Please sign Canadian knife import ban e-petition

Here is a quick overview of what happened:
1. A person attempted to import 5 pocket knives (Kershaw Skyline Model 1760) into Canada.
2. A border agent opened his parcel and examined the knives. He flicked them open using the flipper and decided that they are switchblades.
3. The border agent denied importation citing the criminal code definition of a prohibited weapon - particularly the definition of centrifugal knives.
3. the individual appealed this border agents decision to the CITT.
4. The CITT supported the border agents arguments in a ruling.
5. The CBSA then made a public statement of a new policy based on this CITT ruling that effectively bans the importation of any folding knife with a thumb stud or indentation (ie. Spyderco hole). Thereby making it a new CBSA policy to ban the importation of knives that never used to be considered prohibited weapons by CBSA or any other law enforcement - and the new policy even prevents the importation of knives that were not at issue in that CITT hearing.

Important fact #1: There has been no change in Canadian law - but a change in the way the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is applying Canadian Criminal law. CBSA is choosing to consider a knife that can be partially opened using your thumb and that can then be opened the rest of the way by flicking the blade open with a wrist motion to be the same as a switchblade.

Important fact #2: The recent "CBSA decision", is actually a ruling by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT). This ruling supports an earlier decision made by a CBSA border agent to ban the import of the Kershaw flipper knife. It is uncommon for the CITT to not support CBSA decisions in these matters.

Important fact #3: The CITT tribunal is a quasi-judicial body, meaning that its decision are not legally binding outside of its scope - in this case the importation of goods. Their rulings do not set legal precedent and are not binding in any other area, most notably this decision is not binding in Canadian Courts.

Important fact #4: The CITT mandate is to provide clarification about how CBSA interprets Canadian laws - but in this case they completely blurred it - making it nearly impossible for a person to know what is or is not legal to import. This CITT decision is affecting commerce and undermining the confidence of citizens crossing borders and businesses that rely on imported goods.

Important fact #5: The result of this is situation is that knives that are perfectly legal to own in Canada - are no longer allowed to be imported. The new CBSA policy is defying universally accepted Criminal Code interpretations - and in the process causing a huge amount of confusion for Canadians and Canadian businesses.

Not a fact but opinion - the new CBSA interpretation is having the effect of a change in law - which is ultra vires or beyond the powers of the CBSA/CITT.

The CBSA is choosing to apply the Criminal Code definition of prohibited weapon in a different way than the rest of Canadian justice system - including Canadian courts, Police, and even themselves for the last few decades. This is the real problem here - why is this agency suddenly choosing to use a completely different interpretation than what has been accepted in Canada for decades? Also, why is the government allowing them to do this? Why are so many resources being dedicated to pocket knives when there are so many larger issues regarding our border security?

 
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stabman said:
You mean like how they got rid of the long gun registry, and I was able to buy a 12 inch barrel shotgun and get it delivered in the mail?
I can buy a 12 or 14 inch barrel rifle at Canadian Tire today if I don't mind racking up the debt on my credit card. ;)
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I don't have a dinosaur in this orgy ;) but to hear my family (who are mostly bush people stretching from Sudbury to Thunder Bay, with a few that stretch south to near Parry Sound) tell it things have gotten more restrictive and less free all the time. Every time I'm up there they're warning me about some new law. The last thing they warned me about was that if I used the wrong pronoun for someone (even if it was some weird made up one) I could be arrested for some bizarre hate crime.

Also, FWIW, they never registered their long guns in the first place and gave me the impression the reason the registry died was more that it was ineffective and expensive than that the nutty government wanted to stop it.

I'll be up there again in a couple of weeks, we'll see if they warn me about some wacky new government advancement.

My favorite advancement of the last few years was driving up the 400 on my way north and seeing these weird 18" tall fences along miles and miles of rocky, hilly highway. I asked my family about it and they said it was a project that cost millions of dollars to protect the precious rattlesnakes (the same rattlesnakes my bush people family kill on their property when they run into them).
 
Gideons said:
I understand the confusion, however there is a massive difference. One of the main reason for the outrage is because the new CBSA mandate goes against the actual Canadian law. These knives (one handed opening) are legal to own, and carry in Canada, however the CBSA mandate bans the importing of these knives. Thus, they're banning the import of a completely legal item under false pretences. See how the devil is in the detail? You can quote other sources being incorrect, that doesn't really matter. Was just pointing out the difference, you came onto bladeforums to learn (I saw in another post) now you're learning :) . No need to get upset or offended, I wasn't trying to be rude... just correcting your statement.
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Thank you for clarifying, I appreciate that. What offended me a bit was being called uninformed, I was as informed as most people are about this topic and more than alot considering I am new to this hobby. I did forget to thank you for the link, it helped. I now understand the difference you were trying to point out.
One thing I am having a hard time getting around though is These types of knives are called Prohibited weapons, in the criminal code, which is a set of laws. so im just having a hard time understanding what is legal or illegal about them.
 
evilgreg said:
I don't have a dinosaur in this orgy ;) but to hear my family (who are mostly bush people stretching from Sudbury to Thunder Bay, with a few that stretch south to near Parry Sound) tell it things have gotten more restrictive and less free all the time. Every time I'm up there they're warning me about some new law. The last thing they warned me about was that if I used the wrong pronoun for someone (even if it was some weird made up one) I could be arrested for some bizarre hate crime.
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Sounds like you need to listen less to your family when they talk about our laws. :D

Reminds me of a few people I know who start saying weird things like that every so often. They often get all frantic when I say "Yeah, that ain't how it works at all." :D

There are no pronoun police to worry about here. ;)
Even at the universities--where some think freedom goes to die--things aren't like that.

There are silly regulations about certain things to be sure, but it ain't the way some folks want to portray it.

But don't bring knives with flippers across the Border right now...that would not be prudent, from the sounds of things.
 
SharpCdn said:
This is the real problem here - why is this agency suddenly choosing to use a completely different interpretation than what has been accepted in Canada for decades? Also, why is the government allowing them to do this? Why are so many resources being dedicated to pocket knives when there are so many larger issues regarding our border security?
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Well of course I have no inside information and I am certainly uninformed of Canadian laws, but I have lived in the Ottawa area for all but 5 months of my 63 years. Now the "conspiracy theorist" in me believes that this boondoggle comes from the highest levels of the liberal franchise. Mark my words, we are far closer to our U.K. brethren and their idiot government policies than we would care to admit. I believe it is only going to get worse, far worse.

Anyone want to buy my Spyderco PM 2 S30V for $1000 CAN?:rolleyes:
Oh and I signed this petition a couple days ago.
 
stabman said:
Sounds like you need to listen less to your family when they talk about our laws. :D

Reminds me of a few people I know who start saying weird things like that every so often. They often get all frantic when I say "Yeah, that ain't how it works at all." :D

There are no pronoun police to worry about here. ;)
Even at the universities--where some think freedom goes to die--things aren't like that.
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Really? A quick google search seems to dispute your claims and back up my Canadian family. For example, you can find plenty of news about protests erupting when a Canadian professor complains about bill C-16 passing and making it criminal hate speech to use anything other than a person's preferred pronoun:

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-bl...-prof-defied-sjw-on-gender-pronouns-and-has-a

I am technically a Canadian citizen still, incidentally. Here's a snippet from wikipedia on C-16 in general:

The law amends the Criminal Code by adding "gender identity or expression" to the definition of "identifiable group" in section 318.[7][8] Section 318 makes it a criminal offence to advocate or promote genocide against members of an identifiable group, which now includes gender identity or gender expression. Since the definition of "identifiable group" is also used in s 319 of the Code, the amendment also makes it a criminal offence to incite or promote hatred because of gender identity or gender expression.[9]

The law also adds "gender identity or expression" to section 718.2 of the Criminal Code.[10] This section is part of the sentencing provisions and makes gender identity and gender expression an aggravating factor in sentencing, leading to increased sentences for individuals who commit crimes motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on gender identity or expression.
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evilgreg said:
Really? A quick google search seems to dispute your claims and back up my Canadian family. For example, you can find plenty of news about protests erupting when a Canadian professor complains about bill C-16 passing and making it criminal hate speech to use anything other than a person's preferred pronoun:

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-bl...-prof-defied-sjw-on-gender-pronouns-and-has-a

I am technically a Canadian citizen still, incidentally. Here's a snippet from wikipedia on C-16 in general:
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Maybe you should just read the bill itself instead of op-ed pieces.
Gender identity is just one of the things you can't discriminate on now.
There is nothing in there about having to use certain pronouns.

So maybe just don't discriminate against people?
Makes things pretty simple.

But this is all about knives...how? :confused:

The only knife related thing on the topic I have is that the transsexual sitting near me in class some years back didn't care that I had or was using a knife.
 
I think it needs to get 5,000 or 10,000 signatures to get read in parliament so there is a way to go yet, but a great start.
 
Signed as well. Even though I never import folders , the principle behind this knife seizure is in my opinion completely wrong , is NOT Canadian law , an infringement on our rights as responsible knife owners , and at the very least a display of an abuse of power by an agency that does not have any authority to implement policies that basically involves stealing outright other people's property based on NO Canadian law whatsoever.

That's about as clear as I can make myself about that.
 
colin.p said:
Well of course I have no inside information and I am certainly uninformed of Canadian laws, but I have lived in the Ottawa area for all but 5 months of my 63 years. Now the "conspiracy theorist" in me believes that this boondoggle comes from the highest levels of the liberal franchise. Mark my words, we are far closer to our U.K. brethren and their idiot government policies than we would care to admit. I believe it is only going to get worse, far worse.
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Agreed - especially with the current turd at the helm! :mad:
 
SoCalEDC said:
Canada reminds me of California. Good luck with them seeing any logic any time soon.
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There are similarities...and differences. There is still a large population that is rural here, and there are a lot of outdoorsmen/women. I think more people are accustomed to knives as practical tools here than there though.
 
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