Media Release
For immediate release: June 22, 2004
Women's groups from across Canada call on political leaders to stand firm on gun control.
Today, a letter to party leaders, stressing the importance of gun control to the safety of women and children was released publicly today. It was signed by over 70 women's organizations and leaders, including front line women's shelters from across the country.
Jan Reimer, Executive Director of the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters said: "We are alarmed by proposals to repeal Canada's gun control law and suggestions that there is a "right" to own guns in Canada. Nor can we pretend that guns are an urban problem only. Access to firearms is one of the top five risk factors in domestic homicide. Rifles and shotguns are the firearms most often used in these tragedies. In Alberta virtually every woman killed in domestic violence with a firearm has been killed with a rifle or a shotgun. We need to know who has what guns in order to reduce the chances they will be misused. You can't enforce prohibition orders if you don't know who has guns and what guns they have.
More than 70 women's organizations including front line shelters from across the country have defended this law as critical to preventing violence against women. While less than half of gun owners support the law, 77% of people LIVING WITH GUN OWNERS support it. This is not a partisan issue: politicians must remember that women vote too! No one wants to penalize law abiding gun owners. What we want to do is to protect women and children from being threatened and killed with guns."
The text of the letter is attached. They include national groups such as the National Association of Women and the Law, The National Action Committee on the Status of Women and the YWCA of Canada; Provincial Group such as the Provincial Association of Transition Houses of Saskatchewan, the New Brunswick Advisory Committee on the Status of Women, The Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Newfoundland's Provincial Association Against Family Violence, The Manitoba Association of Women's Shelters, the BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses, the Fédération des femmes du Québec, Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH) as well as local organizations and prominent women.
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To set up an interview, please call Patricia Poohachoff,Alberta Council of Women's Shelters Phone: (780) 456-7000
Open Letter Re: The Firearms Act and Regulations
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Mr. Gilles Duceppe
Mr. Stephen Harper
Mr. Jack Layton
Dear Sir,
The signatories to this letter are very concerned about plans to amend the Firearms Act and its Regulations. We strongly support the mandatory screening, licensing and renewal for all firearm owners as well as registration of all firearms contained in the current law. These measures are critical to enhancing the safety of women and we urge you to stand on principle on this matter.
One year after implementing major structural and administrative changes in the Canadian Firearms Centre, Canada can finally be proud of a comprehensive firearms’ law that puts public health and safety first and serves as a model for other countries. In short, the law is working:
· Over 2 million gun owners licensed and 6 million guns now registered;
· 525 fewer gun deaths (suicides, homicides, accidents) in 2001 compared to 1989 – a 60% decrease
· 40 fewer women per year shot each year, compared to 15 years ago;
· 100 fewer murders every year with rifles and shotguns;
· police are now using the licensing and registration database 1,500 times per day and are reporting on the successful use of this tool in fighting the illegal gun trade
Canadian women continue to support overwhelmingly the current firearms’ law, including registration of all firearms, notwithstanding the Auditor General’s report. Polls show that 80% of Canadian women, and 77% of people who live with an owner of guns, support this law. Women are very concerned about access to rifles and shotguns in cases of domestic violence and suicide:
· 88% of Canadian women killed with guns are killed with a shotgun or rifle, the very guns that opponents of the law say are not the cause of gun violence;
· access to guns is the fifth highest of 18 risk factors in spousal homicides;
· inquests into domestic violence (Kassonde children , Arlene May, Vernon massacre) revealed flaws in old law and recommended the changes found in current law: better screening of applicant through detailed questions, two references, spousal notification, and the registry of guns. Important information is not contained in police databases
· 50% of family homicides end in the suicide of the murderer, indicating that the key to protecting women and children is thorough screening in licensing and licence renewals for gun owners; 80% of the gun deaths in Canada are suicides, most using a rifle or shotgun that was readily accessible
· Although opposition to gun control is stronger where rates of gun ownership are higher (particularly in rural and western communities), women and children are particularly at risk from guns in the home in these areas.
We urge you to stand firm in defence of the current firearms’ law, and to demonstrate your party’s commitment to reducing violence and suicide in our families and our communities.
Signatories include:
National Associations
Sylvie Haviernick
PrésidenteFondation du 6 décembre contre la violence
Montréal, QC
Sungee John
National Action Committee on the Status of Women
Toronto ON
Bonnie Diamond
Executive Director
National Association of Women and the Law
Ottawa ON
Janice Alton
Co-Chair
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Toronto, ON
Elaine Teofilovici
CEOYWCA of Canada
Toronto ON
DAWN Canada: DisAbled Women's Network (CAN)
North Bay
Linda Silas
President
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions
Ottawa ON
Marie Clarke Walker
Executive Vice-President
Canadian Labour Congress
Ottawa ON
Kim Pate
Executive Director
Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies
Ottawa ON
Freda Gottsman-Brender
President
Jewish Women International of Canada
Downsview
ON
Catherine Laidlaw-Sly
National Council of Women in Canada
Ottawa ON
Alberta
Jan Reimer
Provincial Co-ordinator
Alberta Council of Women's Shelters
Edmonton AB
Cheryl Mahaffy
Words that Sing
Edmonton AB
Debra Tomlinson
Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres
Calgary AB
Liz McCord and Associates
Edmonton AB
Dr. Leslie Tutty
RESOLVE
Calgary AB
Kris Fowler
DirectorUniversity of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Kerry Barrett
Alberta Federation of Labour
Edmonton AB
Karen Pease
Executive Director
Community Crisis Society
Strathmore AB
Moriah Boyd
Executive Director
Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter
Red Deer
Sherwood Park AB
Irene Sevick, Ph.D, R.S.W.
Coordinator
FaithLink
Calgary AB
Donna Bradburn
Grande Cache Transition House
Grand Cache AB
Sr. Juliette Thévvenot
La Salle Residence
Edmonton AB
J. Dery
Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre
Cold Lake AB
Diane Broekaertafe Home
High Level, AB
Quebec
Michèle Asselin
Présidente
Fédération des femmes du Québec
Montreal QC
Assunta Sauro
Présidente
Centre des femmes italiennes de Montréal
Montreal QC
Marie Guylda Thélusmond
Coordinatrice
Fédération des ressources d’hébergement pour femmes violentées et en difficulté du Québec
Montreal QC
Monique Simard
Directrice
Maison Simone Monet-Chartrand
Chambly QC
Marylaine Léger
Directrice
Fondation Pleins Pouvoirs
Montréal QC
Eve-Marie Tremblay
Intervenante
Maison Tangente
Montréal QC
Maryse Rinfret-Raynor
Directrice
Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la violence familiale et la violence faite aux femmes
Université de Montréal
Montréal QC
Marie Toupin
Directrice
Concert’Action
Femmes Estrie
Sherbrooke QC
Dominique Damant
Codirectrice
Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la violence familiale et la violence faite aux femmes
Université Laval
Quebec QC
Valérie Vaillancourt
Travailleuse
Femmes du monde à Côte-des-Neiges
Marie Drouin
Regroupement québécois des CALACS
Montréal QC
Centre des femmes d’ici et ailleurs
Montréal QC
Brigitte Gagnon
Coordinatrice intérimaire
Comité d’action femmes et sécurité urbaine (CAFSU)
Montréal QC
Diane Fortin
Les maisons de l’ancre
Montréal QC
Brigitte MichaudTable de concertation des groupes de femmes du Bas-St-Laurent
QC
Lucie Girard
Fédération des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec
Montréal QC
Ghazala Munawar
Community Worker
Centre communautaire des femmes sud-asiatiques
Montréal QC
Josée Martel
Directrice
Centre des femmes de Rosemont
Montréal QC
Caroline Paquin
Coordonnatrice
Comité d'aide aux femmes Sourdes de Québec
QC
Micheline Cyr
Directrice
Auberge Madeleine
Montréal QC
Marie-Claude Raynault
Responsable de la condition féminine
Centrale des professionnelles de la santé
Montréal QC
Monique Voisine
Service de la condition féminineSyndicat de la fonction publique de Québec
Québec QC
Louise Riendeau
Coordonnatrice des dossiers politiques
Regroupement provincial des maisons d’hébergement et de transition pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale ouest
Montréal QC
Marie Salvail
CALACS de l’Estrie
Sherbrooke QC
Diane Sasson
Executive Director
Auberge Shalom pour femmes
Montréal QC
Chantal Dubois
Intervenante
CALACS Laurentides
St-Jérôme, QC
Réjean Parent
President
Centrale syndicats du Québec
Montréal QC
Ontario
Judy Rebick
Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy
Ryerson University
Toronto ON
Pat Marshall
METRAC - Metropolitan Action Committee Against Violence Against Women and Children
Toronto ON
Michelle LandsbergWriter
Toronto ON
Valerie Collicott
Policy & Administrative Coordinator
WISE – Women Action Centre Against Violence
Ottawa ON
Emily Noble
President
Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario
Toronto ON
Barbara Anello
Executive Director
DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's Network (ON)
North Bay ON
Eileen Morrow
Coordinator
Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH)
Marilou MacPhedran
Human Rights Lawyer
Toronto ON
Rhonda Kimberley-Young
President
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
Toronto ON
British Columbia
Karen Stone
Executive Director
BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses
Vancouver BC
Penny Bain
Executive Director
BC Institute Against Family Violence Executive Committee
Vancouver BC
Newfoundland
Helen Murphy
Coordinator
Provincial Association Against Family Violence
St. John’s NFL
Nancy Riche
Former President
NDP of Canada
St. John’s NFL
New Brunswick
Rosella Melanson
Executive Director
New Brunswick Advisory Committee on the Status of Women
Moncton NB
Nova Scotia
Doreen Paris
Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women
Halifax NS
Saskatchewan
Shirley Leibel
President
Provincial Council of Women of Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Anna Pazdzierski
President
Manitoba Association of Women's Shelters
Selkirk, Manitoba
Isabel Bright
Executive Director
South Central Committee on Family Violence
Winkler MB
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