Québec, May 2nd, 2001 - Last week, during the Summit of Americas, citizens of this country were shocked to see teddy bears being launched from a catapult at our brave security forces. While our police were protected by their riot armour (thankfully!), we feel it is incumbent upon us to ensure that never again, will the lives of our officers be put in jeopardy by teddy bear violence. One of the suspected catapulters has been apprehended, and we will spare no effort to ensure that he is brought to justice.
However, the prosecution of those involved in this act of teddy terror is not enough. Today, the Justice Department is announcing a new program to get dangerous teddy bears off the streets. For the safety of our children, and for the safety of all, we need to act.
Today, we are kick-starting our teddy bear exchange program. We ask that our fellow citizens send us their teddy bears, in exchange for items ranging from tear gas canisters, to batons, to AK47's.
We do not seek to ban teddy bears. We know that good, law-abiding citizens sometimes own teddy bears for legitimate purposes. Rather, we seek to reduce the number of teddy bears out there, to ensure that a plague of teddy bear atrocities will not infect this great country of ours.
It is astounding that anyone can walk into a thrift shop, Salvation Army or toy store, and buy, without a license, or background check, as many stuffed animals as they want. That is why we are working with Parliament, to enact strong teddy bear legislation, to ensure that teddy bears do not fall into the hands of criminals. More importantly, we will continue to enforce existing teddy bear control laws, in order to stem the tide of teddy-violence.
In the meantime, we implore our fellow citizens to send in their stuffed
animals. Canadians can mail them for free to:
Stop Teddy Violence
c/o Jean Chretien, Le Grande Fromage
House of Commons, Ottawa Ontario
Or those with money can send them to:
Paul Begin
Justice Ministry
1200 Route de L'Eglise, 9th Floor
Ste. Foy, PQ G1V 4M1
Sincerely,
Paul Begin
Minister of Justice
