Isn't it odd that Para Ord. is located in Canada?

[The Walrus]

Are they originally a Canadian-owned company? Or is Para Ord a group of Americans owner(s) making advantage of the well-educated Canadian workforce, who can be paid (relatively) less money thanks to the favoreable exchange rate?

It's rather odd that a company which makes .45 semiauto pistols isn't allowed to sell them in their country of origin....

 

[Zundfolge]

Guns aren't banned in Canada (yet) they just have manditory registration (even though many Canadian gun owners are ignoring it).

I've got a friend who lives up there and he says it can be easier for a Canadian to get their hands on Class III weapons ... plus no stupid 10 round limit on handguns and no "assault weapon" ban based on aesthetics.


Para Ordnance has always been in Canada ... it started in the '80s as a paintball gun maker.


There's a bit of their history in this article from Guns & Ammo, June 1996

http://www.paraordnance.com/grafx/pdf/paraord-saga.pdf

 

[Mike Davies]

Ok...here's the scoop, fellas....Handguns are NOT banned in Canada. It's as easy to buy a handgun as it is to buy a rifle, as long as one has taken the Firearms Safety Course and obtained a PAL (Possession and Acquisition Licence). Canadians have a few advantages over Americans....one of which is that I can mail-order a pistol from the other side of the country. Guns (including handguns) can be courier'd from one end of the country to another. Downside...? We ARE restricted to 10 round magazines for pistols, and 5 round magazines for semi-auto centrefire rifles..the one exception being the M1 Garand. Eight round enbloc clips are OK.
It ain't over yet....
Mike (IPSC Canada & USPSA member)

 

[DanP]

A "favorable exchange rate" is a temporary situation which fluctuates in both directions.

Manufacturers do not build facilities based on exchange rates.

Cost of living, on the other hand, would be a different story. But then again I doubt Canada would win that bid.

So .45s are not sold in Canada? I wasn't aware of that, too bad!

 

[bokchoi]

Guns are quite legal here

Canada is relatively gun-strict, but is far more lenient than even some states like, say, California.

It's actually EASIER to get real guns in Canada than it is to import replica guns, for some twisted reason (which may be the reason I am spending so much dough on guns and ammo), but for the most part, as long as the gun's barrel is over 105mm, the gun is legal to buy. Guns with barrels less that are not legal to buy but are legal to keep, provided that they are destroyed when you die.

For the most part, handguns are a little more troublesome than rifles (you need a permit to take them to and from the range, no CCW, etc), but they are still very legitimate and I actually own 3 of them, having had 4 handguns under my name in the past year. I've actually owned a Para Ordinance P14-45 ltd, but learning I wasn't really much of a 1911 person, I sold it.

One funny thing, though, is that the people who sell Para Ords in Canada have to get the guns from AMERICAN distributors... that's right, the guns are made here, shipped down, then shipped back up. Makes sense.

So, in short, guns are legal (but regulated half to death) in Canada, but you can get them if you have the patience (like me).

 

[croyance]

Actually, in my lifetime the exchange rate between Canada and the United States has been increasingly in favor of the United States. Cost of labor might be better in Canada also.

Consider that in the United States most gun companies are in the Northeast, and many in Massachusets. I do not speak of gun smithing operations, but large scale manufacturers. This region has some of the most draconian gun laws in this country. There are some historical reasons, but it is ironic.

 

[DanP]

Not that this discussion belongs here...

By its very essence, an exchange rate is a relative term and there is no such thing as a life-long favorable bias.

Currencies are tied to various indexes. Inflation and other economic factors are the great equalizers over time.

As an example, when I left my native Venezuela the local coin (Bolivar) was at ~4.30 for each US Dollar. Today I hear it is more along the lines of a couple of hundred Bolivares to $1.

In an oversimplification, you could still, however, spend about the same $10.00 to purchase a good or a service. It simply happens to be thousands of Bolivares now rather than 43 of them.

That does not make it a "favorable currency exchange".

Matter of fact there is a whole subculture of people who make a living by speculating on currency fluctuations.

No real point to this post so I'll shut up now...