The Saskatoon Wildlife Federation wants nothing to do with a proposed shooting contest between two People’s Party of Canada candidates, and says it won’t allow the event to take place at its new range east of the city.
Announced this weekend, the “rifle range skill battle” was intended to determine whether Mark Friesen or Guto Penteado would represent Maxime Bernier’s party in a debate hosted by the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.
Friesen and Penteado were supposed to take part in the contest Tuesday afternoon, but SWF past president and fundraising chairman Robert Freberg said it won’t happen at the only large-bore range within an hour’s drive of the city.
In an interview, Freberg said neither Friesen nor Penteado is currently an SWF member — Friesen’s membership lapsed in February — and the organization was not consulted on the proposed rifle match until early Tuesday morning.
Moreover, Freberg said, the People’s Party’s plan to livestream the event on social media would contravene the SWF’s “absolute prohibition” on photography at the range, a policy intended to protect its members’ privacy.
“This is not the way our federation wants to be seen by the public,” Freberg said, adding that while the SWF supports gun rights, it is non-partisan and must work with whatever political party forms government in October.
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