Ep. 143: Fighting for Freedom: Dr. Teri Bryant on Gun Laws, Government Overreach, and Empowering Firearms Owners

In this episode of the Silvercore Podcast, Travis Bader speaks with Dr. Teri Bryant, Alberta’s Chief Firearms Officer, about her battle to protect firearms owners from unfair laws and government overreach. Dr. Bryant reveals how her approach is not just about defending gun rights but also about pushing for positive changes that enhance public safety. She discusses the failures of past political efforts that have used firearms issues for political gain, while outlining Alberta’s focus on responsible ownership and effective, community-driven solutions. Learn how Alberta is taking a stand against Bill C-21, the handgun ban, and the gun buyback program, and why Dr. Bryant believes the firearms community holds the key to preserving freedom and security. 

  Regardless of your stance on firearm ownership, this episode touches on some concerning trends regarding civil liberties.  This episode is a must-listen for those looking to stay informed and empowered.

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00:00 Introduction and Overview 01:12 Meet Dr. Terry Bryant: Alberta's Chief Firearms Officer 02:00 Understanding Firearms Regulation in Alberta 06:18 The Role and Responsibilities of a Chief Firearms Officer 11:49 Challenges and Advocacy in Firearms Regulation 16:56 Public Perception and Engagement 24:52 The Importance of Property Rights 35:45 Alberta's Unique Perspective on Firearms 49:19 Building a Supportive Network 50:19 Embracing Public Recognition 52:05 Addressing Firearm Misconceptions 54:42 Navigating Legal and Political Challenges 59:04 Promoting Compliance and Safety 01:04:22 Encouraging Firearm Education and Diversity 01:10:13 Facilitating Firearm Ownership and Use 01:14:49 Advocating for a Positive Firearm Community 01:30:11 The Importance of Firearms Culture 01:30:30 Provincial Differences and Consensus Building 01:32:06 Challenges with Standardization and Public Safety 01:32:42 Alberta's Unique Approach to Firearms Policy 01:34:05 Economic Impact of Firearms in Alberta 01:37:18 Public Safety and Political Issues 01:39:55 Trends in the Firearms Community 01:41:26 Changes in Firearms Office Operations 01:45:44 Handgun Confiscations and Estate Issues 01:49:13 Rifle and Shotgun Confiscations 02:04:18 Authorization to Carry (ATC) and Wilderness Carry 02:14:41 Closing Remarks and Future Outlook  

What is The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader?

The Silvercore Podcast explores the mindset and skills that build capable people. Host Travis Bader speaks with hunters, adventurers, soldiers, athletes, craftsmen, and founders about competence, integrity, and the pursuit of mastery, in the wild and in daily life. Hit follow and step into conversations that sharpen your edge.

Kind: captions
Language: en-GB

Travis Bader: What started as a
trip to support my friend and past

podcast guest, Sonny Smith at his
title fight professional bare knuckle

boxing match in Alberta, along with
other friends and past guests, Jason

Budd and Chance Burrells turned into
an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

I sat down with Alberta's
Chief Firearms Officer, Dr.

Terry Bryant, to dive deep into
the politics and realities of

firearms ownership in Canada.

Ever wonder why some guns are
banned while others aren't, despite

being essentially identical?

Tired of feeling like a criminal
for exercising your right?

Want a glimpse into what the future could
look like for Canadian firearms owners?

Buckle up because we're
breaking it all down.

From Alberta's fight for sensible
laws to how you can take action.

This episode is brought to you by the
amazing people at Armament Technology.

Silvercore Club members, don't
forget, you get 10 percent off

Tangent Theta, 15 percent off
SAI and 20 percent off Tenebrex.

Now, let's get it rolling.

I'm joined today by Alberta's
Chief Firearms Officer.

She's a dedicated advocate for responsible
firearms ownership, bringing a wealth

of experience and a balanced approach
to firearms regulation in Alberta.

We have the opportunity to explore her
unique perspective on the challenges

and opportunities facing the firearms
community and how she's working to ensure

fairness and safety in the province.

Welcome to the Silvercore podcast, Dr.

Terry Bryant.

Teri Bryant: Thank you, Travis.

It's a pleasure to be here today.

Travis Bader: So what, three years?

Are we on your three
year anniversary today?

Three years yesterday.

Three years yesterday.

Holy crow.

Three years, you've been a
firearms officer here and chief

firearms officer for Alberta.

Teri Bryant: Yeah, it's,
uh, it's been a wild ride.

I had no idea what I was getting
myself into when I read this.

Travis Bader: Myself personally,
there's always been confusion about

sort of the hierarchy within the
firearms program, what it takes to be

a firearms officer, let alone what it
takes to be a chief firearms officer.

Um, Opt in and opt out provinces has
always been something that's been

a little bit, uh, confusing to me.

And I, I know others have
brought that up as well.

Can you tell me a little bit about
sort of how you got into this and

what the structure kind of looks like?

Teri Bryant: Okay, so, uh, I got into this
in a different way than, uh, most, uh,

people who are chief firearms officers.

So if I could just take a step back.

So there's a chief firearms professor,
uh, officer in every province.

So there's 10 of us, plus there's
one for the Northwest Territories.

And, uh, most of those, uh, were
appointed in a different way than me.

Because, and this comes to
your point about opt out and

opt in provinces and so on.

So opt in provinces are ones where the
province has assumed responsibility for

the administration of the Firearms Act,
the Federal Firearms Act in Canada.

And so that means that the Chief
Firearms Officer is appointed by the

province and the Uh, employees in the
chief firearms office, the firearms

officers and other, uh, individuals
there are provincial employees and opt

out province, uh, is a province that has
chosen not to participate in the program.

And that means that, uh, all of the,
the chief firearms officer is appointed

by the federal government and all of
the employees are federal employees.

Hmm.

And Alberta was.

Uh, an opt out province as was
Saskatchewan until September of 2021,

and then they, uh, there was a lengthy
process before that to reach the decision.

But on September 1st, 2021, we became
an opt in province, which meant

that, um, Um, my appointment came
from the, uh, Minister of Justice

and Solicitor General at the time.

Uh, now we're just within the
Ministry of Justice because

they've kind of split that off.

But, um, uh, Um, and of course it had to
be approved by cabinet and everyone up

to the premier, but, um, and all my staff
are provincially, uh, appointed as well.

So all the chief firearms officers
have the role of administering.

the Canadian firearms
program in their province.

Of course, how much they actually do
themselves versus delegating to employees

depends on the size of the office.

If you're Ontario or Quebec and
you have, you know, millions of

people you're serving, then you're
not going to be as hands on.

If you're looking after Prince
Edward Island and you've got just

a couple of people, probably you're
going to be much more hands on.

Whether in, in, uh, the provincial public
service or the federal public service.

Travis Bader: So this is unique, Alberta
is the only province that has a situation

like this for the Chief Firearms Officer.

Teri Bryant: Uh, well,
technically we're unique.

We weren't unique for a bit.

So there's, there are two, um,
chief firearms officers who have the

expanded mandate that I have, not
since Saskatchewan and Alberta, uh,

Saskatchewan went, uh, went provincial
a few weeks after we did, but, uh,

they've since changed their structure
a little bit so that their chief

firearms officer with the same title is.

Um, a non political person, the
equivalent of my deputy, um, who

is a member of the public service.

And, uh, the, the person who previously
was the chief firearms officer, they now

call him the commissioner of firearms.

Got it.

Okay.

So that's Robert Freeburg.

And so he has.

The firearms office and a couple of
other things in, in Saskatchewan,

they didn't previously have a
ballistic forensic lab and when they

created one, they put it under that.

And there's a couple of other
things that's under his,

uh, control there as well.

Travis Bader: In your role
as a chief firearms officer.

And I've actually got a, uh, I got
a handy dandy little sheet here

that outlines the role of a chief
firearms officer in Alberta, which

I thought was, was pretty neat.

But I know you and I, we looked at
this before, chief firearms officer

with respective firearms matters in
Alberta shall develop and implement.

Implement policies,
procedures, and strategies.

A big mandate shall identify and
conduct studies of specific issues

or a specific subject matter.

And may publish the
results of those studies.

That's, there's a lot
of trust right there.

That's, uh, shall review the programs
and policies of the government

or other jurisdictions that may
affect individuals as firearms.

Users and owners shall consult with
and provide support to stakeholders.

This is an interesting one.

E shall engage in advocacy for and
outreach to Alberta's firearms community.

And I'll just go through the last couple.

So provide information and advice
to all levels of government, shall

develop and implement initiatives in
coordination with other departments,

shall recommend the Shall recommend
the establishment of advisory boards or

advisory committees by the minister with
respect to specific issues or a specific

subject matter, and shall inform and
educate Albertans, and shall carry out

any other prescribed responsibilities.

That's a pretty broad mandate.

That's a lot of responsibility.

But the one that I thought
was really interesting was.

So engaging in advocacy for an outreach
to Alberta's firearms community.

Teri Bryant: And so, so that's actually
what I, uh, you know, that, that list

that you have, uh, just enumerated,
that's in addition to my role as being

responsible for the administration of
the federal firearms act in Alberta.

And so Um, that part, the part that
I do that is the same as what other

people do, uh, in who are chief
firearms officers across the country,

uh, that's a relatively small part
of my time, less than half certainly.

Travis Bader: Okay.

Teri Bryant: And, uh, because there are
certain things like range approvals and,

and that, that I have to do personally.

Um, but most of my time is on the, the
other part, uh, which is the list that

you've enumerated there, particularly.

To shorten that list part of my job
is not just to administer the law as

it is now But to figure out what it
should be and Advocate to make changes.

And so part of finding out what it should
be is, as you've mentioned, conducting

formal studies and things like that.

And we've got a couple
of those, uh, underway.

And another part of it is, uh,
consulting with Albertans to

find out what their problems are.

Now many of those are things
that I was aware of before.

But, you know, no one, Uh, in the firearms
community is very, very diverse, right?

It includes people who are
Olympic target shooters.

It includes, uh, ranchers, uh,
who have a rifle in the pickup

truck for, uh, protecting their
livestock or things like that.

And so I've been a member of the
firearms community all my life.

So I have had exposure to many of these
things, but more to some than others.

And so, uh, every weekend, basically
I am out at some kind of event.

Uh, whether it is a gun show or, um,
a shooting competition or the annual

general meeting of an organization so
that I can hear straight from Albertans

what the issues are that they face.

And also that gives me an opportunity
to educate them a little bit about

what our office does Um, what the
federal government does, what we

are, as an office are doing about
what the federal government does,

uh, and, uh, things like that.

So, uh, so that's a, that's a very, um,

It's a part of the role that I very
much enjoy because it gets me out

talking to Albertans, particularly
firearms owners, uh, who are,

you know, that's the community.

Those are my people, as I always say.

Uh, and it also means that, uh, I
get to go all around the province.

So I travel over 30, 000 kilometers
a year by car around the province.

Um, and so I visited everywhere from
Milk River, 10 kilometers north of the U.

S.

border, to Fort Mac in the north, from
Grand Prairie and, and Beaver Lodge

and, and, uh, Coleman in the west
to, um, you know, Medicine Hat and

Consort and Provost, uh, in the east.

So, um, there's, it's, it's
enabled me to see much more of the

province than most people see and.

Because I also, my, all my permanent
homes in Calgary, I have a, an apartment

in downtown Edmonton, um, I get to see
a lot more diverse aspects of Alberta

than most people do, because I see the
rural areas, I talk to rural people,

I have this apartment in Edmonton.

In downtown Edmonton, where I
see some of the challenges that

people in an urban settings face.

So it gives me a very diverse
perspective on what Albertans are

experiencing and what they need.

And it gives me the opportunity to talk to
people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Travis Bader: Now you come
from a long lineage of firearms

owners and users and collectors.

And I, as well, um, From a very
young age, being exposed at the gun

shows and in the firearms community
and watching the different rules and

regulations as they come into place.

Uh, there's been a growing sort of
us against them sort of mentality

and like, why are they picking on us?

Um, uh, sort of mindset
within the firearms community.

Was that a challenge for you to overcome
when you were, when you first came into

your position as a chief firearms officer?

I know now you're welcomed with
open arms, but were you looked at

as the enemy when you first came in?

Teri Bryant: Well, uh, so there
were certainly a lot of people in

the community that knew me, like
particularly those around Calgary and

in the, in the collecting community.

And, um, so those people knew me and
they were happy to see me take the job.

Of course, there are a lot of people
in the firearms community, um, who

were in other areas of the province
who may not have known me as well.

And a lot of people in the firearms
community that have a more tenuous

connection, like they're not plugged in
as much, uh, because I know for people

like you and me every day we're looking
at and seeing what's the latest thing.

We get all kinds of, you know, email
blasts from the different organizations

about the latest court decisions and
challenges and, and things like that.

But a lot of people aren't that connected.

And so what I did to start off with was,
uh, initially using my own vehicle, my own

materials and my own, uh, you know, paying
for it myself, uh, to start with, um, I

went to gun shows, which is a place where
a lot of different parts of the firearms

community intersect and, uh, set up a
display with some firearms that I thought

would attract attention because I have.

Some firearms that tend
to attract attention.

I like to have the coolest
guns at any gun show.

Um, and so a matter of opinion, but
I'm not, perhaps I'm not a totally

unbiased, uh, uh, judge of that subject,
but what would happen then is as people

are walking by, They would see the,
you know, I had, uh, signs and they

would see, Oh, here's some cool guns.

And then I would give me a, once soon
as they paused it, bang, I can like,

you know, like, like an insurance
salesman or something, you know, I

jump on it and, and, uh, and make my
pitch and engage in a conversation.

And then they realized more
and more people realized that.

Um, you know, we were doing things
differently that, uh, we do have

to administer the federal law.

We don't get to make the law ourselves
yet, um, but, um, we do have, it can make

a big difference in how things are done
because, uh, I believe that, uh, most

people are, are reasonable and if you,
uh, approach them in a reasonable fashion.

And then you'll get a much
more positive reaction.

So we try not to.

Uh, you know, bang on the
table and say you have to do

this or you have to do that.

We educate them about what the law
is and what potential consequences

are if you, if you don't do that.

But we also point out that many
of these things, many aspects

of firearms regulations in,
in Canada don't make sense.

And so we talk to them about that,
recognize that we, yes, we know

that it doesn't make sense that this
particular firearm is classified

this way and this one that's the
same is classified a different way.

Um, so we, you know, that we
understand and sympathize with the

problems there, but not just that we
sympathize, but that we're actively

engaged in trying to change that.

And that I think has resulted in
a totally different reception.

Uh, want us to come to gun shows.

And now, of course, we have a much more
elaborate, uh, way of participating.

So I have some fancy table
cloths and pop up banners.

And, um, ever since the federal
government required that, uh, sellers

of nonrestricted firearms verify the
validity of the, the pals of, uh,

buyers, um, That was very hard for
people to do in the gun show environment.

So, uh, I have my staff come there and
we've worked out an arrangement with

the registry so that we can provide that
service in person at shows, which is

something that doesn't happen everywhere
and happens in few places, um, elsewhere.

But that's what we needed to do
to be able to, uh, ensure that gun

shows were able to remain compliant
with the law and that they were.

Uh, there was no, there wasn't
going to be an easy way for

the feds to shut them down.

Travis Bader: You know, and you,
you bring up a few different points

here, and I'm trying to think of what
should be the most logical for me

to, to, uh, to move from, but maybe,
maybe the education piece there.

And I, I know I've talked on the
podcast before about the firearms

officer who explained to me about
normative process and I, you know,

we've chatted about this as well.

Uh, just like you were saying, why, why
is something deemed as one classification

and it's the same as another firearm and
it's deemed in a different classification.

And there was a point of, uh,
confusion around the classification

of firearms that I was in
possession of through my business.

And the firearms program had came in, they
looked at them, they had, uh, verified

them, a couple of firearms officers.

And they said, Travis, you have to
register these as this type over here.

And I'm sitting there
all paranoid and nervous.

And, uh, like, what are you
trying to entrap me into?

Because it's, the law says different.

I look at a different, but I tell
you what, if you want to do it,

you guys proceed, you go ahead and
you register it as you see fit.

Right.

And they said, no, no, we
want you to do it, Travis.

And I'm like, oh man, what
are they trying to do here?

So.

Talked to my MLA.

She talked to Minister Blaney and
they said, this doesn't make sense.

Just tell him to hold off.

We're discussing it at
the ministerial level.

I mentioned this to the firearms
officer when they, uh, this

fellow was in my business and he
said, we don't give an expletive.

Uh, what minister Blaney says, I
don't give an F what the MLA says,

they don't make the laws we do.

And he's explained to me, it
was done through a process of

normative, normative process.

Um, now that's one individual talking
out of his pocket, talking about, uh,

his opinion, but it's easy to paint the
general mass by the actions of the one.

Um, but there was an apology that
came through really quickly the next

day, but it brought to mind the.

Issue of normative process.

He says, you know, if we do things
in a certain way, if there's layers

of ambiguity within the law, the
courts will turn around and say,

well, how's it generally done?

How's it accepted?

And that's where I see the value of
this education, both for the general

public, the firearms community, as
well as for the firearms program,

for everyone to be singing from the
same song sheet, to understand the

struggles that the firearms community
has, to understand the challenges.

Which you have a very, you've got your
finger on the pulse there and for the

firearms community to understand the
struggles and limitations that the

firearms officers have to deal with.

And if we're able to sing from the
same song sheet and create a normative

process that works for public safety,
for everybody, and was able to navigate

the ambiguity of all the, the hodgepodge
of firearms laws that we have, I think

that's where the power of discussions
like this really comes into play.

Um, if, since you are intimately aware
of the firearms community, both as prior

to being chief firearms officer, as
well as even more so now that you're,

you're in this position, you're What,
what are some of the common things that

you see that people have contention
with that maybe they're approaching it

in a fashion that's not serving their
best interests and maybe there's a

better way that it could be approached?

Teri Bryant: Well, I think the main
thing is to, um, to understand that

at least in, in our case, we, our goal
is to preserve the firearms community.

Of course, our number one
goal is public safety.

Sure.

Sure.

But, um, I actually believe we need
to preserve the firearms community

in order to maintain public safety.

And the reason for that is that
every country has a firearms culture.

And um, so the firearms community in
all its different aspects, whether

it's gun shows, uh, people who are,
uh, training people to, to, uh, get

their hunting license, people are
training to get their firearms license.

Um, all of these people are gun
clubs that organize shoots and so

on, um, all of these people are
contributing to forming a culture.

And uh, I feel that the firearms
community is a very positive influence.

It can be a very positive influence
and we can shape that a little bit

by helping them to understand, you
know, is required to comply with

certain rules and things like that.

But, uh, if we create a firearms culture.

that is based around responsibility
and respect and safety, then that's

going to pay huge dividends in
terms of, uh, of public safety.

And on the other hand, if you got rid of
the firearms community, like somehow you

managed, uh, some, some Mandarin in Ottawa
waved a magic wand and we all went away.

Uh, And I suspect there are a few
that might want to do that, uh, but,

uh, if they suddenly did that, there
would still be a firearms culture in

Canada, but how would that be shaped?

It would be shaped by, uh, like
ultraviolent video games and

movies coming out of Hollywood.

And, uh, social media posts by
gangbangers and things like that.

And that would be how people thought
about firearms and that would not

contribute to public safety because
then if people saw a firearm,

they'd, Oh, this is how you do it.

You wave it around like this
and you go like this to look

tough and this kind of thing.

And.

Uh, and so, uh, the firearms community
in all its aspects and all the people

who work very hard, you know, using
their own free time, often their

own resources to educate people.

Um, you know, people who, uh, for example,
at a collector's show are educating people

about the historical value of firearms.

And the role that they have played
in the evolution of our society and

the technologies of it, it creates
a different mindset around them.

And that's something that contributes
very greatly to public safety and

that we want to continue to encourage.

Travis Bader: Yeah.

You know, I find like different,
different groups will attract

different types of people.

The firearms community I find tends
to attract a lot of independent

minded sort of individuals.

Yeah.

I was teaching a class of
training instructors to teach

a basic firearm safety course.

And just for fun, I, I ask them like,
aside from guns, like, what are you into?

And by and large, everyone comes back
with, well, I'm into scuba diving, or

I'm into rock climbing, or I'm into
collecting, or I'm into, and all their

other activities that they're listing
off are, aren't team activities, they

aren't group sort of activities, and,
uh, I find, uh, To a degree that can

fragment the firearms community because
everyone's like, just leave me alone.

Let me do my own thing.

Teri Bryant: And

Travis Bader: then they will also try
and lean on other organizations to

make things, to affect sort of change
for them, uh, whatever that might be.

And they sort of, uh, give control
over to a third party without realizing

the amount of personal agency each
individual firearms owner actually

has when it comes to affecting
change within the organization.

Within the community, within the
culture, the laws, and dealing

with the firearms program.

Um, I, I know there's a lot of very,
uh, frustrated individuals when they

talk about the, uh, the OIC, the
recent ordering council, or they

talk about the, the handgun freeze.

Uh, what can individuals do to help?

support some common sense legislation?

Teri Bryant: I'm glad you asked that
because this is a point that I make

quite frequently and just goes beyond,
you know, everybody has a bit of a

personal philosophy and part of my
personal philosophy and my approach to

life is is being an engaged citizen.

And, so, being a citizen, it
isn't just a matter of, well, it

says nationality Canadian on my
passport, or something like that.

It means that you are engaged in, uh,
creating the society that we all live in.

And, so, people are very keen on
expressing things about their ideas, about

their freedoms, but they also have to
play a role, have to be, have to, Accept

responsibility for the way society is.

And that means if you are going to
play an engaged role, then you will

the benefit of that, I mean, you'll get
to meet other people that are are like

minded, but it also means you're you
will have less frustration Because I

mean, I was more frustrated before I had
this job, uh, because, uh, although I

was active in a number of ways, I didn't
have some of the abilities to do things

to accomplish things that I have now.

So I wake up every day and I'm energized
because I see possibilities to do things.

And some people also, I'm not
the only one who recognizes this.

I, it's a common question.

One of the common questions
that I get asked at, at, uh, gun

shows and other events where I
appear is, well, what can I do?

You know, I'm, I'm not a, uh,
uh, chief firearms officer.

I'm not a former professor.

I'm not this.

I'm just.

You know, they say just this,
and, um, but what can I do?

Well, I always say there's three
things that everybody should be doing.

So, as a preface to that, the
firearms community has to recognize

that we're a minority, okay?

In Alberta, for example, uh, the
population's about 5 million, maybe 3.

5 million adults.

There's 360, 000 people who have a, a,
uh, possession and acquisition license.

So that means we're about 10
percent of the adult population.

Of course, some of the, you know,
that's a, a wife may use her

husband's guns or vice versa.

So, so there's more users.

You know, it gives you some
idea of order of magnitude.

This shocks some people because
when they, uh, they're thinking,

Oh, all my friends own guns.

So, you know, but, but that's not, that's
not, you know, the overall reality.

So as a, as a very small minority and
one that is not well understood because

in today's society, even in Alberta,
which is a very pro gun province where

firearms have, have You know, a lot of
things have happened in our country, and

I think the economy has played a very
important role in our traditions, in our

history, in our culture, in our economy.

Um, even here we're a small minority,
and a lot of people here, especially

because most of the population growth
has happened in our big cities,

don't have much first hand exposure.

So what that means, because we're a
minority and we're a misunderstood

minority, that we People either
have no opinion about us or that

are not a positive one, uh, then.

We need to be highly mobilized and
you know, they may not a hundred

percent agree with every perspective
that you have But they'll recognize

the legitimacy of your concerns.

Mm hmm.

And that's a really important thing.

Travis Bader: Yeah Yeah, I think the
ability to articulate those concerns

in a way that, uh, makes people aware
of the broader implications, like if

it's, if they're concerned about the
firearms confiscation, uh, that's one

aspect of the concern, but the other
aspect is can we Confiscating, uh,

personal property just through ordering
counsel without due process, which could

affect a broader, a broader population.

Maybe that's one way to help,
uh, win allies out there.

I know the Canadian Federation
of Independent Businesses has

taken the, uh, the amount of money
that's being spent as a, as a way

to try and win hearts and minds.

We don't care really one way or the
other about the firearm side, but.

The amount of money that's being diverted
into something that isn't showing any net

positive effect, this should be addressed.

Teri Bryant: Well, there's, there are
aspects of the firearms issue that

should be of concern to everyone,
whether they own firearms or not.

So you've alluded to one of them, which
is the whole property rights issue.

Um, property rights are not particularly
well protected under, under Canadian law.

Right.

Uh, in fact.

Some would say they're
barely recognized, right?

Um, but, uh, you know, that's an
important thing for everyone that

if, if, uh, the federal government
establishes the precedent that they can

come along and take your property when
you have done nothing wrong, and when

you are posing no risk to society, and
when they have presented no evidence

that the property they want to take.

If a firearm is of any danger to anyone,
then that's a very dangerous precedent.

And there are similarly many other aspects
of, uh, federal firearms policy that

people should be gravely concerned about.

I expressed this right after
I took office, um, I wrote a

letter as early as November.

I remember I took office in September
and I wrote it off as early as November.

Um, I wrote a formal letter, which then
was, you know, had to work its way through

and get, uh, get approval to go out
pointing out the huge opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost is, it's a fancy
economics term for what, what

else could you do with the money?

Okay.

Right.

And so, you know, the, with the, this
firearms confiscation plan, uh, They've,

first of all, they've lowballed what the
cost is going to be, um, and then they've

also, uh, not recognized the alternative
uses that that money could fit.

Like I said at the time that I
thought probably it would cost, you

know, a lowball estimate I thought
would be a couple of billion dollars.

And So, yeah.

Uh, so, I mean, so far they've admitted
to spending, I say admitted because

who knows how much the actual figure,
but they've admitted to spending 42

million and they've accomplished nothing.

And so, um, if they are to, uh, to carry
this out all across the country, then

it would be, uh, an enormous expense
when, you know, we could use more

police officers, more border agents.

So, if you want to take a broader
look at some of the underlying

problems that that generate violence.

You could hire more social workers or
addiction counselors, or, you know,

people to get, uh, uh, gang members
out of that destructive lifestyle.

So there's so many alternative
uses of that, uh, that money.

And.

Uh, you know, I know there's,
there are certain politicians that

believe there's a bottomless well
that they can always just print more

and the budget will balance itself.

Uh, but you know, that money
has to come from somewhere.

And so I think it's, it's important
to people recognize those, those,

uh, alternative uses and also the
corrosive impact that programs

like that, that are clearly useless
and that are, uh, attacking.

people's property rights and,
uh, their other freedoms.

Uh, it's important that people recognize
that, uh, those, those, uh, actions

have consequences beyond finance.

They undermine confidence in the system.

And, you know, every society, every
country has to have Um, people have to

have confidence in their government,
and all around the world we see that

that is being undermined, that people
are lacking confidence, and there's all

kinds of contributing factors there,
some point to social media or one

thing or another, but governments have
to look long and hard at themselves.

And see whether their actions
are undermining public

confidence or reinforcing it.

And that's one of the things when
I, when I get philosophical, what I

think about my job is I want to help
restore confidence in government,

not as the solution to everything.

We have to have some level of government.

You know, you can't have a society
that's just total anarchy, you know,

people running around doing anything
they want to anybody they want

without regard for the consequences.

But the way that we will get the kind of
government that we need to have is when

the people who are involved in government
recognize their responsibility to help

reinforce confidence in the system.

And when they do that.

Then other people will not
shy away from public service.

They'll say, yeah, I want to
be, I want to help be part of

the solution, not the problem.

So I'm not just going
to sit here and carp.

I'm going to get involved and I'm going
to help to create the kind of government

that I want to see our country have.

And it's only when we all do
that, that we will get the kind

of government we want to have.

And I think that firearms
owners are uniquely positioned.

to help in that process because they
have been, uh, sort of the canaries in

the coal mine for many of the attacks on
individual liberty and, uh, on our, On

the credibility of our, of our system.

They're the ones who are
suffering this first.

And so they see it.

And if they get involved, they can
hopefully prevent this sort of corrosive

rot from, uh, eating away at our system
so much that it becomes irreparable.

I don't think anybody wants to see
that, but if we don't want to see

it, we've got to play an active role.

Travis Bader: So I have some theories
as to why firearms owners are the

canary in the coal mine, so to speak.

Um, and I could, I can let you
know what they are, or do you have

theories as to why that might be?

Teri Bryant: Uh, well, I think if you,
if you look historically the people

who become the scapegoats of the The,
um, uh, scapegoats for problems are

typically people who are misunderstood.

They might be misunderstood because
they're from a particular ethnic

or racial or religious group, or in
our case, because they are members

of a group who do an activity
that many people don't understand.

And so if you want to get something.

Uh, if you want to eat away at
something, it's easy to, it's easiest

if you use, uh, precedence with people
who are not well understood, because

it's easier to make them scapegoats.

Right?

And so, since we're not well understood,
it's easier to make us scapegoats.

And so, since people don't
understand, well, why does

somebody need to have a gun?

Or, if you have a gun,
why would you need two?

Travis Bader: Well,

Teri Bryant: people don't understand.

I mean, my answer to, well, why do you
need more than one gun is, well, why does

a mechanic have more than one wrench?

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, if one works.

They're tools, and, you know, I
mean, If you get a Crescent wrench,

it could do a lot of wrenches, but
it's not as good as, as an actual

wrench that's a nine sixteenths or
an 11 millimeter or, or whatever.

So that's why mechanics.

Have have lots of wrenches, and
that's why people who want to do

different things with guns have
more than one gun because different

ones are good for different things.

Travis Bader: Yes.

Teri Bryant: And, uh, so, so anyway,
I think it's, you know, at least

partially that kind of the fact that
we're as people who are misunderstood,

it's easier to scapegoat us.

And once you establish that precedent.

Then you can gradually, uh,
you know, expand it out.

And next thing you know, the person who
thought, Oh, they'll never come for me.

Realizes.

That they are coming for you and,
you know, like in the case of the,

of the gun grab, um, they go after
rifles that, uh, and other firearms.

There's lots of things actually
that aren't even in the, the

modern sporting rifle category.

They go after modern sporting
rifles because it doesn't

look like a traditional gun.

And why would you, why
would you want to have that?

Why do you need to have that?

But if the federal government
succeeds in establishing a system.

Uh, procedure, an infrastructure for, uh,
confiscating those firearms after years

of work and many, well, by that time it'll
probably be at least hundreds of millions

just to set up that infrastructure.

Mm hmm.

Do you think they're only
going to use it once?

No.

They'll have a list every year.

And so that's why this, this,
uh, nefarious tendency has

to be nipped in the bud.

Mm.

And, um, you know, the other thing
about this, this particular, uh, pro

set of prohibitions was it broke all
of the sort of unwritten rules, right?

The unwritten rule was when
they prohibited things.

people would get grandfathered and
they could at least keep their stuff.

And this violated that trust.

You know, so, um, this was very, this
set of measures was especially corrosive

because it not only, uh, attacked
people who We're not contributing to

the problem, but it also undermined all
of the assumptions that people had made

about how things would be done fairly.

And so, um, I think that, that
was a, a, a major blunder.

Um, and I, the positive aspect of that I
suppose is when people make really major

blunders, it's easier for other people
to recognize that they are blunders.

Sure.

And unfortunately You know, the people
who were involved in that keep doubling

down and thinking that, uh, well,
if we just spend a little bit more

money and, or a lot more money, uh,
and more time it's going to, but you

know, uh, a bad idea is a bad idea.

You dig yourself in a hole.

The best solution is to stop digging,
to abandon this whole idea and recognize

that this was Uh, a bad idea from the
start and a bad idea poorly implemented.

Travis Bader: Yeah.

There, there's two thoughts on the,
they got the whole dig thought, okay.

Best thing to do is stop digging
that hole, find your way out.

The other one is, okay, you found yourself
into the darkest part of the forest.

And they say, well, just
keep pushing through it.

There's going to be light
at the end of the tunnel.

And maybe they're thinking that my
theory on it is, I mean, the people

who come up with these ideas and laws,
there's going to be those very few

who are just fanatical and they have.

They're not open to reasonable
persuasion, but most of them

are going to be intelligent.

Most of them can look at the numbers,
most of them can look at the statistics,

and I've always thought it was more
of a process of just being able to

paint your opponent in a certain way,
and to use something that's in the

public mind as Uh, perhaps a negative
and say, we're going to do something

about what the public perceives as
negative and our opponent over here,

all they want to do is more negative.

Right.

And I've, I've always thought that
that was sort of that, that had to be

for the logical common sense person.

The reason why they'd be pushing
something forward was wasn't so

much that they actually believe what
they're doing is going to affect

a positive change because clearly.

Clearly the statistics and the outcome
isn't showing that, but it's how to

show the other person, paint them into
a negative corner so that they can use

that for, um, their own political means.

And recently I was asked to be on a
podcast called the Horrible People

Podcast and, uh, uh, Jen McDonald, Nia
Gadbois was the, is a host of that one.

She's putting it out.

And I said, I love the name.

I love what you're doing.

That's going to be catchy.

People are going to look at that.

Boop.

What's, what's your goal here?

And she says, well, you know, I want to
show how the firearms community is shown

in a negative light and how the real
story behind people, we're not horrible

people and we're members of the community.

I said, well, that's all fantastic, but
who's going to listen to this, right?

And really the people who are going to
listen to it is the firearms community.

And it's going to be a closed echo
chamber of people chanting to themselves

and yeah, we're, we're really good.

There needs to be a means for,
uh, the firearms community to

reach the broader general public.

And I think what you brought up there,
it was what I brought up with her.

I said, well, What if you, instead of just
dealing on the gun side of things, dealt

with othering and how people are othered
and you can have people from all different

backgrounds, um, religious beliefs,
ethnicities, whatever, that have been

othered and look at how the media portrays
them in a politically expedient way.

So now you're gaining the support of
other groups, you're showing the process

of othering and what that looks like.

I, I might be biased, but I think the
power of the, um, the collective masses

through the media is way more powerful
and affecting positive change than any

legal recourse that we possibly have.

Teri Bryant: Yeah.

Well, I think, I think, um, you
know, that's, uh, rec, helping

people, other people outside the
firearms community to recognize the

importance of the precedents, the
negative precedents that are being

set here is a very important thing.

Yes.

Yes.

And.

Um, so that's, that's why in Alberta,
I think, uh, there are a lot of people

who, the arguments are more receptive,
more well received here in Alberta.

And that's because many of the issues
that are touched on are ones that are

important to people, even if they are
not affected directly by them themselves.

So, you know, one of the things
about Alberta, you know, uh, we're

known for our, uh, emphasis on
property rights and, you know, people

might wonder, well, why is that?

And if you think about it historically,
it makes a great deal of sense

because when Alberta was being
settled, how did we make our money?

Well, Agriculture, ranching, you need
to have property, you've got land,

you've got livestock, uh, you've got
equipment, um, and you know, even if

you're, uh, not ranching, but you're,
you know, you're, you're, uh, seeding

crops, you need, uh, lots of equipment.

So that property is your livelihood.

It is, there's a very direct
connection between property rights.

And your livelihood.

And then subsequently we had the oil
boom and, and, uh, you know, which has,

of course, it has ups and downs over
time, but in oil as well, your property

rights and your, um, you know, your,
uh, the royalties that come off of that

has helped to support the province.

So property, uh, the recognition
that property is an important

Important part of what enables us
to be prosperous and also to live an

independent, self reliant lifestyle.

That awareness is much stronger here in
Alberta than it is in many other places.

And so, um, People may not recognize,
uh, or even if they're a gun person,

they might say, well, yeah, but I don't
have an AR 15, uh, you know, well, yeah.

But if they take that away, how long, you
know, before they take the other ones away

and then how long before they decide that.

You know, well, do you really
need to be owning land?

I mean, it isn't, shouldn't that
be owned by the state so they can,

we can feed the masses with it?

Well, see how well I, I studied in
the Soviet union, so I know how well

the whole collective farm thing works,
you know, um, uh, so, you know, here

in Alberta, people are much more
receptive to these kinds of concerns.

And I think in that regard, we can be a
beacon for the rest of the country because

we're If you look across, you know,
I, I pretty much confined myself to my

little bailiwick, which is the firearms
issue, but across a wide range of issues.

Alberta has not been afraid to challenge
the, uh, the received wisdom, the, the,

uh, uh, the co, the popular ideas of
the day and come up with ideas that.

Often end up working better and if
they don't work better, then we abandon

those and come up with an even better
idea because we're not afraid to be

different and that comes from that
independent mindset that we have because

we've grown up as a society of people
who were farmers and ranchers and

people who are living on their own.

You know, you talk to some people,
they live in some of the more

remote parts of the province.

They come to town every once in
a while, otherwise, I mean, the

reason they're out there is they
want people to leave them alone.

And you know, that, that when the
federal government keeps coming in

and coming up with ideas that are
intruding on their ideas, they've

moved somewhere where their activities
don't have any impact on anybody.

They, they just want to be left alone.

And when the federal government won't
leave people alone, but keeps badgering

them and coming after them, even
when they're not doing anything, that

really rubs Albertans the wrong way.

Travis Bader: You are a very strong person
and you stand up for what you know to

be true, which takes a lot of courage.

And I should imagine, do you find you get
much flack or heat for, Stepping up and

saying, I don't agree with this policy,
or I don't agree with this process.

There's a better way that we can do it.

Teri Bryant: Well, surprisingly little,
actually, um, because, uh, so a couple

of things, first of all, I mean, people
might think, Oh, Terry's so courageous.

She does this.

I have a mandate.

So it says that I'm supposed to do this.

Okay.

Whereas if you, if you know, if I was
a federally appointed CFO, I'd get,

I'd have been fired within a week.

Okay.

Uh, uh, foreseeing and
doing the things that I do.

Um, it's not just me, you know, I have a
whole team here that is helping me to, uh,

establish, uh, a different way of looking
at the firearms issue, a different way

of relating to the firearms community.

I have political support, you know, all
of the ministers, including our current,

uh, minister of justice, Mickey Amory.

They've all been very supportive.

I've spoken to the premier a few times.

She's a busy lady, so I don't
see her on a real regular basis.

Mm-Hmm.

. But every interaction I've had
with her, she has expressed

the strongest possible support.

Uh, I know many of the members of Cabinet
and they, uh, also are very supportive,

and so, you know, it's a little easier.

To be courageous when, you
know, you're not alone.

Sure.

Yes.

So, so I don't want to overplay my,
uh, you know, by a valiant role in

this, in this, uh, in this whole thing.

Uh, but you know, I do have, uh, a
lot of people who are very supportive.

And the thing is that the people who
recognize me, like one of the things

that's really been a big change in my
life is I spent most of my life, you

I didn't want to have anything to do
with the media or, or anything like that.

And then I got this job and, you know, a
large part of it involves talking to large

numbers of people at public events, being
on podcasts and all kinds of other things.

I'm not a very technological person,
so I don't even know all the kinds

of things that I'm on or what they're
supposed to be called, but, um, Um, if

you Google my name and chief firearms
officer, you'll find lots of stuff there.

And so I have people come up to me all
the time and say, are you, yes, I mean,

I was in, uh, Lethbridge last weekend for
the, um, Fort Whoop Up rendezvous of the

Alberta black powder shooting association.

And um, I've crossed the parking lot to go
to the restaurant to have a bite to eat.

And as I'm walking in,
the guy says, Are you?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's me.

Yeah.

I've been recognized on the street
and, and, um, and, uh, many places.

So.

It's not something that I would
have chosen, you know, uh, it's sort

of a cost that comes with the job.

I mean, some people would find it nice
because it, it soothes their ego, you

know, that, oh yeah, people recognize
me everywhere, but it means I gotta be

really good because, because, you know,
I'm in the public eye all the time.

And Uh, so the people who recognize me
are generally people who are supportive.

Um, I do get some people, even at
gun shows, uh, who are, uh, less

supportive of not always of me.

Firearms per se, but of, um, well,
why do they need that kind of firearm?

And you know, why, why
do people need a handgun?

Why do they need a modern sporting rifle?

Why do you need that?

And, you know, I then work on converting
them and pointing out, you know, I

get at one time, uh, the lever action
repeating rifle was considered a

revolutionary increase in firepower.

Um, and so, you know, now it's
considered a, you know, a very

sedate, uh, traditional kind of thing.

So, uh, I, I spend time, uh, to
convince people that this is.

something that, you know,
it's not, not so scary.

And, and if you, um, if they, if we
let them get away with taking these

away, then the thing that you like
next is going to be on the block.

Yeah.

So, um, I spent a fair bit of time, Uh,
you know, at, at shows, because it's

not that there's a large number of them,
but sometimes it needs a little work,

you know, um, but that's part of my job.

Like, basically I view my time, I
have to sleep a certain number of

day, hours a day, but otherwise all
my time is this job, you know, and.

So if it's, if it takes 15 minutes
to convert a person, then 15 minutes,

it'll take if it takes half an hour, if
it takes an hour, I just keep plugging

away at it one by one, you know, you,
you make convert people to the cause,

or at least to being, uh, indifferent
and another part of how I do that.

I think I've shown you that I, I use a lot
of my own firearms and I have a lot of.

Very interesting historical pieces and
I can comment on the history of them.

You know, this gun was was purchased
by the Kingdom of Siam to equip their

officer corps and you know this kind
of thing and so People then view

these things as in a different way.

They realize, yeah, there's
a lot of history there.

Or I point out, you know, this one
was owned by my, my grandfather, and

then my father, and then me, or my
father, and my uncle, and then me.

And, you know, they realize that
there's family history to it.

That, that many of them
are historical artifacts.

from history writ large, not just my
family and it changes people's perspective

on things and they recognize that, you
know, like with the, with the modern

sporting rifle that, uh, modern sporting
rifles that were covered by the order in

council, people don't realize how broadly.

That there were many other types of things
that are by no means modern sporting

rifles or black rifles, whatever you want
to call them that are covered by that.

And that's something that the federal
government has repeatedly done is say,

Oh, we're banning this type of gun.

Oh, we're banning, you know, Saturday
night specials, and then they enact a

law that actually covers a lot more.

And so, um, you know, that's a, uh,
there should be some kind of honesty

and labeling law with respect to, with
respect to laws, but you know, it's part

of my job to, uh, point these things out.

And, uh, you know, I, uh, when I went
to Ottawa, I took pictures, they're

talking about the handgun transfer
freeze when they were going to entrench

it in legislation through Bill C 21.

I took pictures of, you know, my Peter
Soli reproduction of a Harpers Ferry

flintlock, uh, and I said, you know,
and, and my cap and ball revolvers and,

uh, uh, which are modern production.

And I said, like, You realize
that this handgun transfer freeze,

this is what you're banning.

This is pirate era technology.

And what did they say?

And they, they, well, a couple
of them actually said, well,

like, can I keep these pictures?

So fortunately I had made numerous
copies and I said, Oh, of course.

You know, um, but the, the.

The problem there is,

you know, a lot of things are decided in
Ottawa by politics, not by rationality.

And, you know, I had people who would
say, yeah, you know, you pointed

out good errors, good, good, you
know, serious problems with this,

you've come up with good compromise
solutions, nothing that I proposed.

I wasn't, you know, proposing open carry
or, or something like that, you know,

which whether you like it or not, it's,
it would be quite, you have to admit

that would be a radical idea in Canada.

Yeah.

I wasn't proposing anything like that.

I was saying, well, you know, instead
of this Olympic exemption, you know, let

the chief firearms officer decide which
organizations can write these letters or

something like little tweaks that could
have made a big difference, but they

weren't willing to even consider that.

And that's what makes you realize.

that this has anybody who, uh,
observes that should understand

then that it's not this, these laws
are not based around public safety.

Right.

That might be the, it's not to say that
in the whole complex of Bill C 21, there's

nothing that affected public safety.

Okay.

But that particular thing, um, how
can you argue that banning this single

shot muzzle loading flintlock Is
going to improve public safety that

saying that that can't be transferred
to anybody and it's not prohibited.

It just means that you can't
transfer it to anybody.

I mean, I'm fond of saying the
last time somebody committed

a crime with one of these.

It was 1820 and the guy had a patch on
one eye and a parrot on his shoulder,

you know, so, um, and then after doing
it, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Travis Bader: Well.

You know, well, part of me
would say like, why, why would

they proceed with those things?

Would it be ignorance?

But clearly it can't be ignorance
if they're being educated otherwise.

Is it, uh, is it ego?

Is it arrogance?

Is there a greater
political, uh, motive behind

Teri Bryant: it?

Travis Bader: What?

Teri Bryant: So I'm hopeful that
when the Senate faces this kind of

legislation again, um, that they will
do the right thing and Uh, be willing to

write some of the injustices that have
been, uh, perpetrated by, uh, Bill C

21 and some of the other measures that
have been introduced over the years.

But you know, fundamentally, I
mean, there are certain things

that need to be done right away.

You know, dropping the order in
council, uh, dealing with Bill C

21 and the handgun transfer freeze.

Uh, but more fundamentally, we
really do need to start again.

to, you know, start with a blank slate.

And I'm not saying that we get rid of
all the laws and then reintroduce them.

I'm saying, you know, what the
patchwork that we have now, where

we've got Band Aid on Band Aid on
Band Aid, it's incomprehensible.

Okay.

And, uh, so, and laws should be
clear, should be simple, should

be easy to administer, should be
easy for people to understand.

You shouldn't need to have a doctorate
in law in order to figure out, and

actually now the law is so convoluted
that even if you get three doctors of

law, you'll get four opinions on what it's

Travis Bader: worth.

That's right.

Teri Bryant: Uh, so we
really need to start again.

And, uh, after the, the positive
aspect, I always, I'm a, I'm

a silver lining kind of gal.

And so the, the positive aspect of
this is we've got experience now.

We know what will work, what won't work.

We can also look at what other
countries have done and what

worked and didn't work there.

And we can just keep
the core elements that.

Have been proven to work or where
there's at least a reasonable, plausible,

logical case that they should work.

Sure.

And, uh, and get rid of the
things that are only expensive,

ineffective, and expensive.

And undermine confidence in the system.

I mean, when we have a classification
scheme, and I can show you

two guns that are identical,
you couldn't tell them apart.

And one of them is restricted,
and one of them is prohibited.

Or one of them is one category,
and another is another category.

Then, you know, that
undermines people's confidence.

People, if you want, the whole
idea of laws is to prevent people

from doing things that they might
otherwise do, that they might have

liked to do, but they realized, no,
oh, I'm not supposed to do that.

Well, they're not likely to accept
those kind of, they're less likely

to accept those kind of restrictions.

If those restrictions
don't make any sense.

Travis Bader: I agree.

Yeah.

I, I, I'm a firm believer that if you
spend any time out in the wild, you'll

realize that animals will take the least
path of resistance and humans are animals.

We take the least path of resistance,
the path of least resistance.

Uh, and if we're able to make it,
uh, easy for the politicians to make

a decision, if we're easy, make it
easy for the lawmakers to, to move

forward in a certain direction.

They're way more likely to move there.

And there's a couple of examples where
I've, I've looked at, uh, different

provinces sort of leading the way
in certain areas and other provinces

sort of copying their example.

One of them was, uh, Nova Scotia chief
firearms officer was, uh, Introducing,

uh, restrictions and amendments.

I'm trying to think of what the word
is on, on ranges, uh, conditions.

Thank you.

Uh, conditions on ranges and,
uh, the new Brunswick CFO did a

similar thing to one of the ranges.

I think that was a Springfield range.

Springfield range says like, hold
on, I don't get why we have these.

We've operated so long.

And in fact, these conditions that are
being applied, they don't make sense.

They took him to court and the, uh,
New Brunswick CFO says, well, I'm

just doing that because that's how
the Nova Scotia CFO was doing it.

And that's sort of that, that
normative process following

the path of least resistance.

Well, somebody else did it like that.

And the other one would be, um,
in Ontario, uh, Daniel Belofsky,

he's, was a Silver Corp club member.

And the chief firearms officer,
Chris Wyatt at the time says, no,

we're not going to issue you an
authorization to transport, uh, until

you join a range in our province.

And he's like, I've looked
through the regulations, I've

looked through everything.

I don't see anything where you even
get the authority to ask for that.

Took them to court, uh, won, was
appealed, lost, but the by product

was that they no longer had to
ask for, um, uh, an authorization.

Uh, range membership or club membership
in order to have your restricted

firearms license renewed and issued,
or your, your ATT issued, I think was

more of the provincial purview there.

And what I learned through that one
was it was, uh, at least what was

told to me that was being run as a bit
of a test case to see how they could

bleed it out into other provinces.

So I see this normative process.

I see where the negative, uh, aspects
of different policy are being just,

well, buddy to my left or right,
and that's how they're doing it.

Are you seeing that sort of process
in some of the positive aspects or

other provinces looking to Alberta
and saying, hold on a second,

Terry makes a good point over here.

Maybe we should reevaluate.

Teri Bryant: Well, we have seen, uh, we
have seen some of that because, um, You

know, for example, when they introduce
the requirement that people that you,

that a seller validate the non restricted,
uh, that the, they validate the, uh,

possession and acquisition license
of a buyer who wants to acquire a non

restricted firearm from them, or, or,
you know, Transfer in any way, if you're

giving it to somebody, you're supposed
to validate that their PAL is correct.

It's one of those ideas that doesn't
sound all that bad in principle,

but the way they did it meant that
it was, uh, pretty much impossible

to do it at many gun shows.

And so we worked together with our
federal partners in the registry to

obtain these reference numbers for people.

And, uh, there has been.

Some element of, uh, spread
of an idea like that.

Uh, it's, it's not challenging anything.

Like we're trying to say, like, if
you want people to comply with this,

let's, let's make it easy or at the
very least possible for them to comply.

Yeah.

And you know, that's the, the whole
approach that we try and take is.

To, uh, facilitate people's compliance.

Okay.

Like we're not law enforcement, right?

We're not the ones who are going to go
out and say, Oh, you're not doing that.

We're going to lay a charge against you.

That's not our role.

Okay.

Our role is to administer the licensing
scheme and the authorizations and so on.

And to encourage compliance with that,
um, and encouraging compliance might be as

simple as, you know, another example from,
from gun shows is people are supposed to

secure their guns when they're on display.

And so I don't go up and pound a table
and say, Hey, that gun isn't secured.

I get a supply of free locks
from the federal government.

They're free in a sense, a lot
of people don't like the idea of

anything for the government is free,
but, uh, we obtain them without them

charging us so we can pass them on
to somebody else without charging.

Right.

And in that sense, at least people
are getting something back for all

the tax dollars they send to Ottawa.

But you know, uh, instead of saying,
Hey, you need to, to fix this situation.

I go up to him and say, Hey, I
got a bunch of trigger locks.

Would you like some, you know?

Uh, that gets a better reaction
from people because people don't

like to be told what to do.

People don't like to be, to
have, uh, someone suggesting

that they're doing things wrong.

Um, but if you can offer them something
in a graceful fashion, Then that helps

and, and it also encourages, you know,
sometimes people come to me and they

say, um, if I do this, will this comply?

Is this enough?

And my reaction is, well, first
of all, I'm not a lawyer, so I

can't give you legal advice, right?

Um, I can tell you what the law says.

Uh, but I'm not a lawyer.

My word, just because I say it,
it doesn't mean that it's the law.

Okay.

But, um, What I can say
is, here's what the law is.

It kind of looks like that
would maybe meet the law.

Is that all you really want to do?

Travis Bader: Just bare minimum.

Teri Bryant: Yeah.

So, I mean, when I go out driving,
my, when I do a lot of driving, okay?

My goal is not simply to avoid
committing vehicular homicide, okay?

That might be complying
with the law, okay?

But I, I've set my standard a
little higher than that, okay?

And I don't maybe always meet it, but I
want to be, you know, a safe, courteous

driver and, you know, let people in
and, you know, uh, this kind of thing.

And so, If we want to create a
positive image of ourselves as a

misunderstood minority, then it helps
if we go above and beyond, you know?

And so does that meet legal minimum?

Well, you know, I'm not a lawyer,
but it, Uh, probably meets the legal

minimum, but I'd suggest you do more,
you know, and, uh, and so that's why,

you know, when you were talking about,
about getting a club membership, right,

there's not, it doesn't say in the law
that you have to have a club membership.

That's right.

Okay.

What it says is that a firearms officer.

Can't issue this to you without,
uh, unless they are satisfied

that you are acquiring it for
the purpose that you state.

Okay.

The easiest way to satisfy people that
you want a gun for a target practice

is if you belong to a range where you,
you would go to do target practice.

It's not the only way.

There are other, other possibilities.

You know, I always tell people, well,
no, we don't legally require that.

It's not an absolute mandate.

It will be the first question if we
have to ask you, uh, because the way the

federal government has set things up now,
a lot of applications are held up for

what we call confirmation of purpose.

Right?

So we will have to ask you that
we have to ask because it says

we can't do this unless we're
satisfied that this is the case.

Bye.

Um, you know, we, we aren't, uh,
requiring this, but I always tell

people, I would strongly suggest that
everybody belong to at least one range.

I belong to three.

Okay.

Even though I hardly get a
chance to get out and shoot now

because I work every weekend.

But um, the reason for
that is it's very simple.

Our entire infrastructure is
under attack, like with the loss

of handgun transfers, the number
of handgun owners ratchets down.

Then fewer people say, well, if I'm
not shooting my handguns, uh, I don't,

why do I need to belong to a range?

So some ranges have suffered
significant losses in membership.

That's exactly what the feds want.

Right.

Okay.

And so, uh, we need to continue
to support our infrastructure.

And I made this point when I was arguing
against Bill C 21 and its pernicious

effects on public safety, because I
said, like, you know, ranges aren't

only the place where firearms owners go.

To shoot their guns in many places,
that's where, like your, uh, armored

car guards go where your police go,
where, you know, people who, uh, you

know, wildlife officers and so on,
they need to have a place to shoot.

And right now, I mean,
Alberta is a very big place.

You don't realize how big it is.

Until you start driving around here.

And even though I said, like, I've been up
as far as Fort Mac, there's a whole bunch

of Alberta that's further North than that.

Including a couple of ranges that
are in the very far North, almost

to the Northwest territories.

And so I'm, and I hope
to get there one day.

Cause I want to visit everything.

I want to visit every business.

I want to visit every range.

I want to have, I want to be in places
where everybody at least has a chance.

If they want to talk to me,
they can come and talk to me.

Okay.

Uh, but, um, you know, those,
um, uh, many places, the police

don't have a range locally.

Like they, for their annual qualification,
they may have to travel hours and

hours and hours to go somewhere.

So they'll use the local range.

Well, if the local range has to
close down because they don't have

enough members, then that's going
to negatively affect public safety.

It will.

Yes.

And.

Uh, because I don't know about
you, but anybody that is officially

carrying a gun, I want them to
be as proficient as possible.

Better believe it.

And so, you know, we need
to ensure that there are.

Um, that these ranges stay open and,
uh, it's a small, uh, cost, you know, I

mean, uh, getting an associate membership
or, uh, you know, there are many

rural, there's still rural, um, ranges.

Some of them where it's under a hundred
dollars, you know, uh, not a lot of

them now because costs go up, but,
but you know, there are, uh, if we

don't support those ranges, it's going
to come back to haunt us because.

The whole model of firearms
ownership in Canada, right?

Like it or not is based
around sporting use.

And if there's no place where people
can go and use them for sport, then

people would say, why do you have them?

Right.

And then they come for you.

Right.

So, you know, it's really
important that we support ranges.

And so I always tell people,
we don't legally require it.

We encourage it.

And part of the reason why is.

It's your way of helping to support the
future of firearms ownership in Canada.

That's a good point.

Travis Bader: That's a good point.

You brought up a couple of things here.

One of them is about going above and
beyond and it brings to mind, uh,

one of our instructors, he uses the
acronym CYA and he's like, ask the

class, you know what that stands for?

And I was like, oh yeah, yeah.

And he says, can you articulate?

Right?

Oh, okay.

If you're pulled over, can you articulate?

If you had to stand in front of a trier
of fact, can you easily articulate?

And the answer is you have to
do a song and dance and break

out the nitty gritty fine print.

Well, maybe, maybe it's going to be a
lot easier if you go above and beyond.

It's easy to articulate.

Teri Bryant: And, and, uh, you know,
it's also, people, people are sometimes

critical because not everybody who's
responsible for, uh, or aspects of,

uh, the firearms control system,
whether it's the regulatory part or

the enforcement part, not everyone
is an expert in all of these things.

Right.

Right.

And, um, you know, most of us, because
of our pattern of our past, our pattern

of usage and our interests, we tend to
know a lot about a few things and not

always a whole lot about other things.

Right.

And, um, you know, I know more about
firearms than most people do, but there

are areas about firearms that I don't
know anything about and, or very little.

Uh, uh, and so that's one of the reasons
also why I go to events so that I can

learn more about it and I can see how
things get done and, um, you know, see

how people use things in competitions.

And, um, yeah.

educate myself.

So, you know, education isn't a, is
education is de facto, it's a process,

you know, and so, uh, I'm continually
learning new things all the time about,

um, you know, how, you know, when I was
at the black powder shooting association,

how do people deal with, uh, misfires
or hang fires and things like that.

And, you know, Uh, in a practical
sense, not, not theoretically, but

seeing exactly what they do and what
tools they use and so on and so forth.

It helps me to understand things.

When will I use that?

I don't know, but it's all
part of my toolkit, you know?

And then, uh, you know, it's part of that,
I guess that's part of the reason why you

go to Canadian Tire and they, they sell
you a kit that has 87 wrenches in it.

And am I ever going to need
a six millimeter wrench?

I don't know, but I'll have one
for the day when it, but I want it.

Travis Bader: Um, that, that
learning process, you know, there.

As I've, I've been doing this since
about 94, started teaching in 94,

the basic firearm safety course,
when they came out, I incorporated

Silvercore in 03 and started the,
the firearms business license.

Before that I had a sole proprietorship
Silvercore Gunworks, and I was doing

repair and maintenance, extended work for
law enforcement and armored car companies.

And then every Joe blow and
coming in with a, 100 gun.

They bought it a gun show that they wanted
to shoot like a thousand dollar gun,

but they only wanted to spend 50 bucks,
but, but been doing it for a little bit.

And there's been a number of different
interesting learning pieces, one of them.

Um, so I've been asked for both Crown as
well as defense side to opine on different

firearms or weapons related issues.

And they go through the process
and qualify you as a subject matter

expert for that case on that day
for that one particular area.

And then even if you meet that
qualification, then it's how much weight's

going to be ascribed to this opinion.

Um.

There was one that was,
uh, ease of conversion.

There was a firearm that was being
imported and they got the AOK and the

firearms program turned around and says,
no, it's easy to convert full auto.

And so I was asked to come in
and take a look at this guy.

And I looked at it and within about a
minute of taking it apart and looking

at how to operate it, I figured out how
you can make this thing go full auto.

And so my testimony was, cause you're not
an expert for the person who's hiring you.

You're an expert for the court to provide
them with the best possible decision.

My expert testimony was, it's
pretty damn easy to convert, right?

However, a lot of the things that
are being said about where it's

being made, how it's being put
together, and that's completely

false and here's the information
that I can show it to you, right?

As I testified first, I get to
watch a second, the, uh, firearms

program expert testify and it's.

I've actually testified, um, he's
been on a different side on other

issues and I watch him and the only
thing I could come to mind was he's

lying, he's lying through his teeth.

He he's can't be that ignorant to what
the facts are and if he had only heard my

testimony, he wouldn't have had to lie.

Right.

Um, and so I was getting all
worked up and looking like, how can

somebody go up there and do this?

And at the end of the day, what I
learned was that the recourse for this

decision that was being made on the
firearm is similar to the recourse for

decisions for a lot of firearms issues.

And it was, I think they
called it a judicial review.

And it doesn't review whether or not the
end outcome, the end conclusion that the,

um, in this case, the firearms program
came to doesn't review whether that was

the right decision or wrong decision.

It reviews if they followed the
proper steps to get to that decision.

So that was a big, uh, learning moment
for me, even if, you know, a hundred

percent, you're right on one thing.

And in that particular instance, I agree.

It was, it was easy to convert.

I mean, it met the
definition, but even if.

Even if, uh, you are a
hundred percent right.

And the opposing side comes up with
something that, you know, to be a

hundred percent wrong, your recourse
legally on that is rather constrained.

And if they can prove that they follow
all the right steps to get there, that

final decision stands in that that
leads into a, um, a moratorium that

was put on, on instructors in British
Columbia, making new instructors.

And I didn't think that was right.

Other instructor says,
Travis, what are you doing?

This is a gold mine.

I mean, why would you want
more instructors out here?

And I said, I don't look at it like that.

This isn't, this isn't
my main source of income.

I'm more diverse in this.

And I don't like the idea of limiting
legal access to firearms and the

safety training and all the rest.

I know what I'm going to do.

I'm going to hire a lawyer and I'm
going to challenge this moratorium.

Lawyer turns around and looks at it
and says, okay, got your money here.

But, um, just to let you know, I've
done some research and there actually

isn't a legal framework to act, compel.

A firearms officer or chief firearms
officer to make new instructors, uh,

in the way that there would be a legal
framework for other civil servants.

Uh, the approach that we're
taking on this one is off.

We'll be lucky if they
don't see costs, right?

Uh, it was dropped without costs.

And I was mentioning this to somebody
I know who's in the media and.

He's like, like, why are you pursuing it?

I said, this is a public safety thing.

If this is supposed to be safety
training and it's supposed to help the

general public, how can they limit this?

He's like, I'll, I'll
give him a phone call.

So here's that learning process.

He phoned up on the Friday, by Monday, the
firearms program said, we've decided to

change our approach and we're opening up
the, um, uh, we're, we're, uh, stopping

the moratorium on, uh, instructors.

We're going to make some new instructors.

So what I'm trying to get across in
this sort of long winded thing here is

there's a lot of people in the firearms
community that might not actually

realize the amount of agency that they
have, if they're able to show the easy

path and be vocal in a positive way.

Uh, towards the issues
that they're experiencing.

If they say, that's it,
we're going to court.

I got deep pockets and
we're going after this.

You're, you're probably looking at a
losing prospect, but if you take an

approach of raising public attention
towards these matters, I've found by

and large, using that approach has,
um, pressured a positive outcome.

Teri Bryant: Well, I mean, all of these
issues, I, you know, we, we need to

kind of follow multi pronged strategies.

Okay.

And part of the thing you, you touched
on when you were talking about the

number of instructors and, and that
sort of thing, every province deals

with the whole issue of instructors.

I'm the one who has to
actually sign people's.

Certificates saying that they're, they're
do it, but we have a, a partner, uh,

that does that right at the moment.

They're the ones who, who,
well, for quite a few years,

actually, not just this moment.

Yep.

They're the ones who've done
it for quite a long time.

And we work closely with them on that.

Um, and, um, Um, so other
provinces do it differently.

They have one of the people in the
firearms office who is, uh, responsible

for managing the instructors.

We have a couple of our, our
firearms officers who are

qualified instructors here as well.

Um, so, but the thing is, uh,

having, you know, uh, one
prong of our strategy has to

be to increase our numbers.

And you can't become a legal firearms
owner unless you can take the course.

Right.

So, we've got to make sure that that
course Is available to everybody.

So in the province of Alberta, it has
to be available to everybody from the U.

S.

Border to the Northwest
territories from B.

C.

to Saskatchewan.

It has to be available to you
whether you're old, young.

Uh, whether you, uh, are living with
a disability, whether you, uh, are

a newcomer or someone who's long
established, whether you're, uh,

indigenous, whether we want to make sure
that that's available to everyone so

that everyone, um, has the ability to
join us in our, uh, in our struggles.

And that I think is very important,
uh, because a lot of people have the.

Uh, have the mistaken idea that,
uh, firearms owners are just a

bunch of angry old white guys.

Travis Bader: Sure.

Teri Bryant: Okay.

Travis Bader: Gouge is what I've heard.

Grumpy old white dudes.

Teri Bryant: So, But the thing is,
uh, and you know, we may have an

element of that, I can't deny in our,
in our, uh, cadre, but, um, you know,

many of like many of my firearms
officers are firearms enthusiasts.

I have a couple of the women who
work here as firearms officers

who are very avid hunters.

And, uh, and, uh, you
know, we have, when I.

Uh, I have people from all different
communities, from the South Asian

community, Filipino community,
you know, Chinese Canadians and,

uh, Indigenous peoples and, uh,
of all the different groups.

Yeah.

And, you know, it's, and young and old.

Um, so at the black powder event,
there was, you know, uh, a lot

of people who were seventies,
eighties, even one in their nineties.

Um, but there were also a couple
of teenagers and they're, it

was very interesting because
you know what the other hobby

of these two teenage ladies was?

What?

Roller derby.

Oh, I love it.

I love it.

Yeah.

I didn't even know they still
did roller derby, but they were

showing me pictures of, of, of that.

That could be a

Travis Bader: brutal sport.

Teri Bryant: Yeah.

Well, um, It's, uh, but it shows the
diversity and that's what we need

to, uh, you know, we need people
to understand and it will help us.

When we go to talk to different groups,
if people understand that diversity,

that it isn't just a bunch of, uh,
angry old white guys from rural areas

that we've got young urban women, that
we've got people from all different

ethnic, racial, religious groups that
are part of that firearms community.

And, um, that opens people's minds, oh,
oh, I didn't realize that you, you were

just like everybody else except that
you have this, uh, particular interest.

And so the more we can expand our
numbers and the more we can, uh,

expand into groups that were not
perhaps traditionally strongly inclined

towards firearms ownership, the
stronger our cause is going to be.

Travis Bader: So I've always looked
at the, uh, firearms program.

You brought this up before that you guys
aren't the enforcement body, the firearms

program is, but they're the ones that,
uh, help with the, as I've looked at

them as facilitators, essentially, how
do you get you from point A to point B?

And for a number of years dealing with
the BC CFO's office and dealing with other

provinces, they've That, that really was
a way it's like, Hey, I'd like to do this.

And I want to open up a
business that does this.

How do I do that?

Can you guide me through it?

And, um, at some point things kind
of changed and it looks like it's

swinging back again, but things
changed to a point where it was rather

than being the facilitator, it was
a person who tells you, no, right.

Um, I'd like to do this.

Well, you can't.

Well, let, let me take a look
at your business plan first

and nope, doesn't meet it.

Well, hold on a second.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Shouldn't you say in order
to get there, your business

plan has to have these steps.

If you got that great, fantastic.

If it doesn't, and I've, I've looked
at that in like ATC issuance, I've

looked at that in business, um,
conditions and, and licensing.

Uh, In talking with you and looking
around the office and seeing where

you're going here, it looks like
you're taking a very grassroots

approach and, uh, a facilitating
approach to helping people get forward.

I, I'm wondering, is that, is
that the trend within the General

Firearms program to turn around and
say, look, how do we facilitate?

'cause I was told by some past
officers that on some issues.

Uh, they had a mandate to
deny, to do what they could.

ATCs is one of them.

I was told we've got a
mandate to try and limit that.

The other one was a business
licenses in the film industry.

We've got a mandate to try and crack
down and not allow people to get those.

Um, have you heard of those mandates?

Have you seen a shift towards
how do we facilitate more?

Teri Bryant: Um, well, first of all, the
one place that I can definitely speak

to is here and, you know, our approach
like with ranges, for example, what

we, what we say is it was, I'm stealing
a line that was come up with by, by

our senior range firearms officer.

Uh, and, uh, you know, you want
to have a safe place to shoot.

We want to give you a safe
place to shoot, you know?

So, and that means, you know, we have
a certain amount of expertise in making

sure that, you Um, certain risks that you
might not have thought of are covered off.

Sure.

Okay.

So, um, because we have the benefit,
and this is part of the benefit of being

part of the whole Canadian firearms
program, we've got the experience

of everything that's happened all
across the country for decades.

Okay.

So, you know, we try and take that
facilitative approach and it pays

off, you know, um, just past weekend
when I mentioned I was at this black

powder rendezvous, uh, one of the,
one Participants there came up to

me and said, well, I want to start
a gun show in such and such a place.

Where do, where, uh, how do I do that?

And so I said, well, here's my, uh,
contact information, contact me.

I'll put you an officer in touch with you,
but here's a couple of key things that you

want to think about, you know, security
and, and, uh, different issues like that.

And some practical things, you know,
like, Uh, get yourself a, a roll of

black plastic bags so that people aren't
walking out across a parking lot with

a naked gun to quote a movie, you know,
Leslie Nielsen, that sort of thing.

So, you know, uh, and, and so I'm hoping
that he's going to follow through on

that and we'll have another gun show, um,
because the more places there are where

people can be socialized into the law
abiding, responsible firearms culture.

The better off not only we will
be, but the entire society will be.

And so, you know, that's kind of
the, the approach that we have taken.

I think that in other provinces, a lot
of times it depends on Every province

has its own kind of unique animal.

Um, there are certain efforts, um, you
know, when we meet at, um, there's,

there are a couple of meetings of
chief firearms officers each year.

Um, and they're, they often will attempt
to develop a consensus around what we, how

we should do with, deal with something.

Um, and, uh, you know, my response
to that has, has generally been that,

Uh, that seems to make sense to us.

We'll probably do that, but I'm not
going to be, not going to bind my hands.

Right.

Okay?

Because if there's a situation that
comes up where that doesn't work, I'm

not going to be bound by, uh, you know,
by some group of people who, you know,

Uh, sat around a table, uh, you know,
at three o'clock in the afternoon, we're

looking at their watches and decided no.

Yeah.

Uh, so, uh, I'm not suggesting
there's anything wrong with that,

with how that body of, of people
is deliberating, but, uh, well, the

Travis Bader: intentions
are, are, you know, are good.

I

Teri Bryant: mean, uh, one of the things
that really bothers me, so, you know,

there's a, uh, I just went through
the roof when I saw this at first.

Was, um, you know, the
commissioner's report on firearms.

And a couple of years ago there was
a line and it might still be there.

I don't know.

I have, I, I, I look at
the tables of numbers.

I guess I'm a numbers person.

I don't read all the footnotes, but
it said that the principles of the

Canadian firearms program included
public safety and standardization.

And, you know, like, and there were
about three or four of them, but

putting standardization on a, In the
same level as public safety, you know,

I, I tend to look, think of it more
as I would like to see more ability

for, uh, the firearms officers across
the country to reflect their, uh,

the peculiarities of that province.

Okay.

Uh, and, uh, So,

if that, that has another benefit to
the whole country, that if we come up

with a good idea here in Alberta, and
we show that it works, first of all,

we need to have the freedom to do that.

Okay.

But if we have that freedom, and we do
something different, and we show that that

works, then Then it's like what they call
a natural laboratory, you know, we can,

we can then say, Hey, I know you guys are
doing it differently, but we did it this

way and look at the great results we got.

Right.

And so, you know, uh, talking about
our outreach program, uh, I did a

presentation at the, uh, one of the
recent, uh, chief firearms officers

meetings about our outreach program,
talking about the benefits that we get.

from being out there and talking
to people and, um, you know,

others would like to do that.

There's a lot of them there.

In many cases, it's not, it comes
down to the, you know, the hard

matter of a budget, you know, like
if, if you're in one of the smaller

provinces that doesn't have much money
and, uh, you're not viewed as a high

political priority, um, They don't
give you any money, and then you can't

go out and be at gun shows, you know?

Um, here in, here in Alberta, people have
recognized that this is an area where we

can take the lead in policy, that it's an
important area to, um, you know, I think

there's a widespread political consensus.

That, uh, this is an area that is
of particularly critical importance

in Alberta to our, uh, our culture,
our way of life, our traditions,

um, and, uh, and our economy.

You know, I've, I've touched on that
a couple of times, but, you know,

the, the economic aspect is quite
important and it's not just, you The

jobs of people who are working in gun
shops or at a, at a commercial range

or something, but you know, the health
of our agricultural industry and our,

you know, whether it's ranching or
farming, um, you know, and, uh, forestry.

And then there's the whole, you know, um,
tourism and outfitting, uh, aspect of it.

There's a big economic footprint.

And, you know, if, if there's a, an area.

Where somebody has been raising livestock
for 150 years and suddenly they're

no longer allowed to defend their
livestock against predatory animals,

and they have to abandon their farm.

That's an economic loss.

It's also a huge loss to the
traditions of our province.

Which are, you know, have their
origins in those kinds of industries.

It's a huge loss to that family, you
know, imagine you've got a, had a family

ranch that's been there for 150 years
and it has to be wound up because of some

misguided, uh, edict coming out of Ottawa.

Um, you know, we really need to,
um, to emphasize the economic impact

of some of these things as well.

And, uh, fortunately here in Alberta,
that's recognized, you know, we have

a provincial government that is very
keenly attuned to, uh, the different

aspects of, uh, our province, which
have, I mean, increasingly we do have,

you know, high tech people in this
building that we're in, you know,

is, uh, is high tech, uh, Uh, place.

There's a lots of high tech businesses
here, but, uh, Geographically, a

very large part of the province
is, um, reliant on Agriculture

resource industries, whether it's
forestry or mining or whatever.

Uh, who knows?

I mean, even if you I don't really know
how I'm not an expert on things like solar

energy, but you know, you never know.

They if we Have an area where there's
a big, uh, what do they call them?

Solar, solar power farm.

Travis Bader: Yeah.

Um, the birds coming through,

Teri Bryant: they may, they may
have, uh, uh, the bears might

like that, that area or something.

And they need maintenance.

So people have to be safe.

Yeah.

Um, so there's a, there's a, Uh,
a wide range of areas where, uh,

the firearms issue is of critical
economic importance to Alberta.

And I would, you know, I think
our, um, that's recognized

by the current government.

Uh, I would hope that at some point
it would be, you know, my, my hope

is at both the provincial and federal
level that eventually the firearms

issue would not be a political issue.

Public safety should not
be a political issue.

Everybody wants public safety.

And if we establish a system that
is based on data, on science, on

mutual understanding, and developing
cultures of respect, uh, from citizens

between each other and between
citizens and government, then Uh,

this should not be a political issue.

I mean, when we need changes in
rule, in rules, we may need to have

a vote by politicians, but there
should be consensus on these things.

And uh, you know, I would be, uh, if there
are politicians, federal, provincial,

municipal, who want to be educated,
uh, on this to really understand what's

going on, um, you know, political issues.

I'm here.

Uh, I'm, I'm willing to meet with
people to people to understand.

And I think part of the reason why is
I'm very proud of what we're doing.

I'm proud of the work of my people here.

So whether it's the day to day, you know,
decisions that they make on renewing or

granting firearms licenses, or whether
it's the outreach that my people are

doing, um, I'm very proud of what they do.

And I'm proud of the initiatives
that we're coming up with

to address, uh, issues like.

Firearms, um, uh, firearms misuse
in domestic violence or mental

health issues or things like that.

Uh, we want to face those issues head
on and develop realistic, uh, workable

data based solutions to those problems.

And when we do that here in Alberta,
then I'm going to be preaching

those, uh, as we develop and get,
get more and more ideas there.

I'll be out preaching to have those
adopted all across the country because

our goal is to have public safety
and a thriving firearms community.

And those two are not just
compatible, they're mutually

complimentary and reinforcing.

Travis Bader: A hundred percent.

Teri Bryant: Do you want
to hear some questions

Travis Bader: from the public?

I'm always willing to listen.

Let's see what we got here.

What are the trends, vibes
relating to ATCs, PAL, hunting,

sport shooting, industry?

It's a pretty broad question.

Do you see any trends, uh, emerging
in the, uh, in the industry

or in the firearms community?

Well, I see both troubling

Teri Bryant: and

Travis Bader: promising

Teri Bryant: trends.

Travis Bader: Okay.

Teri Bryant: And, uh, the troubling
trend that I see is, uh, Um, you know,

a lot of people, they get discouraged
because right now the, there's been

a number of completely unjustified
attacks on the firearms community

and it just wears people down.

Okay.

Um, and people say, Oh,
should I stay in business?

Should I keep my guns?

Should I give up hunting?

You know, different things like that.

And on the other side though, I
personally, I'm, you know, maybe

it's cause I'm a half glass, a
glass half full kind of a person.

But I see tremendous opportunity because.

The failure of many of these, uh,
misguided proposals is becoming

increasingly evident, and, uh, there's
a reasonable probability That after the

next election, uh, Ottawa might become
more amenable to listening to reason.

And, uh, so I'm actually,
uh, very positive.

I try to encourage people
to, uh, give them hope.

Uh, I try to encourage people
to write out this rough patch.

Because there's a better day ahead.

I

Travis Bader: like that.

Uh, is your work different
today from when you started?

And if so, how?

Teri Bryant: Um, well, we are kind
of at an inflection point now because

when we started, we were scrambling.

Okay.

When I took over the office, I, on
September, I was only hired like a

couple of weeks before the office opened.

Uh, I was not, although I was
I was a member of the Alberta

Firearms Advisory Committee.

I was part of the Uh, recommendation
to, to take over the office

provincially, but then I wasn't
involved in the lead up to that.

Uh, and so I had no idea
what I was getting into.

It was like, you know, diving blindfolded
off a platform and not knowing whether

it's 600 feet down onto solid concrete
or six inches down into a nice soft

mattress, what's it going to be?

It's a lot closer to 600
feet down to concrete.

But when we started off, you
know, we were, we were scrambling.

We had, uh, you know, an office that
had furniture, but not much else.

Uh, I had half a dozen people with me
the first day and in very short order,

we got ourselves up and running, figured
out what needed to be done that enabled

us to, uh, apply for, uh, the, the
funding that we needed to take over

more of the operations from Miramichi.

Um, because I think things are
best done close to the people, like

this is an information business.

All the information is here.

Yes.

Yes.

So we are, we're now at kind
of an inflection point because

we're almost fully staffed.

And, uh, those staff now we're in the
intensive training phase so that over

the next number of months, we'll be
able to take over most of the work

that Miramichi does for Alberta.

Um, and do that here.

Uh, I've always said that this made
sense because I'm responsible for the

administration of the Canadian firearms
program in Alberta, but I didn't have

control over most of it because most
of it was being done in Miramichi.

And I had a certain, in theory, you
could say I had control of it because

for the people in Miramichi, uh, who, and
I, when I've met some of them, they're

dedicated, great folks that work hard.

But.

Um, I have no idea what's going
on because I would have to sign a

designation order saying that, you
know, Bill Smith or, uh, Jasbir Singh

or whoever is, is, uh, authorized
to act on behalf of, uh, Alberta.

But then I had no idea
of what they were doing.

And so by having everything here.

We will know.

And then, you know, I, I meet people, as
I mentioned, I meet people all the time.

I'm arm's length away from them.

I'm dealing directly with them.

I want to be able to tell them that I
will fix their problem and be able to

say, okay, uh, you know, Bill or Mary
or whoever fixed this person's problem

and can't do that if they're 3000 miles
away and I don't know what's going on.

So, um, we're at that inflection
point now where we've.

Achieved our critical mass.

There's a couple of key
hires that we're still doing.

We need some training, but over
the next little while we will

really be hitting our stride.

So it's like we've been doing
all the training and now we're

going to be in the Olympics.

The Olympics are just a couple of months
away and then we'll be able to really Hit

our stride and, you know, I'm, I'm proud
of how we've dealt with the challenges

up to now, but I'm extremely excited
by how we're going to deal with the The

expanded opportunities that achieving,
uh, our full maturity will bring.

I like that.

Travis Bader: I have my own questions,
but I'm going to save those for after.

Uh, I'm going to go through
the ones to the public here.

Um, what's the latest on the handgun
confiscations post bill C 21.

How did the seizures actually
happen after a handgun owner dies?

Who gets a letter?

Who goes to collect the gear?

How much of a priority is this?

Teri Bryant: So, um,
first of all, uh, just.

I'm sure many of your listeners would
already know, but, um, there is no

specific confiscation plan the same
way that there is supposed to be one

for the Order and Council firearms.

Right.

Okay.

Um, and I say supposed to be one
because I haven't seen much evidence

of there being a concrete plan.

Um, but anyway, um, I think that what
that question is, uh, designed about is

what happens to guns when somebody dies?

What happens to handguns
when somebody dies?

So right now the formal options for
someone are very limited because, uh,

you could sell them to a business, but
most businesses don't need more handguns.

um, you could sell 'em to an
exempt individual, but there's

only a handful of those.

Mm.

Um, you could have them deactivated, but
that's basically destroying their value.

Mm-Hmm.

. And, um, and I mean, I
personally, I hate to see that.

So, um, you know, I, I actually
have a little sign that I put.

When I do have a couple of deactivated
guns in my collection, they were

deactivated before I got them.

I wasn't responsible
for their deactivation.

But my little sign says, in order
to comply with Canada's barbaric

laws requiring the desecration of
precious historical artifacts, sadly,

this firearm has been deactivated.

Yes.

You know, so there's that.

You could just surrender
them and have them destroyed.

None of those are reasonable options.

None of the things that, uh.

Federal government says our options
are really options, you know, um, but,

uh, and I can't counsel people as I,
since I'm not a lawyer, I can't counsel

people on exactly what they should do.

However, I would point out
that it's our understanding.

That, uh, the executor of an estate
has the reasonable period of time to

deal with the resolution of the estate.

And a reasonable period of time
is not well defined in law,

but it's not weeks or days.

It's probably measured in years.

And I think there is a reasonably good
chance that after the next election,

this will become significantly
less of a problem than it is now.

Travis Bader: I agree.

I agree.

What about exporting is
exporting in the car?

Yes.

Uh,

Teri Bryant: it's, it's possible.

Um, the problem is that most guns
aren't worth enough, you know,

like if it costs you, there are
many companies that do this.

Okay.

And I'm not trying to undercut their
business or anything, but if it costs

you 300 to ship a gun out of the
country and the guns worth 400, um, You

know, how much of an option is that?

So the federal government is fond of
saying, Oh, you've got all these options.

Here's like your five option.

Well, that's like saying, well, you
can cut off your hand or you can cut

off your foot or you cut off your
nose or you can cut off your ear.

None of those are really options
that I want to entertain.

Travis Bader: Right.

I agree.

That's a good way to put it.

Uh, what, what's the latest on the
rifle and shot shotgun confiscations

may 2020 OAC has a federal department
of public safety been in contact?

Is the plan advancing or stalled?

Um, what's Alberta's position?

Teri Bryant: Okay.

So, uh, first of all, Alberta's
position from the very outset and

not just my position or not just our
office's position, but our provincial

government's position as, uh, as
articulated by, uh, cabinet members.

Has been, um, that we are absolutely
opposed to this because it's a

violation of people's property rights
and it is a Completely useless waste

of valuable taxpayer resources.

Okay.

Now somebody, when they watch this,
they'll probably say, well, but property

rights aren't protected in Canada.

Well, maybe not, but, uh, they're
not, they're not well protected in

Canada, but, uh, some people would
say, are you really violating them?

But personally, I don't believe
that governments give us rights.

I agree to me, depending on
whether you're religious or not.

Your rights are either God given
or innate right governments can

recognize them or protect them
But they don't give you rights.

Okay, but that's a bit of a
philosophical You know digression

so we've always been very strongly
opposed to this And, uh, that has

played itself out in a number of ways.

So, for example, uh, a previous Minister
of Justice and Solicitor General, um,

issued, uh, I'm not sure what they're
called, protocols or something like

that, indicating that no provincial
resources were to be used, no provincially

funded resources were to be used.

And, and things like that.

So that has limited the options for
the implementation of this program.

But it is, it is not considered legally
legitimate for the province to, um,

we can't obviate a law.

We can't say this law is invalid here.

Okay.

That's, uh, but it doesn't
mean we have to help.

And so that's what these
protocols, uh, help to do.

Also.

Okay.

It's my responsibility as, uh, Chief
Firearms Officer, and particularly under

the Alberta Firearms Act, to ensure that
anything that is done is done safely.

And so, Uh, we have the power
to regulate seizure agents.

There's a fancy legal definition,
but basically that would be anybody

who is involved in some kind of
confiscation program like this.

Um, we have the power to regulate
them to ensure that whatever

activities they conduct are conducted
in a, uh, lawful and safe manner.

and, um, you know, my Sometimes
my federal counterparts say, well,

you know, like surely what we're
going to do it in a safe way.

That's, you know, why would you need
to have the power to regulate that?

But then they came up with the idea
of collecting them in, in post offices

that, that have locks that a six years,
six year old could, could break through.

And so, you know, it
is an important thing.

Um, and we can't, we can't say
that, no, you can't do this.

Yeah.

But we can say that if you're going
to do this, we're going to make sure

that Albertans get treated fairly,
and we're going to make sure that

the way you do it doesn't, uh, expose
Albertans to undue, undue risk.

And fortunately, I think, uh, they
have not yet figured out a way to do

it that Uh, would meet even minimal
public safety, uh, requirements.

So the way I see things playing out, I
don't have a crystal ball, um, neither

the pre prime federal prime minister,
nor the, any of their cabinet, uh,

whisper little nothings into my ear.

Um, but the way I see it playing out is
that I think it's likely that there'll

be, uh, By the time of the next election,
they'll probably be able to do something

on the collection of business inventories,
because there are many businesses that

have been sorely hurt by having to
maintain stocks that they can't sell.

You know, they're paying
interest on money for years.

Interest rates have been high, and
so that's been a burden for them.

But in, and for many businesses, not
all of them, but for many businesses,

it's inventory, you know, uh, but.

Individuals, it's a whole
different thing because we are

much more attached to our stuff.

The things I have are
not just inventory to me.

They are historical artifacts.

They're, uh, treasured heirlooms.

Uh, they are, uh, they have
a significance that goes well

beyond their monetary value.

And so, um, we, uh, want to make
sure that anything that the, the feds

do, they do in a Uh, a safe manner.

They haven't come up with a way to do
that, but I think that, uh, I don't

think they'll be able to make much
progress by the next election on actually

collecting them from individuals.

I agree.

Um, and I, in some respects, and here I'm
going into, you know, Uh, I'm not a, I'm

also, I get, give lots of, of caveats.

I'm not a political analyst.

Okay.

I'm not, uh, uh, I don't have a
doctorate in political science.

Um, but I would think that it, there's
a certain confluence of interest because

it probably makes sense for them to
not complete it by the time of the next

election because it will be troublesome.

It will cause friction and, uh, uh,
Negative publicity, if they try to push

it by the time of the next election.

Travis Bader: Yeah.

Here's one from a business owner and he
says, one thing that would be really good

as an API or API access to PALS so that
we can auto verify when we ship regulated

items, has there been any chat that you've
heard of, of implementing sort of APIs

to, um, to cross check people's licenses
so that businesses can be compliant?

Teri Bryant: Well, businesses have
access to a system for verifying

that people's PALs are valid now.

I mean.

But it's not a

Travis Bader: application protocol
interface or whatever they think.

I don't understand that technology.

Fair enough.

It's something that'll, uh, allows
the backend to talk without the,

without a human having to be
on the front end searching it.

Teri Bryant: I have not seen
anything in their plans.

Um, and we do get updates on things,
but they are expanding the capability.

So they're expanding the capabilities of
automation in the system all the time.

Like you can now apply for
your pal online and many other

things you can apply online.

Um, but on the other hand, anything
that would make it possible to, to, um,

Make it easier on the firearms community

isn't always, I mean, some of these
things, I mean, it is, it does make it

easier when people can apply for PALS.

The specific objective of making
life easier isn't necessarily one

of the top priorities, I think,
in, in those, in those Effort.

So the short answer is, I've
given you a long answer now.

I'll give you the short answer is,
I don't know, , I, I don't think so.

Travis Bader: Fair enough.

Um, what are your thoughts on auditory
health slash medical benefits of

sound moderators slash suppressors?

Police use them is, is
what the question was.

Mm-Hmm.

.
Teri Bryant: Mm-Hmm.

, uh, well, from the very beginning
I've been a, a strong believer that

we need to, uh, consider legalizing.

Uh, suppressors and not just for
the reason that was stated, uh, if

you visit any area where there's
a lot of old timers, many of them,

uh, started using firearms before,
uh, hearing protection, a lot of

them have, have, uh, hearing issues.

And there are times when hearing
issues are not easily dealt with by

earmuffs or, or things like that.

So there's, there's that issue.

Uh, the hearing health is
certainly an important part.

But another part of this issue, I
think, is preserving our ranges.

Because ranges that are close to cities
increasingly are under pressure because

the city grows out to where the range was.

It was originally in an isolated area.

Nobody cared about the noise.

Now there are houses that are close by.

If people were using suppressors,
the noise would be a much

less significant issue.

I think that probably we need to,
Figure out what kind of a regulatory

framework would be around them.

Um, I, I probably wouldn't favor just
removing all restrictions on them until

we at least studied whether that was
going to be a good thing, but definitely

I think that They should play a role
in firearms usage in, in the future in

Canada, they do in many other countries,
including countries that have even more

restrictive firearms laws than we do.

Travis Bader: England is one of them.

I remember I was in Scotland.

I was walking from
Inverness to the Loch Ness.

I want to check out.

Go for a swim in their,
their cold lake over there.

And, uh, I saw this guy in his field
and I was like, Hey, I recognize

what he's got set up over there.

It looks like a little
covered shooting area.

And he was shooting.

I thought, Oh, I'll go chat with them.

And he had a suppressor on his rifle.

And so Canada, those are illegal.

He's like, really?

I can't shoot my rifle without it here.

Cause I live in X proximity
to my neighbors and the

laws say I have to have it.

Interesting.

Um,

there's, there's one.

What are your thoughts on the
utility of the AR 10 ESP, especially,

I guess, as a SIG 308 offering.

In wildlife conservation officer
use, many Western Canadian provinces

switched to them beginning in 2018.

And I think this individual is
probably looking at the, comparing

and contrasting, I'm going to go
out on a limb here, uh, how, um, ARs

aren't, or apparently aren't suitable
for, um, hunting or wildlife control.

Yet the, uh, Provinces are, are
using them for, for wildlife control

within their government agencies.

Teri Bryant: Yeah.

Well, uh, so I guess the, on, on the
broader point, I'm not always, uh,

I'll confess that I'm not always up on
exactly the latest models or whatever

everything is, but on the basic point,
um, you know, what really determines

how suitable a firearm is for a given
purpose is primarily its caliber and

secondarily things like weight and
length and, and that sort of thing.

And so.

Um, the idea that some bureaucrat in
Ottawa is better able to decide what

is useful or suitable for, uh, someone
in the field to use, uh, I find to be

a difficult proposition to support.

It's, uh, the people who are in the
field know what they need and, um,

they should be allowed within reason.

To choose the tools that are going to most
appropriately help them to do the job to

continue with our, with our, um, our, uh,
little analogy that we were using before.

You know, uh, the last thing a mechanic
needs is somebody reaching over his

shoulder and saying, Oh no, you, you
really should be using the, the, you

know, the, the, uh, uh, closed end
wrench, not the open ended wrench that

application, you know, uh, well, let the
person who's doing the job, figure it out.

Yeah.

Travis Bader: Uh, here's one from a,
um, a business, uh, just says clarified

legal status of guns, not listed in OIC.

But the FRTs changed after the fact,
also guns that have no FRT, period.

For example, no legal document states that
ATRS modern series, Daria Mark 12, and

the Maccabee defense are prohibited or a
reason why, though the FRT got changed.

Teri Bryant: If I could answer questions
like that, so I would, I mean, part

of it, the federal government has gone
completely out of control on these issues.

And so, you know, it's one thing
to pass a regulation that says, uh,

these specific things are prohibited.

You can agree with it, you can disagree
with it, but at least you know what

they have said is okay and not okay.

But the way they have been willy
nilly trying to expand Uh, the list of

prohibitions, I've heard, the latest
number I've heard is that it's grown

from the original 1, 500 to 2, 000.

And it wouldn't surprise
me if it's even more.

Um, it's not how you should be making law.

Um, and I'm not, neither a lawyer nor
a judge, nor certainly not a Supreme

Court justice, and it may take that
to, to, to, That's a definitive

answer to that question, but it's
not how we should be making law.

Travis Bader: Mm hmm.

And we think one thing that became
really clear was, uh, I think it was

Murray Smith during the, um, uh, during
the legal challenge that came up.

I was asked to hope high on a few
issues and had to sit in on the,

on the court proceedings, but,
uh, he repeatedly kept saying, you

know, FRTs have no bearing in law.

They're not, it's something that,
that's Uh, the firearms program makes

for a, so that they have a reference
of things, but it is not designed

specifically to influence law, to
classify that's done by politicians.

So that was something that he
mentioned on a few different occasions.

Yeah.

Um,

what are your thoughts on ATCs as well as

I'm not sure quite, maybe I'll just
stop it as what is your thoughts on ATCs

because wilderness carry of non restricted
firearms is kind of a moot point.

Teri Bryant: Yeah, so, um, obviously,
uh, so authorizations to carry, there's

sort of three broad areas, maybe four.

So, um, So there's one area is
authorizations to carry for defensive

life, and those are exceptionally
hard to get in Canada because

the legal bar is extremely high.

And very soon I probably will not have
any control over that at all because

Bill C 21 centralizes that power
with the Commissioner of Firearms.

And so, uh, as far as I have seen, they
haven't come out with the procedures.

For that, um, but, uh, I think that
was a disastrous decision because the

whole point of that in the current
framework is that the, uh, the need

must be imminent, imminent risk to life.

Well, if the risk is imminent,
that's just the answer has to be

imminent, not depend on going up a
chain of authority, many levels high.

To the Commissioner of Firearms,
and I don't know the background

really of the current commissioner
of firearms, but one previous one of

course is well known for having said
she knew nothing about the law right.

In this area.

Right.

So, uh, I, I don't see what the
benefit is of introducing those

many levels of additional scrutiny
to a process that was already very.

Um, the authorizations to carry
for, um, for like, um, armored car

guards and people like that, that's
a relatively routine and, uh, un,

uh, uncontroversial, uh, area.

Although I would mention, um, when we
took over the previous federal office.

Had not done any of the renewals of those.

So we had about, we had
to immediately launch.

They're all, they all come
due at one time of year.

And if we had not launched a crash
campaign to get them done in just a

matter of a couple of weeks, all the
movement of cash in the province of

Alberta would have ground to a halt
as with likely significant negative

effects on the province as a whole.

You know, when we're talking about
economic importance of firearms,

there's a very good example.

And so we prioritize that practically
above almost everything else in

order to not shut down the economy.

Um, so, uh, then there's the trappers.

That's a relatively
uncontroversial thing too.

Um, and the wilderness carry.

is a bit, uh, broader.

Uh, you know, with the trappers
generally, um, that's a people sort

of self identify, you know, they've
taken a trapper course, they've got

a trap line and so on and so forth.

The one that poses some, um, more
difficult challenges is the authorization

to carry, um, in, uh, sort of wilderness
protection against, uh, uh, wildlife.

And, um, so The key thing about that is
that it does have to be professional.

Okay.

Like it's occupational.

So it might be a better term.

Um, whether it should be or not, that's
a question we could discuss, but there's

no doubt that right now the law says,
You know, if you're just out hiking in

the wilderness, regardless of whether
you spend 24 hours a day, seven days

a week in an area full of grizzly
bears and cougars and wolverines and

I don't know, wolverines are nasty.

I don't know.

Did they ever had to
actually attack people?

Um, they can.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm not, I'm, I, you know, I'm,
I'm not as up on my, uh, wilderness

who's who, as you would be.

Sure.

Sure.

Cause that's your, your area of expertise.

But, um, you know, Uh, doesn't matter
how much time you spend there, if you're

not working there, it's not an option.

Yeah.

Okay.

Um, so, uh, you know, we, we have,
that there are provinces where

there's virtually no need for them.

You know, like if you're in Prince
Edward Island, I don't think there's any

grizzly bears in Prince Edward Island.

I'm not sure there's anything
big enough to pose a threat to

people in Prince Edward Island.

But there's certainly much less
than there is in Alberta, at least.

So, um, They may, I don't know whether
they even have that category as something

that they do as part of their product
line at the chief firearms office there.

But here it certainly is part
of our product line because

we've got lots of grizzly bears.

We've got lots of cougars.

We've got lots of wolves.

We've got lots of other things that
are, um, red in tooth and claw, uh,

that, um, uh, pose potential risks.

And, uh, so it is something that we issue
on a, you know, uh, we have to follow

the federal guidelines on it, but we, uh,
do issue them on a fairly regular basis.

And, uh, you know, one that people
often don't think about, um, is, uh,

if you, for example, are a rancher in
an area near the Rockies and there's

grizzly bears roaming around and
you're out working on your fence, um.

A case might be made that you need,
uh, uh, to have an ATC when you're

out there so that you come back.

Sure.

At the end of the day.

Sure.

Um, and.

You know, we've taken a relatively
flexible position on these things.

It's not the wild west, not open season,
just come in and say you want one.

But um, if you can make a reasonable
case for it, then, um, it is

something that people need here.

There's a legitimate need
for that here in Alberta.

Travis Bader: Yeah.

There's a checklist you guys have
to go through that all fire and

officers has have to go through.

Teri Bryant: But what I would like
to emphasize though, is that people

should be thinking of that as.

A last resort, you know, that, uh, number
one should be, uh, being bear aware and,

uh, you know, making sure that you are,
uh, not exposing yourself to undue risk.

Okay.

Uh, and, um, everyone that I have
spoken to who actually works with bears,

like bear specialists, people whose
whole job is bears say bear spray is

generally going to be more effective.

Because it's not as close a
requirement for accuracy, but

as a backup, um, a firearm could
be a useful thing in some cases.

Uh, I would like to see people have a
high degree of proficiency if they're

in those, uh, if they're going to be
using a firearm for a purpose like that.

Um, but.

No, like I said, it's a legitimate thing.

It's legally allowed and we do it.

Travis Bader: I remember years ago,
there's a, a gun store in, in Surrey

and the police kept coming by that
store because there's gangsters that

are coming in and kept warning them,
I mean, Hey, these guys are violent,

there's going to be some problems and
they're like, Well, maybe we should be

seeing if we should get an ATC here.

I mean, there's another store in
BC where they were robbed and they,

I think it was a husband and wife.

They both got executed in
there and they used that as an

example and, and a few others.

And the, they applied for ATCs for
protection of their life based on what

was going around and the information
they were getting from police.

Um, and, Provided them training.

They're highly proficient.

They met all of the protocol up into
the point where the fire program

says, look, you've met everything that
we're looking for, for the issuance.

We just need a letter from the chief
of police in Surrey here saying that.

Um, their protection is not adequate.

They said, it can't come
from a police officer.

It's gotta be the chief of police.

And they got to say that
protection is not adequate for you.

And, and then we'll issue it to you.

Of course, there's no chief of
police is going to turn around and

say that the protection that they
have to offer is not adequate and

that's where it was finally stymied.

Um, have you heard of incidences
where people actually are

successful in obtaining a ATC?

Like I've, I've heard hearsay.

I've, I've heard people tell
me wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Teri Bryant: Well, for
defensive life, you mean?

Travis Bader: For defensive life.

Teri Bryant: Well, defensive life is such
a rare category that I can't, for security

reasons, I can't tell you exactly what
we've done, but like in all of Canada,

you're talking about a handful of people.

Travis Bader: Right.

Okay.

Teri Bryant: And so it's not something
that comes up, I can't say in 50

percent of cases when you're talking
about a handful of the country,

you know, so, um, but in any case,
as I've indicated, it, it's kind

of a moot question for us because.

At any day, I'm expecting to have
that power completely removed from me.

Um, and then it will be the
commissioner of firearms.

And I suspect that whatever decision
I would have made, the commissioner

of firearms might be even, might
be considerably more reticent to

issue, uh, than I would have been.

Um, and you know, I understand the, the
You know, like when I grew up, some of the

places we lived, it was quite a distance
to a phone, let alone to a police station.

So I understand people have a variety
of, of security needs and you know,

perhaps that would be something that
a future government will revisit.

But certainly this one's not prone
to reconsideration of such things.

Travis Bader: Is there anything
that we haven't talked about

that we should be talking about?

Teri Bryant: Uh, well, we've covered
quite a lot of ground here today, uh,

Travis, but, um, I guess, you know, you
know, if I were closing things out, I

always just want to, uh, give people some
reassurance that, uh, Uh, we might be

in somewhat dark times in the firearms
community at the moment, given the

unfounded attacks that have been made on
our community and many of the ill advised

measures that we've been subjected to.

But the firearms community
is not without friends.

We do have friends in Ottawa.

We have friends.

Our provincial government is a very strong
supporter of law abiding firearms owners.

I am working.

Every single day of all of my energy,
uh, to try and make sure that the

firearms community has a bright future.

And as long as we are able to have
a system where firearms ownership

is, uh, regulated in a fashion to
ensure that it's consistent with

public safety, then, uh, I think that
we will in the end be successful.

In convincing enough people in Ottawa
to make the rules that we need and that

we here in the province of Alberta will
be leading the way in showing the rest

of the country, how those laws can then
be interpreted in a fashion that is

helpful to the firearms community and
entirely consistent with public safety.

And, uh, then basically spreading
the gospel across the country

as, uh, Alberta leads the way.

In this area, as in so many other
aspects of government policy.

Travis Bader: Terry, it was
an absolute pleasure having

you on the Silvercore podcast.

Thank you very much.

Teri Bryant: Thank you very much, Travis.

I very much enjoyed.

Uh, being here with you and sharing
some of the exciting things that we're

doing here and Keep the faith folks.

We'll get through this period

You