Keith Brown
Active VIP Member
I know that there was a thread on this but I couldn't find it. Maybe a mod could move it there or some one already posted it? In any case it looks to me like my local RCMP detachment just will not give up on the harassment of the people they serve. Maybe its time to have the Alberta Sheriffs take over policing in the Province
Update by Kyle Sinclair-Smith
October 23, 1:25 PM
All,
I elected to keep the Fundrazr account open as it would allow me to update you all with and update from the Maurice Family. That update has now come and here it is directly from the Maurice Family.
It has been four months since the charges were withdrawn against Eddie, and we cannot express how grateful we are for the support from everyone during this entire ordeal. Until now, we did not have much of an update to give except that we were trying to get back to a normal routine with our lives. These past four months, while we have stayed fairly quiet, we have been working with our lawyer to get all of Eddie’s firearms returned by the RCMP. Despite a court order to return them in 14 days (typically it is 30 days), we did not receive any back for 48 days. We are still missing one, and at this point, four months later, we believe it will not be returned. In addition this, upon return of the firearms Eddie was advised that his PAL (Possession and Acquisition Licence) was not valid. The RCMP had returned his card to him soon after the charges were dropped, but he had not been advised by letter or otherwise that his PAL was invalid. Last week, we were finally able to have the federal Minister of Justice step in; the Chief Firearms Office had not sent any correspondence to us and was seeming to ignore both Eddie’s and our lawyer’s phone calls regarding his licence, which we had found out was “under review”. Once the Minister’s Office was called however, it was promptly dealt with and reinstated. Thankfully, now that this is all wrapped up, we are hoping to be able to receive our final legal bills to pay.
The gravity of the rural crime situation has not been lost on us, and we have felt all along that Eddie’s charges and case could be a catalyst for positive change. Fortunately, our MP John Barlow, was able to have both of us (Eddie and Jessica) invited to testify in Ottawa in front of the House of Commons Public Safety Committee this week. We took the opportunity to speak not only about our experiences, but to advocate for all of us and our rural needs to the federal Government. Everything we said, in addition to other speakers they are bringing in, will be compiled into a report that will be circulated to all MPs as part of the general review of the rural crime crisis in rural Canada. While the Liberal government is looking for increased firearms regulation (Bill C71) and decreased sentencing for many crimes (Bill C75), we feel hopeful that our story and recommendations will be heard by our representatives in Parliament. Mainly we have recommended increased self defence and property defence laws, and accountability of the RCMP.
We know that this issue affects all of us in rural Canada, and we will continue to share our story and concerns with those politicians and lawmakers who need to hear it, not only for our benefit but for the entire nation’s. Thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts, because if we had to go through this alone we wouldn’t be able to now speak up for all of us.
If you would like to hear our testimony and the Q&A from the Committee, you can listen online here (click to the midway point as we were only in the second half of the meeting):
Update by Kyle Sinclair-Smith
October 23, 1:25 PM
All,
I elected to keep the Fundrazr account open as it would allow me to update you all with and update from the Maurice Family. That update has now come and here it is directly from the Maurice Family.
It has been four months since the charges were withdrawn against Eddie, and we cannot express how grateful we are for the support from everyone during this entire ordeal. Until now, we did not have much of an update to give except that we were trying to get back to a normal routine with our lives. These past four months, while we have stayed fairly quiet, we have been working with our lawyer to get all of Eddie’s firearms returned by the RCMP. Despite a court order to return them in 14 days (typically it is 30 days), we did not receive any back for 48 days. We are still missing one, and at this point, four months later, we believe it will not be returned. In addition this, upon return of the firearms Eddie was advised that his PAL (Possession and Acquisition Licence) was not valid. The RCMP had returned his card to him soon after the charges were dropped, but he had not been advised by letter or otherwise that his PAL was invalid. Last week, we were finally able to have the federal Minister of Justice step in; the Chief Firearms Office had not sent any correspondence to us and was seeming to ignore both Eddie’s and our lawyer’s phone calls regarding his licence, which we had found out was “under review”. Once the Minister’s Office was called however, it was promptly dealt with and reinstated. Thankfully, now that this is all wrapped up, we are hoping to be able to receive our final legal bills to pay.
The gravity of the rural crime situation has not been lost on us, and we have felt all along that Eddie’s charges and case could be a catalyst for positive change. Fortunately, our MP John Barlow, was able to have both of us (Eddie and Jessica) invited to testify in Ottawa in front of the House of Commons Public Safety Committee this week. We took the opportunity to speak not only about our experiences, but to advocate for all of us and our rural needs to the federal Government. Everything we said, in addition to other speakers they are bringing in, will be compiled into a report that will be circulated to all MPs as part of the general review of the rural crime crisis in rural Canada. While the Liberal government is looking for increased firearms regulation (Bill C71) and decreased sentencing for many crimes (Bill C75), we feel hopeful that our story and recommendations will be heard by our representatives in Parliament. Mainly we have recommended increased self defence and property defence laws, and accountability of the RCMP.
We know that this issue affects all of us in rural Canada, and we will continue to share our story and concerns with those politicians and lawmakers who need to hear it, not only for our benefit but for the entire nation’s. Thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts, because if we had to go through this alone we wouldn’t be able to now speak up for all of us.
If you would like to hear our testimony and the Q&A from the Committee, you can listen online here (click to the midway point as we were only in the second half of the meeting):
