From: "N. L. Cobb", [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.report.ca/magazine/p09i010205f.html > > Albert Frohike personifies the criminal intent of his government: > > The mysterious Mr. Frohike > > B.C. gun owners are threatened by a federal official abusing confidential > information > > by Shafer Parker > > Former firearms instructor Lowe: His certification was snatched after he > criticized the RCMP. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ > > EXPERIENCE has taught Cranbrook, B.C., resident Rick Lowe, 45, that hard > knocks should be expected for gun enthusiasts who openly oppose the new > Firearms Act. Mr. Lowe has been a certified firearms instructor since March > 1994. But his teaching career ended last year after he wrote a couple of > letters in late March 2000 to the Cranbrook Daily Townsman calling for an > investigation of the local RCMP detachment. Mr. Lowe was inspired to write > after police admitted in court they had used false information to obtain a > warrant that allowed them to search the home and seize the guns of James > Buck from nearby Wardner, B.C. > > Mr. Lowe's call for an investigation was based on the decision rendered by > Cranbrook provincial court Judge Don Carlgren. After ordering police to > return Mr. Buck's guns, the judge stated in court that they had shown a > "complete and utter disregard for the niceties of the law and the rights of > the accused." > > > Stung by Judge Carlgren's comments, Cranbrook police issued a report that > insisted the officers had "acted in good faith...based on the new Firearms > legislation." Then somebody decided Mr. Lowe should be punished. On April > 19, A.J. (Tony) Heemskerk, Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for British > Columbia, wrote Mr. Lowe a letter advising that his designations as a > Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety > Course Instructor in B.C. were being revoked. "You have consistently > demonstrated a lack of support for the Firearms Act and have demonstrated an > unprofessional attitude towards my office and staff," Mr. Heemskerk wrote. > > > A former soldier who now serves as an industrial first-aid attendant and > builds computers in his spare time, Mr. Lowe was surprised his teaching > certificate was revoked by the CFO. "It's upsetting to realize you can be > removed as a firearms instructor merely because you've been critical of > mistakes made by the local police," he says. He admits that local firearms > officer Dennis Johnson may have other reasons to dislike him. Two years ago > he led the fight to stop local RCMP officers from illegally charging a fee > to renew gun-carry permits. And he successfully challenged Mr. Johnson's > initial refusal to register a Basque .380 automatic pistol he had purchased > in 1998. Mr. Lowe secured the registration only after offering proof that at > least 11 other Canadians had been allowed to register the same weapon in > other jurisdictions, and he threatened to take Mr. Johnson to court. "But I > can assure you," he says, "that I never criticized the Firearms Act when > acting as an instructor." > > > His last assertion is backed by Cranbrook lawyer Neil Robertson, who wrote a > letter to Mr. Heemskerk on Mr. Lowe's behalf shortly after he lost his > certification. Mr. Robertson's wife had attended a safety course taught by > Mr. Lowe, Mr. Robertson stated, and he had accompanied her to most of the > sessions. "I have never heard Mr. Lowe demonstrate a lack of support for the > Firearms Act," he wrote, "nor have I heard him display any sort of an > unprofessional attitude toward your staff or office...During the > course...certain of the attendees expressed strong opposition to many > aspects of the Firearms Act." Mr. Lowe was entirely professional in his > responses, saying simply that while any citizen is entitled to his views, > the Firearms Act is the law of the land and must be obeyed by anyone wanting > to legally have and use firearms in this country. > > > Ten days after Mr. Lowe lost his safety instructor's certification, he > received an e-mail from an Albert Frohike that made reference to his > teaching certificate revocation, even though the information had not been > made public. Mr. Lowe does not know Mr. Frohike, although a person using > that name has developed a reputation for frequenting firearms news groups on > the Internet and submitting individuals who express opposition to the new > Firearms Act to flaming (an all-out verbal attack via e-mail or in a chat > room), or mail bombing (submitting a person's name to hundreds of Internet > sites so that dozens of useless e-mails flood the person's computer each > time they go on line). > > > Whoever sent the e-mail flames had to have insider knowledge, Mr. Lowe > concludes. "The only people who could have known that I lost my teaching > certification should have been the CFO, seconded police officers working > within the CFO's office in Victoria and, I suppose, local Firearms > Officers." > > > Nothing else happened for several months. But this past October someone mail > bombed Mr. Lowe. He then filed a B.C. Privacy Act request to find out what > the CFO had in his file. He discovered that a particular RCMP constable, who > cannot be named while under investigation, is currently working for the CFO > in Victoria and has for years monitored Internet postings by Firearms > groups. He also found that Cranbrook firearms officers had corresponded with > this constable about his behaviour in particular--even, at one point, > sending the Victoria office a copy of a letter to the editor of the Townsman > with a notation that it was written by Rick's father, Richard James Lowe. > > But most curious of all was the discovery that in an e-mail sent by the RCMP > constable to CFO Heemskerk, statements Mr. Lowe had sent only to the > mysterious Mr. Frohike were being quoted verbatim. "In my view this pretty > much establishes that Albert [Frohike] is the one responsible for these > harassing e-mails and fraudulent subscriptions," Mr. Lowe says. > > > Late last fall Mr. Lowe gave the RCMP the information he had gathered, and > the police, in turn, have asked Mr. Heemskerk to investigate the possibility > that someone in his office is harassing the public. But until the > investigation is finished, says B.C. CFO spokesman Barry Salmon, it would be > inappropriate for anyone in the Victoria office to comment. Mr. Salmon > insists the CFO is committed to maintaining client confidentiality within > the gun-registration system. But he is not sure what will happen if Mr. > Heemskerk finds that confidentiality has been breached. "I can only say that > it will call for some kind of response," he says. > > > It should, says Peter Kearns, part owner of Kearns & McMurchy, an Edmonton > gun shop that recently went bankrupt. Mr. Kearns, who has also served as > vice-president of the National Firearms Association, has himself been a > victim of Mr. Frohike's flames and mailbombs. Not only did the mystery > e-mailer know Mr. Kearn's driver's licence number and social insurance > number, but he knew details about a lawsuit Mr. Kearns has filed in Federal > Court against Canada Customs, alleging the illegal seizure of a shipment of > guns. And when Mr. Kearn's dealer licence had several clauses revoked last > year, Mr. Frohike knew about it days before any official communication was > received. > > > But it was the threats of physical and sexual violence against Mr. Kearn's > family that scared him most. Not only did Mr. Frohike declare that his > victim would someday "kneel" before him, he boasted that he had visited the > gun shop and stood within two feet of his wife. He also told him, Mr. Kearns > says, that he "had me in his sights" and that I should therefore "be > careful" when starting my "shiny red SUV." > > > Mr. Kearns believes that Mr. Frohike has had dealings with Alberta CFO > George Reid, not only because of his evident knowledge of Mr. Kearn's > personal information, but because of the way government lawyers reacted last > month when records of any communications between the two men were requested > for the upcoming trial. "We had a court date [for the customs lawsuit] for > late December," he says. "But when we asked for the correspondence records, > the feds cancelled. I don't know when we're going to court." > > > The treatment he and Mr. Lowe have received should warn the public, Mr. > Kearns says. "If what we believe about Frohike is true," he says, "it means > that normal Canadians have their access to firearms controlled by someone > who can only be described as a low-life psychotic. He is using his position > to punish every single offensive remark." > end -- A small descriptive point - a "gun carry" permit in Canada is the permit you need to take a restricted firearm (handgun or some semi-autos) from your home to the range or gun shop. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
