During Niagara, Ontario Stop, Harper Reprises Federal Conservative’s Determination To Kill Long-Gun Registry

(Niagara At Large is posting below a media release circulated this April 4, 2011 on the long-gun registry. In the release and in statements Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered during a short stop in the rural Niagara municipality of Wainfleet, he vowed to get rid of the decade old gun registry “once and for all” if his government is re-elected.

In a CBC Radio report, it was noted that the Harper Conservatives are targeting the federal riding of Welland, of which Wainfleet is a part, because in the 2008 federal election, the NDP incumbent, Malcolm Allen only won by “a few hundred votes. Allen joined fellow NDP members and Liberal MPs last year in supporting the continuation of the decade old gun registry, which also has the support of many police departments across the country.)

Niagara At Large welcomes you to share your views on this issue below this post. Please remember that we only post comments on this site by individuals willing to share their first and last names)

An April 4. 2011 media release by the Conservative Party of Canada.

Today (April 4), Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that a re-elected Conservative Government will introduce legislation to scrap the long-gun registry once and for all, and establish a hunting and wildlife advisory panel to ensure that government decisions are based on sound science and balanced advice.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Wainfleet, Ontario. Photo from Conservative Party of Canada website.

Prime Minister Harper pointed out the Government’s strong record of support for law-abiding farmers and hunters.  “Our Government has long opposed the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry,” Harper said.  “We must stop targeting law-abiding gun owners, and instead focus our resources on real criminals.  That’s why a re-elected majority Conservative Government will scrap the wasteful and inefficient long-gun registry once and for all.”

To date, the Conservative Government’s efforts to end the long-gun registry have been blocked in Parliament by the Michael Ignatieff-led Coalition with the Bloc Québécois and NDP.  Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner’s bill to end the long-gun registry was defeated by two votes.  Coalition MPs — including those representing rural ridings — voted with their party leadership, which is out of touch with small and rural communities.  They voted against the interests of their constituents.

The Prime Minister observed that Canadians face a real choice on this issue.  “The Ignatieff-led Coalition has consistently opposed our Government’s efforts to crack down on real criminals while insisting on heaping penalties on law-abiding citizens,” the Prime Minister noted.  “Only a majority Conservative Government can be counted on to scrap the long-gun registry.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper also announced his plan to create a new hunting and wildlife advisory panel comprised of representatives from hunting, fishing and conservation organizations.  “Today, I am announcing that a re-elected Conservative government will create a hunting and wildlife advisory panel.  This wildlife advisory panel would be comprised of representatives from various hunting, angling and conservation organizations, like Ducks Unlimited, to ensure government decisions regarding issues like endangered species, wetland protection and nature conservation are based on solid science and balanced advice,” said Prime Minister Harper.  “We are the party that stands with rural Canada and understands your values and your way of life.”

BACKGROUNDER
THE ISSUE
·    In 1993, the previous Liberal Government introduced Bill C-68, An Act Respecting Firearms and Other Weapons, which received Royal Assent in 1995.  The registration portion of the legislation was implemented in 2001 and became mandatory in 2003.
·    At the time it was introduced, the Liberals told Canadians repeatedly that the long-gun registry would cost only $2 million.
·    In 2002, Auditor General Sheila Fraser released a report showing the registry’s cost was dramatically over budget.  The registry has now cost Canadian taxpayers over $2 billion.  The Liberals have never adequately explained to Parliament or the public their misleading statements about cost.
·    The Conservative Party of Canada has long opposed the long-gun registry.
·    The long-gun registry is wasteful and ineffective.  It needlessly and unfairly targets law-abiding Canadians, particularly in rural areas and smaller communities.  It does nothing to reduce crime, or to strengthen our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
·    In 2009, Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner introduced a Private Member’s Bill (C-391) to repeal the long-gun registry.
·    This important bill passed Second Reading in a vote of the House of Commons, with all Conservative MPs and a few Opposition MPs voting in favour.
·    But when the bill was called for Third Reading, it was defeated after several Ignatieff Liberal and NDP MPs bowed to pressure from their party leadership and changed their votes.  All Bloc Quebecois MPs voted against the bill on both the Second and Third Readings.  The Ignatieff-led Coalition showed itself to be out of touch with Canadians in rural areas and small communities, including people in the regions of Quebec.  Many Ignatieff-led Coalition MPs sided with their party hierarchy rather than representing the interests of their constituents.
·    The following Ignatieff-led Coalition MPs voted to defeat the bill after having previously voted to support it on Second Reading.

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