Rod provides a WildTV update on the CCFR’s new show, comments on some difficulties we have in our community and interviews Kerry Mould regarding his fight with the RCMP to get a full copy of the FRT (Firearm Reference Table)
Reference:
ATI # 161661
RCMP File # A-2014-05797
OIC File # 3214-00952
Aug 15, 2014 – Submitted the initial request “I would like a complete ELECTRONIC copy of the Firearms Reference Tables.”
Sep 8, 2014 – The RCMP formally denied my request under Section 18, Subsections 18(a) and 18(b), which read:
Economic Interests of Canada
18. The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains
(a) trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific, or technical information that belongs to the Government of Canada or a government institution and has substantial value or is reasonably likely to have a substantial value;
(b) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of a government institution or to interfere with contractual or other negotiations of a government institution;
Oct 2, 2014 – Submitted my appeal of the denial to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
Nov 12, 2014 – The intake office of the OIC contacted me by phone. They asked me of I would be satisfied with a “few specific pages of the FRT.” I explained that I wanted the entire FRT in an electronic searchable format (all 300,000 pages). The clerk informed me that there was a VERY long backlog of files at the OIC and it would take at least a year and a half for my file to be investigated. I told him I was willing to wait.
Two years, three months pass…
Feb 22, 2017 – I was contacted by an investigator with OIC. She had already reviewed my file.
She had searched the FRT on the internet and found “Ultra Electronic Forensic Technology” was selling it online on behalf of the RCMP. http://www.ultra-
Then, the RCMP tried to reject my request based on Sect 19.1 claiming that the database contained private personal information. To which the investigator replied, are you sure you want to claim that section after admitting you have given the database to foreign governments and police agencies. If so, this file will be submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for sanction under illegal release of private personal information. The RCMP/CFO quickly backed off on this exemption.
The ball was back in the RCMP/CFO’s court for one last chance to let them give up the information. According to my OIC investigator, there were no legal grounds for the RCMP/CFO to reject my request. If they fail to provide the FRT to the OIC, then the next step is to sanction them under Sect 35.2 of the Access to Information Act, which will give them a couple of weeks to provide the information to the OIC. If they still refuse to provide, they would be sanctioned under Sect 36 of the act and the RCMP/CFO will be summoned in front of Federal court just to explain their contravention of the act. My investigator indicated this has been a particularly intricate and difficult file and has currently been escalated to the Director level in OIC.
At this point, I was sure that I was going to get the FRT.
And then….nothing.
Aug 14, 2017 – One day short of the three year anniversary of my original ATIP, I had still not heard anything. I contacted the OIC again. I was told that my investigator had left the OIC and my file was on hold pending reassignment to a new investigator.
Sep 18, 2017 – I spoke with my new investigator and was told the file was “with management”.
Nov 6, 2017 – I spoke on the phone with my investigator’s director. She told me that the file had been referred to OIC’s internal legal team to determine whether there was a sufficiently strong case for the Information Commissioner to take the case in front of a Federal Judge to demand the documents.
Early Dec 2017 – The OIC again sent the file to the RCMP to “request they provide the documents” since the OIC had rejected their grounds for refusal to provide.
Jan 3, 2018 – I spoke with my investigator. She informed me that they had not yet heard back from the RCMP.
In parallel to my first ATIP, I submitted a second one:
RCMP File # A-2017-08126
Aug 18, 2017 – Submitted my second request for:
“Specific details, including the date, number of copies, country, level of government and/or police agency that the RCMP (and any consultant or contractor working on their behalf, including Ultra Electronic Forensic Technology) has provided a copy of the Firearms Reference Table (FRT) since 1994 (when the FRT was created) to the present day.”
Oct 17, 2017 – I received a follow up e-mail from the RCMP ATIP Branch stating that they were “experiencing a large volume of requests resulting in lengthy delays”.
As of today, my initial ATIP has been in progress for 1237 days (+/-).
I remain as committed as when I started. This is technical data, collected and organized using taxpayer dollars. The FRT records the classification of every firearm in Canada as non-restricted, restricted, or prohibited. That classification is used to determine whether Canadian gun owners can legally own that firearm. If that is the case, then every firearm owner should have free and unfettered access to the FRT at all times to be able to check the database to ensure their firearm is correctly classified.