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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-11-12 AgendaCLARINGTON FIREARMS SAFETY COMMITTEE Meeting November 12, 2003 @ 7:00 p.m. 1. Copy of letter from Richard Stephenson Reply letter from Patti Barrie, Municipal Clerk 2. Investigate possibility for a fine for hunters not having permission slips on private property. 3. Discussion of Report to Council. 4. Schedule next meeting Members Tom Vendrasco Councillor Robinson Candice Doiron Craig Greentree John Almond Greg Farrant Tracy Adams John McKelvey Eric Atkins John Payne Richard Stephenson Ron Alldred Attachments Municipal Law Enforcement Division Municipal Council Secretary Durham Regional Police Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario Federation of Angles and Hunters - Local Farmer Licenced Trapper Citizen Citizen Citizen President, Orono Fish and Hunt Club Letter from Richard Stephenson Letter from Patti Barrie, Municipal Clerk h Leading the Way September 17, 2003 Mr. Richard Stephenson Dear Mr. Stephenson: RE: MEMBERSHIP ON THE CLARINGTON FIREARMS SAFETY COMMITTEE, OUR FILE: C06.FI It has come to my attention that you and Eric Atkins have submitted a letter, resigning from the membership of the Clarington Firearms Safety Committee. I would encourage you to continue the work which you have begun with the members of the Committee. Withdrawing your membership would be doing a great disservice to the residents of the municipality, as they would not be represented on the Committee. This Committee was formed as a result of the concerns which you brought forward to the Members of Council, and I encourage you to continue in the capacity which you have been appointed in order for the Committee to be able to fulfill its mandate. cc: Councillor G. Robinson GORFORAT iON OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET. BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T (905) 623-3379 , t To: Clarington Firearms Safety Committee c/o Councilor Robinson Date: September 5, 2003. Subiect: Public Safety Issue cc: MPP- John O'Toole, Clarington Council On behalf of Erik Atkins and myself, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our safety concerns and to make our suggestions for improving the safety of our community within the Municipality of Clarington. We will not be attending the future meetings of this committee since we are only 2 votes within thh committee of 12 and we feel that we have contributed all that we can. In fact, Councilor Robinson stated during the last committee meeting that Erik and myself were the only 2 present of 6 people in Clarington who have stated that they have felt their safety has been jeopardized by the actions of hunters that discharge long range firearms near our homes, trespass, and let dogs run at large through our property. The concern for public safety in the growing communities of Clarington has been an issue for many years. A number of people have expressed their concerns; please see Councilor Robinson to verify this claim as he was presented with copies of over 60 letters from Clarington citizens concerned with public safety: re hunting. The solution to this problem must ultimately come from Clarington Council and the Provincial govenunent. We hope that the Clarington Firearms Safety Committee will carefully review the enclosed list of our suggestions and make recor,!mendations to improve the safety of our community. Clarington should pass a bylaw to ban the use of long range guns within the municipality of Clarington. Then both Clarington and the Province need to find a way to effectively enforce this resolution. Please take the first step to preventing a serious accident. .ng. ECEIVED SEP 0 5 2003 MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON COUNCILLOR'S OFFICES Insert in Fire Arms By -Law --- Shotguns only for pleasure hunting in Clarington History. In the past hunters could only discharge shotguns and low power rimfire 22s below highway #7. Then the MNR allowed high power center fire rifles up to .275 to be used for varmint control. At that time the 218 Bee and the'22 Hornet were available, there was not that much of a choice to choose from. Now the military has developed new and powerful ammunition in this range, below the .275 caliber. This new high power ammunition is very vicious and made to kill people. Example. The .223 is used in the M-16 Military rifle. The muzzle velocity of many of the newer rifles are in the range of three to four thousand feet per second. Hunters can, and are discharging them in Clarington. The low power rimfire 22 has a muzzle velocity of 1335 feet per second with its most powerful long rifle ammunition, and as printed on the box it is dangerous up to 1.5 miles. If a low power rifle can be dangerous within 1.5 miles, then a high power rifle is dangerous for several miles. (Please see separate page enclosed) ---Allow farmers to use shotguns and or low power 22 caliber rimfire rifles to protect livestock and crops. Many farmers only have 22s for this purpose, and it would be unreasonable to ask them to take a course to get an acquisition license to purchase a shotgun. ---Allow gun clubs to discharge rifles for target practice, they have good back stops and we see no problem with being concerned with stray bullets. ---Stop any type of hunting from roads, including looking for animal tracks, or hunting dogs. Guns should be in sheath while in transit on roads. This would give an officer a chance to properly inspect for a loaded gun while on the road. It is harder to slip a gun in a sheath than to pop a bullet out of a chamber in a vehicle when another vehicle is approaching. --- Hunting dogs should not be allowed to run at large on anyone's property, any time, at will, just because it is a hunting dog. This is an MNR interpretation. It is causing great concern to farmers and land owners. It discriminates against a person walking their dog who have to have it on a leash. h is in direct conflict with the Trespass to property act, Livestock, Poultry and Honeybee Act and Claringtons Responsible Pet owners By -Law. It also infringes on the owners right's. THIS MUST BE RESOLVED. ---Permission form to be added to By -Law. One land owner and one hunter to each form. Police enforcement ---Past history has shown that the police will not go after an armed hunter. Therefore the Trespass to property act is not enforced. So the problem continues. Ask the Police how many hunters have been charged in the past ten years, then read the complaining letters from the residence. MNR enforcement ---Your complaint gets directed into voice- mail the first day. The second day Tim Boyd, (compliance officer) phones and takes your complaint again. It is then sent to Mitch Phinney (conservation officer) in Lindsay. Mitch phones the third day and complains that he is getting your complaint too late to do anything. If you phone on Saturday, their office is closed, add two more days. John Almond is correct in saying they often get the complaint a week later and by that time the trail is cold. However it's their system that fails, not that the complaint doesn't get there in time. By -Law Enforcement--- Even when we phone or complain about enforcement at the Town Hall. We have not seen any enforcement yet. If we complain to the police about the hunters, they say go to the MNR. If we complain to the MNR they say call the police they are closer. This is the total professional enforcement team that has been bestowed on the taxpayer. On January the 8th this year two young children were definitely put in harms way by a trespassing hunting party. A seventy year old man crawled down a bank to get a good look at one of the hunters to identify him and then became a witness. This is the only enforcement we have, it tells the whole story. This enforcement problem has to be addressed by Clarington council and the Provincial Government. It is beyond our control. At status quo without proper effective policing, you are gambling with human lives. How about hunters self policing? It works with other groups. The coyote hunters are entering the crown land through private property where they can hide their trucks. This occurs several times each winter when the crown land is closed for hunting. As suggested by Tim Boyd, some P.R. work should be done. We are suggesting that all land owners that abut the Crown land be sent a letter. Is it possible for a local system to be put in place so hunting complaints could be received and be distributed to the proper authorities? This way records could be kept and evaluated by Clarington to see how Police, MNR, and By -Laws are being enforced. 4 ' Y 6 5.56 NATO (.223) The 5.56 NATO (.233) is the work horse of the American Military, as well as the armies of many other countries, being the cartridge used in the M-16 Rifle, first adopted during the VietnamWar and now used in the weapons of many other countries. Click here to rend about Eugene Stoner inventor of the M16 / AR15 5.56 NATO) .2;23 Cal Temporary Cavity 3' Permanent Cavitv Fragmentation 12 �a..� j,..• Buffet Spots In Two z ,r . g For a little bullet, the 5.56 bullet produces quite dramatic wounds. While the traditional 30-06 caliber bullet of the M1 Garand and 7.62 bullet of the M14 rifle would immediately knock a man down, the 5.56 bullet instead enters the body, quickly turns sideways after passing through only 4" of flesh, then breaks in two major pieces, as well as many smaller fragments. During the Vietnam War, soldiers reported that shooting an enemy soldier with the M16 did not kill as quickly as the old 30 caliber weapons. Instead soldiers would follow a massive trail a blood a few feet away from where the enemy soldier had been hit to find him dead from massive blood loss. This light -weight cartridge permits soldiers to carry more ammo, but is not as effective at long distances as heavier cartridges and does not penetrate steel as well. The low recofl ;permits quick -follow-up shots and minimal muzzle climb during automatic fre. Click This is the end flap from a box of cartridges that fit in a �-- low power rimfire 22 rifle. Please note the danger range to be 1.5 miles. Now surely a high power bullet has a danger range of several miles. This is what is causing so much safety concerns, plus reckless trespassing hunters and their dogs. Once again houses, silos, cattle, sheds, dog's, even a window shot out of a truck while in the farmers field have occurred. When it comes to wayward bullets, the close ones count too. If you want verification of this, please ask councilor Robinson to see the sixty letters that he has from the concerned citizens. We really believe our request is reasonable, and achievable without interfering with hunting. Thank you for,Your time. zr'v Eric Atkins