By Garett Williams

Bruce Montague is free.

The former Dryden gunsmith was granted parole after a hearing last week and was expected to walk out of a Thunder Bay jail Tuesday after four-plus months behind bars.

Montague surrendered himself to authorities in September and learned the Superior Court of Canada would not hear his appeal on 26 firearm related convictions, leaving him to serve the remainder of an 18-month sentence handed down following his 2007 trial in Kenora.

In March, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and sentence.

Montague was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, to be followed by 90 days of community service, following his December 2007 conviction. He was further ordered to forfeit nearly 200 firearms police seized from his Eton-Rugby home and issued a lifetime firearm-ban.

Montague will be back in court in May fighting the civil forfeiture of his Eaton-Rugby home under proceeds of crime legislation. [correction: May 9-13, 2011 is the date set for the criminal forfeiture hearing regarding firearms and other property seized by police]

Montague has called the federal firearms registry unconstitutional and had been fighting it in court since his September 2004 arrest at a Dryden gun show, wearing an unregistered rifle on his back. He has always claimed an inherent right to bear firearms.

Link: http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/...