National Firearms Association ignoring questions about C-51, members complain

The National Firearms Association is deleting questions posted to its Facebook page about why it pulled out of a committee looking at the government's proposed anti-terrorism legislation, and some members are complaining.

On Monday a lawyer for the gun owners' group had been scheduled to appear on a panel regarding concerns about Bill C-51.

Legal experts have raised a number of concerns about the bill's scope, the lack of oversight, and possible threats to privacy regarding clauses to allow information-sharing between government departments.

Military draws blanks in bids for rifles

The Canadian military’s plan to buy new pistols for its troops and rifles for the Canadian Rangers in the Arctic has suffered a major setback after international firearms companies balked at turning over their confidential technical data to one of their competitors so the guns could be manufactured in Canada.

Just a few weeks ago, the Defence Department and Public Works issued a notice to companies that it would be buying 10,000 new rifles and 10,000 pistols.

But DND also stipulated that any firms wanting to bid on the two contracts would have to turn over their technical data and proprietary information to the government, which in turn would pass it on to Colt Canada. Colt would then manufacture the weapons at its plant in Kitchener, Ont.

But defence sources say companies told the government they had no intention of turning over the details of their firearms designs to a subsidiary of the U.S. small arms giant Colt, a key competitor for many of the firms on the international market.

The government then hastily retreated, cancelling its request to the companies for information about prices and availability.