OTTAWA - The Conservative government, in an abrupt shift of parliamentary strategy, has introduced a bill in the Senate aimed at abolishing the federal long-gun registry.
The move will likely allow Prime Minister Stephen Harper to put some distance between himself and Tory backbencher Garry Breitkreuz, who until now had been allowed to carry the ball on gun control through a private member's bill in the House of Commons.
That bill came under fire from critics who noted it would go far beyond the long-standing Tory promise to eliminate the requirement to register all hunting rifles and shotguns.
The Breitkreuz bill proposed additional changes to the registration and licensing system that would have affected the rules for handguns and other semi-automatic weapons.
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said that, by contrast, the new legislation is identical to two bills tabled in the Commons before the last election but never passed. That means it will be confined exclusively to getting rid of the long-gun registry.
"It's our hope we will be able, in this Parliament, to have support from the other parties," said Mr. Van Loan.
Kory Teneycke, a spokesman for Mr. Harper, said Mr. Breitkreuz has done "good work" on firearms issues in the past.
But the government decided it simply couldn't support his bill because it contains elements that don't reflect official Conservative policy.
"The government can't support things that go beyond the mandate it campaigned on," said Mr. Teneycke.
He denied the Tories have adopted a deliberate strategy of trying to put pressure on Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in an effort to split his ranks in advance of the next election.
But he did suggest that if the Liberals are serious about improving their showing in rural Canada they will have to take a "long, hard look"
at the bill.
"I think for a lot of Canadians this is essentially a referendum on whether you get it on rural issues," said Mr. Teneycke.
Joe Comartin, the NDP justice critic, interpreted the developments Wednesday as a clear signal the Tories are moving to cut their political losses.
"They've gone (to the Senate) obviously to sidestep the serious problems they have with Breitkreuz's bill, which had an overwhelmingly negative response," said Mr. Comartin.
"It was going to allow many more guns into the public arena than we have under the present registry."
Mr. Breitkreuz and his supporters on the Conservative backbenches had hoped that, by tabling a private member's bill, they could take advantage of the relaxed party discipline that often applies to such initiatives.
They believed that if the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois allowed a free vote for their MPs, the Tories could win over the 11 opposition members needed to obtain a majority in the lower house.
Some believe they can adopt the same approach in the appointed Senate, where party leaders seldom crack the whip as strictly as they do with elected MPs.
Jim Munson, the Liberal whip in the upper house, wouldn't comment on the prospects for a free vote on the new bill, saying he hadn't even read the legislation yet.
But another Liberal strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested it's far from a sure thing that the reins will be loosened.
"On important government bills there are such things as whipped votes in the Senate," said the source.
Marjory LeBreton, the Conservative leader in the Senate, acknowledged her party is "vastly outnumbered" in the chamber, where they would have to win over 15 Liberals or Independents to carry the day.
But the Tories could gain an edge if they can turn out more of their members than the Liberals can mobilize for key votes, she said.
Ms. LeBreton also noted that, as Liberals retire and Harper appoints more Tories, the numbers will change: "By this time next year we'll have a majority in the Senate."
Stephen Harper on Bill C-68
January 2002
There has been some confusion as to my position on gun control. I would like to make it clear that I would repeal the Liberal's gun registry. I personally have always opposed bill C-68 and the Liberal approach to gun control.
The confusion comes because in the first vote in the House of Commons on Bill C-68 I voted in support, because an initial poll suggested that a majority of my constituents supported it. I discussed this vote with Mr.
Manning and he agreed that my constituency's wishes needed to be respected.
I conducted a second, larger and more scientific poll of my constituents following much public and media discussion and found things had changed – 60 per cent of respondents in my riding opposed the Bill. I therefore voted against Bill C-68 in the final vote in the House of Commons.
I was and still am in total agreement with the statement made in the House of Commons by former Reform Leader Preston Manning on June, 13,
1995: "Bill C-68, if passed into law, will not be a good law. It will be a bad law, a blight on the legislative record of the government, a law that fails the three great tests of constitutionality, of effectiveness and of democratic consent of the governed. What should be
the fate of a bad law? It should be repealed..." C-68 has proven to be
a bad law and has created a bureaucratic nightmare for both gun owners and the government.
As Leader of the Official Opposition I will use all the powers afforded to me as Leader and continue our party's fight to repeal Bill C-68 and replace it with a firearms control system that is cost effective and respects the rights of Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly.
FIREARMS POLICY: A Conservative Government will repeal Canada's costly gun registry legislation and work with the provinces and territories on cost-effective gun control programs designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals while respecting the rights of law-abiding Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly. Measures will include: mandatory minimum sentences for the criminal use of firearms; strict monitoring of high-risk individuals; crackdown on the smuggling; safe storage provisions; firearms safety training; a certification screening system for all those wishing to acquire firearms legally; and putting more law enforcement officers on our streets.
PROPERTY RIGHTS POLICY
i) A Conservative Government will seek the agreement of the provinces to amend the Constitution to include this right, as well as guarantee that no person shall be deprived of their just right without the due process of law and full, just, and timely compensation.
ii) A Conservative Government will enact legislation to ensure that full, just and timely compensation will be paid to all persons who are deprived of personal or private property as a result of any federal government initiative, policy, process, regulation or legislation.
CONSERVATIVE PARTY POLICY DECLARATION - MARCH 19, 2005
http://www.conservative-cfc.ca/20050...eclaration.pdf
<http://www.conservative-cfc.ca/20050...eclaration.pdf>
