Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 11/01) - A licensing backlog at the Canadian Firearms Centre may be preventing some hunters from buying ammunition.
Under the gun control laws that took effect this year, firearms owners must have a licence and show it when purchasing ammunition.
The centre issued temporary licenses to everyone who met eligibility requirements before the December 31 deadline, but those expire at the end of June.
Shelly Gordon, a spokesperson for the Inuvik Hunters and Trappers association, said she has heard reports of hunters not being able to buy ammunition.
A Yellowknife outfitter, who asked that his name not be used, said the new firearms licensing law that took this year forced him to turn away customers during the spring hunting season.
"I was turning away an average of four people a day," he said.
A spokesperson for the centre said that most who applied before the deadline should have their licenses by June 30.
However, "there are some people, for whatever reason," who might not get their license before the temporary ones expire, said David Austin.
"We are making every effort in terms of processing."
A spokesperson for the Canadian Alliance's point man on the firearms issue said he's not surprised that there is a backlog in issuing licences.
Dennis Young, parliamentary assistant to MP Gary Breitkreutz, said the Alliance has been predicting, "backlogs since 1998."
Austin said the centre is fully focused on issuing licenses, and has "been now for several weeks."
If a subsistence hunter is having trouble obtaining ammunition, Austin suggested that they contact the centre.
"If they explain there are extenuating circumstances," the centre can make arrangements to help out,he said.
