The call centre industry will provide year round full time jobs for Islanders. It is an excellent niche that has great potential for employment opportunities. Islanders are taking full advantage of their strength in carving out specialty niches, and eventually they will break the seasonality of the island economy. These weapons can penetrate flesh and thin bone at just 348 feet per second. More than 25 people have been killed by air guns in North America since 1980.
Canadian hospitals report a growing number of non-fatal accidents involving such weapons.
For example, Amanda Noseworthy of St. John's lost an eye when shot by a young boy who was playing with his rifle in a friend's home. Amanda is now losing the vision in her good eye and may become totally blind. I have spoken to the federal justice minister on behalf of Amanda and her family and told him I support the inclusion of air guns as a real firearm under the Criminal Code of Canada, and therefore, should be subject to the same controls and safeguards. Air guns are not toys. They are dangerous weapons that can kill.