(OTTAWA - May 27) A new poll taken by the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) reveals that responsible firearms owners have lost confidence in the Canada's police services.

The shocking decay of the relationship between police and sport shooters has been caused by anti-firearms legislation in recent decades and haphazard enforcement by police. An anonymous survey of 2,018 random legal firearms owners in Canada reveals growing mistrust of police enforcement, particularly the non-profit associations that purport to represent police chiefs and rank-and-file officers.

"We knew that responsible firearms owners were losing confidence in police enforcement, but these results are shocking and distressing," says Tony Bernardo of the CSSA. "Sport shooters actually feel like the police are ganging up on them to give the public appearance that gun control is alive and well.

"Ironically, the police are trying to rein in the most safety-conscious members in our society. It makes for great headlines and gets anti-gun advocates elected and chiefs of police appointed, but this does absolutely nothing to deter gun crimes. It could actually increase crime, because all the time police spend knocking on the doors of lawful firearms owners could be spent exposing criminals and deterring gun smuggling. Trouble is, that stuff doesn't make headlines because it's hard undercover work that takes a long time to bear fruit."

The survey asked the following questions and the CSSA received the following answers.

As a legal firearms owner, who are you more afraid of? Police or criminals?
Police: 63.93%	Criminals: 36.07%
Since the implementation of the Firearms Act, do you still trust Canada's police?
Yes: 25.78%	No: 74.28%
Do you believe police associations represent their member's views regarding firearms issues?
Yes: 5.51%	No: 94.49%
Do you believe the police associations are misrepresenting the facts regarding Canada's Long Gun Registry?
Yes: 96.73%	No: 3.27%
Do you believe police associations should be involved in the creation of laws?
Yes: 12.13%	No: 87.87%
Do you believe police target firearms owners?
Yes: 83.26%	No: 16.74%
Do you personally know someone unjustly charged with a firearms offence?
Yes: 46.29%	No: 53.71%

In deference to police officers who must enforce the Firearms Act, the CSSA admits that many portions are virtually impossible to interpret. Police forces in some areas have developed policies that differ widely from practises elsewhere, and Canadian sport shooters are paying the price for that confusion.

"There was a time when sport shooters and police worked hand in glove toward the same end," explains Bernardo. "Before the Firearms Act was enacted in 1998, we were on the same page as police and sport shooters had great respect for one another. The introduction of bad legislation and the long-gun registry has ripped that relationship apart because a few police spokespersons have decided they know how to interpret these unreadable laws."

The CSSA has made contact with many police officers who do not support the registry and have been ordered by their superiors not to express that opinion publicly. Meanwhile, the RCMP has suddenly deemed certain firearms restricted without warning or consultation with elected federal officials. The CSSA believe the police are dictating policy to the federal government and getting away with it.

"The tail is wagging the dog and we can't understand why the government is buying in," says Bernardo. "Small wonder the ethics expert at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police voluntarily resigned when he saw donations coming in from registry-related donors. These associations have come way off the rails and may be placing their own officers in danger by suggesting the registry is a trustworthy source of information.

"Most officers know that using the registry data is a good way to get killed," he adds. "And now criminals with basic computer hacking skills have a shopping list of where the guns are. If the police are no longer trusted, the blame rests with the associations, not frontline officers. It has evolved into a very sad state of affairs that we would love to help turn around."

Bernardo and medal-winning sport shooting competitor Diana Cabrera are appearing today before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on behalf of CSSA.

For further information, contact:

Tony Bernardo
905-571-2150

Larry Whitmore
519-254-7744