Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer is speaking out against a decision by the RCMP to reclassify a brand of rifle imported from Switzerland from non-restricted to prohibited.
The national police agency has added the Swiss Arms Classic Green rifle to its list of prohibited firearms. Although the RCMP has made no official announcement about the new classification, Zimmer said he heard about the policy change on Wednesday.
Zimmer, who used to own one of the Swiss-made rifles, said the decision by the RCMP was both "wrong" and an "abuse of power."
"In a single action, the RCMP took a firearm that had been sold legally for 12 years, and has never been used to commit a crime in Canada, and arbitrarily declared it illegal," Zimmer wrote in an open letter to his constituents on Friday. "Law-abiding men and women, who have owned this rifle legally for years, are considered criminals as of today."
Zimmer said as soon as he found out about the policy change he wrote letters to Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney and Justice Minister Peter Mackay to express his disappointment with the decision. Blaney has said his ministry is will review the classification change on an urgent basis due to the outcry from gun owners.
"Our government is committed to ensure firearms owners are not penalized as a result of this ill-informed action," Zimmer wrote. "We have delivered on our promise to abolish the long-gun registry, a measure that respected law-abiding firearms owners across Canada, and we will continue to respect the rights of law-abiding Canadian firearms owners."
According to the National Firearms Association, there are an estimated 1,000 to 1,800 Swiss Arms Classic Green rifles in Canada and the government isn't offering any compensation for owners now that the guns have been deemed prohibited.
According to the RCMP's website, the Criminal Code does allow existing owners of prohibited weapons to maintain possession of their weapons under a grandfather clause provision of the Criminal Code. To qualify for the grandfather clause, owners mush have the appropriate possession and acquisition license.
