Law abiding and responsible firearms owners and users in our riding are welcoming Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney’s changes to Canada’s gun-control regulations. I am pleased that our Conservative government continues to work to inject some common sense into Canada’s gun laws. I am looking forward to the debates in the House of Commons this fall, when we introduce the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act.
As your Member of Parliament for Crowfoot, I can report to you that more constituents have contacted me with concerns about the treatment of firearms owners and users than virtually any other single national political issue over the course of my tenure. There are millions of Canadians across our country who share our concerns. We have always opposed the high administrative costs and the large amount of red tape associated with purchasing and possessing a firearm.
Of course, the worst assault of all was the infamous long gun registry that was foisted on us by the Chretien Liberal government in the mid-1990s. For years, we had to deal with high costs (per firearm) and the convoluted bureaucratic processes for acquiring firearms, transporting them, and even purchasing ammunition. The Liberal Party is really good at dividing Canadians and ‘pitting’ them against each other. With their long-gun registry, the Liberals were pandering to urban Canadians at the expense of rural Canadians and those living in Canada’s remote areas (not to mention outdoor enthusiasts).
After winning a majority government in 2011, we delivered on our promise and scrapped the long-gun registry. I was the Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security and presided over the meetings that were held to hear witnesses and expert testimony over Bill C-19, the Eliminating the Long-gun Registry Act. There was overwhelmingly evidence in support of scrapping the failed and costly registry. It was perpetually out of date, fraught with errors and inaccuracies and was unreliable to front-line police officers. The Liberals’ registry had already cost far in excess of a billion dollars (some calculated over $2 billion). Common sense during the years of the Liberals’ long-gun registry was calling for these taxpayer funds to be spent instead on combatting the violent gun crime in Canada’s big cities.
Our government is once again acknowledging and respecting the public safety concerns of Canadians both urban and rural. For example, we will work to reduce the amount of regulatory bureaucracy while preserving public safety by merging the Possession Only License (POL) and the Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) and requiring mandatory firearms safety courses for first-time gun owners.
Our Government believes that gun control should target criminals, not law-abiding citizens. We believe that our government should work to promote safe streets and communities, not penalize the lawful activities of hunters and rural Canadians.
