The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

August 17, 2011

Dear Mr. Harper,

Re: Scrapping Bill C – 68

At the regular monthly members meeting of the Cariboo Mining Association (CMA)  on August 9, 2011 a motion was put forth and unanimously agreed upon that the CMA write to you and to our MP, the Honourable Richard Harris, expressing our strong feeling that Bill C – 68 in all its entirety be scrapped as per your election promise.

As placer and hard rock miners who, of necessity, require the protection of firearms in the course of our exploration and development work and as legal, law-abiding citizens living in a free and democratic country, it is our firm belief that Bill C – 68 not only infringes upon our basic human rights but also criminalizes lawful owners of guns and places our physical safety at risk.

You may not be aware but the mountainous regions of the Cariboo are still mostly vast tracts of wilderness inhabited by black bear, grizzly, cougar and mountain lions and thus pose a serious and imminent threat to the prospector and to miners out working their claims in these remote areas.

We therefore strongly urge you to follow through with your promise to rid Canada of this unnecessary and draconian law.

Yours truly,

Chris Winther
President
Cariboo Mining Association

Cc: MP Richard Harris