By Laurie Papineau, Dryden Observer

Members of the Kenora District Camp Owners Association (KDCA) voted last week to support Bruce Montague's Scrap C-68 Fund as a show of their disapproval for the gun registry and the negative effects it has had on tourism.

KDCA president Harald Lohn of Ear Falls was in Dryden following the annual fall meeting where a majority of camp owners voted to provide a donation to the fund that will be used to pay Bruce Montague's legal fees.

The local gunsmith and Canadian Unregistered Firearms Owners Association (CUFOA) provincial representative is hoping to come up with the money needed to fight his recent firearms charges all the way to the Supreme Court, where he feels the laws borne of Bill C-68 will be struck down as unconstitutional.

Lohn says KDCA members may not be acquainted with Montague or the particulars of his case, but they are all too familiar with the damage being caused by firearms registration laws.

"Tourism is definitely affected by the gun registry," says Lohn. "Tourism here includes hunting and those coming from across the border or elsewhere in the province. Anyone crossing the border has to register their guns, and they don't feel they should have to."

He says this has already resulted in fewer hunters and lower tourism dollars. Camp owners have noted that the first year the new laws were in effect, tourists seemed a little put off by the whole process.

"The second year, they're saying it's just not worth it," adds one camp owner, adding that the loss of hunters will eventually translate to a loss of anglers, and even more tourism dollars.

Hoping that Montague can do something to stop the damage, KDCA wrote a cheque for $500 last week and presented it to those looking after his legal fund, called the Scrap C-68 Fund.

"It's support like this that helps keep me strong," says Montague. "This fight isn't just my fight - it's everyone's fight! People are getting fed up with these laws that keep getting rammed down our throats, and at some point we all have to dig in our heels and say enough is enough."

The CUFOA member is encouraged to see people he doesn't know step forward to support the cause he represents, and vows to stay true to his principles.

"I'm not interested in getting off on technicalities," he says. "I want to see some serious changes to the Firearms Act and hopefully the way laws like this come to be in the first place."

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