Jun 15 2005

Government boondoggle…Verifiers

Published by Mugwug at 07:09:50 under Firearms

Well, with the completion of the FrankenGarand I made the obligatory call to the Canadian Firearms Center to duly change the registration of my Breda.

You see it was registered as a “receiver only” up until yesterday, and as I had installed the barrel and it was now a functional firearm I am required to notify the firearms center, and get a new registration certificate for the rifle.

Much to my suprise I was told the rifle would have to be inspected by a government approved (volunteer) verifier to submit the change of classification. So I was provided with a list of five local names and phone numbers. Four of them failed to answer their phones (three didn’t even have answering machines, the fourth never bothered to return my call) and the fifth I reached at his daytime number (turns out this verifier is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces). Due to scheduling problems related to the move I was only able to meet with him yesterday afternoon, during another of Torontos Smog advisories, and I’d have to drag Jillian along for the ride.

When I got there I discovered the verifier was almost completely ignorant with respect to firearms. First attempting to classify my M1 as a “bolt action”, then attempting to measure the barrel length with the removable muzzle brake still on (Canadian Regulations specify that the barrel be measured from the bolt face to the end of the barrel, removable attachments do not count for overall length).

Some other details irritated me, as I was being lectured by someone who clearly didn’t know anything about his topic. But in the end I just decided to keep my mouth shut, make sure the paperwork was correct and get out of there as quickly as possible. While I admit the temptation to let the registration show that I own an extremely rare “bolt action M1 garand” was significant, in the end I caved.

Next step is for me to mail the verifiers form to the CFC and wait for them to act on it….

Gotta love the system we have here.

3 Responses to “Government boondoggle…Verifiers”

  1. # Mattion 15 Jun 2005 at 07:37:26

    Well, don’t hold your breath ;-) I heard on the news yesterday that the Liberals are cutting the CFC’s budget. The administrative mess at the CFC is enough to try even a committed gun control advocate like myself :-(

  2. # Derekon 17 Jun 2005 at 18:53:00

    I say Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke!

    Bolt action M1 Garand it is!

  3. # Mugwugon 18 Jun 2005 at 10:08:00

    It was really, REALLY, REALLY tempting. On reflection I figured it would be cute, but would just end up with me having to revisit another verifier to clear it up when the CFC eventually caught on (or if I sell the rifle down the road).

    Too much of a headache in the long run….