Conservatives move to disarm long gun registry
CTV.CA
The Conservative government has introduced legislation to formally disarm the contentious long-gun registry, though the bill won't be voted on until the fall.
"The effort of trying to track down every single long-gun (rifles and shotguns) in Canada has been ineffective, costly and wasteful and has not led to a reduction in crime with guns," Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day told the media Monday.
"Duck-hunters, farmers and law-abiding gun owners do not pose a threat to Canadians, criminals do," Day said.
A vote will be delayed until the fall as there won't be time before Parliament breaks for the summer this week.
According to Day, the legislation would "repeal the requirement to register non-restricted long-guns" while requiring "firearms retailers to record all sales transactions of non-restricted firearms."
Sources told The Canadian Press the decision to introduce the bill before a vote can be held is likely borne of political motivation.
One Conservative insider suggested the timing could help to persuade voters the government is doing its best to abolish the much-maligned registry in case unforeseen events force an election before the job is finished.
"There is some urgency in a minority government to keep your promises without waiting until the end (of the mandate),'' the source told the wire agency.
"It makes life a little easier for MPs over the summer.''
Others suggested backbench Tories, particularly those from rural and western ridings, want to be able to tell their constituents the government has made headway on their election promise.
"The long-gun registry is by far and away the biggest issue in many ridings in Western Canada," Justice Minister Vic Toews said Sunday.
However, he wouldn't say whether the Conservative government would be willing to fight an election over the issue.
"We know that it is important to a lot of our constituents. What our constituents want us to do is make an honest attempt to repeal that legislation."
The Tories pledged in the last election to abolish the program, which was supposed to cost $2 million a year when the Liberals introduced it but ended up with a price tag of nearly $1 billion over its first 10 years of operation.
Day has already announced a package of fee waivers and amnesties that in effect, take the teeth out of the registry and free rifle and shotgun owners from complying with the rules over the next year.
The goal of the legislation will be to amend the Criminal Code and Firearms Act to get rid of the long-gun program while retaining most of Canada's gun control policies.
"With the passing of this legislation anyone who is in possession of any type of firearm must be licensed," Day said.
"The information that a person is licensed to have a firearm in their possession will still be registered for police or other authorities to check and to verify."
The Conservatives have promised to keep the handgun registry that has existed since the 1930s, to maintain prohibitions on automatic and assault weapons, and to preserve firearms safety and training programs.
They also say they will keep some less onerous form of licensing for gun owners, including police background checks, but haven't been clear on details.
Toews admits the legislation may come down to a margin of just a few votes.
"We need about 30 to 35 votes and I think we can piece together a working majority to get that legislation through," Toews said.
"There has certainly been a consistent number of Liberals voting in favour of that legislation. Of course many of the New Democrats from Western Canada will be voting for that legislation, and there may even be a few Bloc members who will be voting in favour of the legislation to get rid of the long gun registry."
The Liberals are split along urban-rural lines, but a substantial majority of their MPs are expected to favour keeping the registry.
"We'll look very carefully at what it says, but quite frankly, we would be very skeptical about it," Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale said on Question Period.
The NDP, which was once divided on the issue, could hold more support for the registry thanks to the election of more urban MPs in last winter's campaign.
"There are some very serious questions about the management of the registry, but I think in terms of the principle, our leader Jack Layton has supported it," said Libby Davies, the NDP's house leader.
Bloc Quebecois justice critic Real Menard has indicated that, despite concerns about overspending, his party continues to support the registry.
With a report from CTV's David Akin and files from The Canadian Press
[img height=120 alt="Minister Stockwell Day speaks to the media about gun registry changes on Monday, June 19, 2006." src="vny!://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20060619/160_stockwell_day_060619.jpg" width=160 border=0]
Minister Stockwell Day speaks to the media about gun registry changes on Monday, June 19, 2006.
[img height=406 alt="Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day looks over some 28,000 petitions from the the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in Ottawa, Monday June 19, 2006, calling on the government to shut down the long-gun registry. (CP / Fred Chartrand)" src="vny!://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20060619/160X_cp_day_060619.jpg" width=160 border=0]
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day looks over some 28,000 petitions from the the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in Ottawa, Monday June 19, 2006, calling on the government to shut down the long-gun registry. (CP / Fred Chartrand)
