Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
19 November 2010
Closing the Long-
Stephen Harper’s Conservative want to close
down a program that requires people
to register their rifles and shotguns
Sixteen-
As Catherine Ford reports in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix (September 5, 2010) he opened
fire at about 11.35 a.m. “killing 17-
Campaign for Tougher Gun Laws
John Slinger’s parents, Pat and Berwick, decided something good had to come out of their son’s death so they began campaigning for tougher gun controls in Canada. The Slingers were lifelong Progressive Conservatives and won the support of Brampton resident and then Ontario Premier Bill Davis.
The campaign led, in 1977, to the introduction of a new permit for people who wanted to own rifles and shotguns. The Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC) required only proof of identity and payment of a fee.
But, this didn’t stop Marc Lépine. On the afternoon of December 6, 1989 he entered l’École Polytechnique in Montreal where he had been a student.
He carried a semi-
Gun ownership rules were tightened up in 1991. Then, in 1995, the Liberal government
of Jean Chrétien, introduced the Firearms Act. This expanded the requirement to register
the ownership of handguns to police to long-
Private Member’s Bill
The new regulations have never been popular in rural Canada but have been favoured by people living in urban areas.
Manitoba Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner represents the riding of Portage-
On November 4, 2009, the Bill passed its Second Reading in the House of Commons. The vote was 164 in favour and 137 against. The entire Conservative caucus voted for the bill as well as a few Liberals and New Democrats from mostly rural ridings.
Support for Registry Widespread
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Police Association, and the Canadian Association of Police Boards want the registry to be kept.
Some big city mayors, such as David Miller in Toronto, support keeping the long-
The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, who have to deal with gunshot wounds, accidental and otherwise, oppose killing the registry.
A poll of Canadians taken in late August 2010 found that 48 percent of respondents said it would be a bad idea to get rid of the registry; an increase from 42 percent in April. Support for killing the registry is dropping; 38 percent in August, down from 45 percent in April.
Opponents of Registry
Leading the charge to dismantle the registry is the Conservative Party of Canada;
it is a hot-
There’s also an informal poll among rank-
Popular support for getting rid of the long-
Cost of Registry
When the fire arms registry was first introduced there was a huge scandal over its cost. The government said it would cost $120 million to set up and most of this would be covered by the fees.
However, in 2002, Auditor General Sheila Fraser revealed that the cost was more than $1 billion. This enormous sum has been the focus of much criticism, a lot of it misinformed.
According to CBC News, “An RCMP evaluation report of Canada’s long-
CBC says the government has had this report since February 2010 but has not released it.
September 22 Vote
Bill C-
If the amendment is defeated, the Bill goes to third-
The registry is popular in Quebec so it’s likely the Bloc Quebecois will vote to keep it. Most NDP and Liberal MPs support the registry and will vote in favour of the amendment. Liberal MPs will be told by their Chief Whip they must vote with the party; if they don’t they’ll be penalized.
The rural members from the NDP are in a bind; so far, Leader Jack Layton says he
will not force members to vote in favour of keeping the registry. However, if rural
MPs vote to keep the registry they will annoy many of their constituents and may
have trouble getting re-
Image credit
Svadilfari
Sources
“Long-
“Gun Registry Controversy is Missing the Target.” Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun, September 8, 2010.
“Inane Politics Propel Registry Issue.” Catherine Ford, Troy Media, September 9, 2010.
“Vote on Gun Registry a Political Minefield.” Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press, September 7, 2010.
“Tories Take Aim at Long-
© Canada and the World, September 2010
All rights reserved
“The firearm homicide rate [in Canada] in 1977 was 1.15 per 100,000 population. By 2006, it had dropped to 0.6, six times lower than the U.S.”
Vancouver Sun
Percentage of households that own at least one firearm in Canada: 21.8%
In France: 23.8%
In America: 48.6%
Number of firearms licenses that had been issued in Canada, as of June 2010: 1,830,542
Number of firearms licenses revoked in 2009 because of: a history of violence, mental illness, potential risk to oneself or others, unsafe firearm use and storage, drug offences, or providing false information: 2,084
Number of licenses refused in 2009 for same reasons: 515
“While ordinary guns are often used for lawful purposes, they are also used for crime
and suicide, and cause accidental death and injury. Guns cannot be divided neatly
into two categories -
Supreme Court of Canada in dismissing a petition by Alberta and five other provinces
to strike down the long-
In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada “beat back a bid to establish that Canadians have the same constitutional right as Americans to possess and use firearms. Not, so the court ruled. It said gun ownership in Canada is not a right. It is a privilege and, properly, a heavily regulated privilege.”
Geoffrey Stevens, Kitchener-
In a vote of 153 to 151, the private members bill to scrap the long gun registry was defeated in the House of Commons on September 22, 2010.
The long gun registry continues in operation -