Canada’s Long-Gun Registry Survives by Two Votes — Canadian Sportsmen Vow to Fight On
Canada’s mandatory long-gun Registry has been a billion-dollar failure that has not reduced crime. In recent months, concerted efforts have been made to scrap the Registry. Success was almost achieved last week, when a Private Members Bill to eliminate the Registry was narrowly defeated by just two votes. On September 22, Members of Parliament voted 153 to 151 to maintain the Registry. The vote followed weeks of intense political maneuvering by the federal Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties.
Canadian Outdoors Network Vows to Continue Registry Fight
The Canadian Outdoors Network (CON), a consortium of 28 outdoors groups (including the Canadian Shooting Sports Assn.), says Parliament’s decision to keep the long gun Registry will not end the national debate on firearm ownership.
“This is just one battle in a long war,” says Dr. Robert Bailey, CON National Coordinator. “This is about competing visions driven by differing ideologies. For us, the fight is about preserving our hunting, fishing, trapping and shooting lifestyle. The Registry paints legitimate gun owners as people who are inherently a threat or a risk to society and that’s simply not the case.”
The Canadian Outdoors Network, representing 500,000 Canadian hunters, shooters, and sportsmen, will continue its campaign to scrap a program plagued by cost overruns and controversy. Since 1995, the registry has cost taxpayers more than $1 billion with no demonstrated reduction in gun crime.
“If public safety was the primary objective, the current national debate would be about crime control, not gun control,” says Bailey. “It’s time we refocused these funds, and our efforts, on more appropriate programs that actually target crime, such as the smuggling of illegal firearms.”
The Outdoors Network will continue to push for change as the country prepares for an anticipated federal election. “It’s important that these MPs know exactly what they’ve done,” says Bailey. “They were elected on promises to get rid of the Registry, then flip-flopped for political reasons… they have to be held accountable.”
The Canadian Firearms Registry is a government-run registry of all legally-owned guns in Canada. Compulsory gun registration was written into the Firearms Act (Bill 68) in 1995, which also provided for the establishment of a centralized database. It requires every firearm in Canada to be registered or rendered in an unusable state. This was an effort to reduce crime by making every gun traceable. Any person wishing to obtain a firearm must first acquire a Possession and Acquisition Licence or PAL.
The Registry was supposed to cost Canadian taxpayers approximately $119 million dollars. Instead, documents obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation show the program has cost upward of $2 BILLION dollars. At the same time there is little evidence that the Registry has had any notable effect on crime.
CANADIAN OUTDOORS NETWORK
| Alberta Fish and Game Association Alberta Outdoors Coalition BC Wildlife Federation BCWF Political Action Alliance Canadian Institute for Legislative Action Canadian Section of the Wildlife Society Canadian Shooting Sports Association Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Assn. Delta Waterfowl Foundation Fédération Québecoise des Chasseurs et Pecheurs Fur Institute of Canada Friends of Fur Hunting for Tomorrow Foundation Long Point Waterfowl |
Manitoba Wildlife Federation National Wild Turkey Federation New Brunswick Wildlife Federation Newfoundland & Labrador Wildlife Fed. Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen’s Alliance Nova Scotia Fed. of Anglers and Hunters Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Pr. Edward Island Chapter Delta Waterfowl Pr. Edward Island Trappers Association Pr. Edward Island Wildlife Federation Ruffed Grouse Society Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Yukon Fish and Game Association Wildlife Habitat Canada |
