk at the public parking lot at the range, and go inside and shoot hundreds to thousands of rounds. You must be thinking you're dreaming a nightmare by now! Yes, Canadians can LOVE guns too!

Prof Dis Gusted
said

Yep, can't have someone in charge of something that might know what they are talking about and a proponent for, when the gov't in power is trying to axe the program. Mr. Harper isn't this is just another in the string of cases where public servants were fired or moved because they tried to do their job?No surprises here...

Bucko
said

Rich in Ottawa: You are bang on in your assessment.

JR from Pointe Claire
said

Marty Cheliak was one hell of a good RCMP Member and cop when stationed in Manitoba at Winnipegosis & Swan River in the 1980's. Very well liked and a keen Constable in those days. He progressed through the ranks after leaving Manitoba because of hard work and determination. Too bad - the bilingual crap had to surface in that political "Hot Potato" position that he was transferred to! Good luck Marty!

Luc from Carp
said

One guy gets reassigned for administrative reasons and watch all the opportunists trying to hijack that to promote their own little self-serving agenda. NO, this does not mean a hidden agenda for Canadian gun laws to become like those of the US. And NO this does not mean we are on the verge to allow people to carry concealed weapons. It DOES mean some guy was due for his second language course, and bureaucratie prevailed over all other consideration. Wendy and JP, you can both stop trying to scare people.

Steve in Manotick
said

Just another example of the IRON FIST control of Harper and his bullies trying to rid the ranks of dissenters either nod and yield or you get your back side fired..So much for a democracy..

Joe Szentirmay
said

The long gun registry is redundant,useless and a waste of resources.Anyone that owns any kind of firearm in Canada must have a Firearms License.The database indicating who has a Firearms Licence is available to the police.Why anyone would suggest that eliminating the Long Gun Registry would endanger the lives of the police is beyond comprehension.They are simply lying,very sadly misinformed, or trying to brainwash the public.I have faith that common sense will prevail over political correctness.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

@ Wendy: What's your intense political paranoia rooted in? According to past fearful diatribes, the vast majority of Canadians sit left of the ideological center and, therefore, aren't of the gun-toting, redneck sort that make up Conservative supporters. Are you afraid that all your liberal (Liberal) and socialist (NDP) pals are going to run down to Frank's Gun Emporium and buy a gang-banger special or human hunting rifle? Have more faith in the collective mentality of your own flock, Wendy. In terms of "support" for the Registry, we all know that police associations formally back it (despite internal dissent) because, well, like the information freeloaders who are ticked off at being denied access to a pool of government-obtained long-form census information, however overrated and useless it ultimately is, police forces like having simple access to ANY information...even if it doesn't ACTUALLY produce any worthwhile return. The alleged accessing of the Registry "11,000 times per day" represents fingering a few keys for any genuinely unrelated reason. (The urban usage of handguns is the most important murderous societal culprit, and one the Registry avoids.) Despite the efforts of bumbling Michael Ignatieff, eight sitting Liberals voted last November to abolish the Registry, not simply "fix" it. We all know that the Registry is an expensive Liberal joke, Wendy, but we don't expect you to ever be able to admit it.

Edb(Hamilton)
said

JP, I respect what you say (and your choice of sidearms) although I prefer the Israeli method of carrying. No concealment, out in the open, rifle over the shoulder. My SKS may garner a few awkward glances but I'm sure the "aggressive" pan-handlers might think twice before begging for cigarette money.

GUTSHOT!! in Thunder Bay
said

Well said JP! We all need to be able to carry concealed here in Canada. Its the only way to defend yourself against the onslaught of criminals we see littering the news every day. Just think about it... you call the cops why? Because they have guns to defend you. Anyone notice how long it takes for cops to get there? When seconds count, cops are minutes away. Be a prudent Canadian and arm yourself, be prepared, and stop listening to liberal anti gun nuts. Its not guns that make the US full of criminals, its the people that live there. Compare their demographics to ours and form your own conclusions. And finally, if Harper is responsible for this shift of power.... Im very, very pleased with him!! This is what the people want, people run this country, not the RCMP. Cant wait to see our citizens armed and protected for a change.

Henry Wysmulek
said

Hopefully the rest of the liberal dictators follow close behind him!

Steven Lee
said

"Vic Toews says the change in management was an RCMP Deicision" ... and StatsCan supported the dropping of the mandatory long form census!

Samual
said

They'll look hard & find a cop that is against the gun registry & put him in charge. You can bet this order came from Harper who wants Canada to have the same gun related violence as the US. This must be the reason for the new prisons, for all the extra crimes that will be committed once the gun registry is scrapped.

Doug # BC
said

I could easily be mistaken,but I think the majority of the people who work in this department work in Quebec.Speaking French would be a big help. It's not easy to support a bilingual policy from western Canada.Not because people object to it so much,but because it has been handled very poorly for a very long time.Before the Liberals made all these jobs "officially" bilingual jobs, they should have strengthened the education system so more people would learn both official languages.The policy should have been worked from the ground up,not the top down.I think a lot of military people were also adversely impacted when this policy first became law. But rather than getting our knickers in a knot over this issue,we should be addressing the bill currrenty before Parliament that would require ALL SCOC judges be bilingual.It is being pushed by the BLOC,with the support of the Liberals and the NDP.I think it is a payoff to the BLOC for their continued support of the Liberal Party. But it is extremely dangerous to our separation of the justice system from the political system.It also virtually eliminates EVERY judge in western Canada from ever being accepted.While I support bilingual policy in general,the level of French required by the "coalition" is so high that only people who work in French every day could possibly meet the criteria.Conversation French is a far lower bar than the one required to be met in this bill. Just another kick in the ass for the west.We are to "be seen,but not heard".So much for the equality and unity that Liberals so often claim the moral high ground on. This will make SCOC nominations here just as political as they are in the USA.

simon
said

The FRENCH language was not an issue when he was appointed One Year ago, but it sure is now because Cheliak has been showing his opposition to the scrapping the LONG GUN REGISTRY. The bottom line is this: No senior civil servant is allowed to have any opinion that is different from that of Steve Harper"s. We have seen this manifest itself many times in the past with this government.

RICH - Ottawa
said

Come on! You have got to be joking!!! Are we, the Canadian public, as stupid as the government believes us to be? This is a pure political move and nothing else. This is govenment interference at its worse, or best, depending on how you look at it. The government is trying to remove any opposition to their policies where they can. How much more evidence do we need to completely reform the RCMP and cut off the federal government ties! Language training my ass! Language training is code in the RCMP for purgatory. When someone is sent to language training, it is to remove them from their post because they ticked off the commissioner. The puppet strings from the government to the RCMP are clearly visible. What a farce, I mean force!

wilson
said

'Queue the harebrained Liberal conspiracy theorists'and their friends in the media

Dr. K
said

I hope that Chief Supt. Jeff Francis goes after the criminals and leaves the law abiding gun owners alone.NO MORE RCMP CONFISCATIONS!!!!!!We were promised the long gun registry would never lead to confiscations. I am ashamed to see the second round of confiscations from law abiding Canadians happening in my lifetime.

Wendy
said

But Canadian police are adamant that the registry, which requires gun owners to register each rifle or shotgun, is needed to protect the lives of police officers and citizens. Harper is putting police officer's lives at stake all in the name of gaining votes. It's a shame what Harper is doing to Canada, soon our gun laws will resemble the US & along with that will come the increased crime rate that the US has, Harper policies will only make our streets more dangerous. We need an election before Harper destroys anymore of our great nation.

Paul
said

Yep.....the current firearms act has to go.It is by all definitions.......useless. Those who support it have zero clue about firearms and the how they relate to crime. That is why most firearm related charges get dropped before going to court because they just won't stand up."Gun registration saves lives"......HA HA HA HA

Paul
said

Transferring him to a new department,ok, but don't make the man after so many years in the RCMP learn french.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

Queue the harebrained Liberal conspiracy theorists.

JP
said

Can't wait for the day we get concealed carry permit in Canada! I'll be strapped with my PX-4 Storm everywhere I go! Or my big Sig P220 in winter time. Hopefully they'll be putting someone in that RCMP position who supports freedom and morality!

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