TORONTO - A Conservative cabinet minister swept aside accusations Friday that the government values long-gun owners over web users.

Critics have blasted Ottawa over a new online surveillance bill they argue would compromise Internet users' privacy.

Many pointed out the Tories scrapped the gun registry in part because of concerns that it violated the privacy rights of lawful gun owners.

But Tony Clement defended the government's record on privacy Friday, saying in both cases, officials aimed to "protect society better."

At a social media talk in Toronto, the Treasury Board president said the gun registry did nothing to boost public safety, while the online surveillance bill could help prevent serious offences.

"It's important to make sure police investigators — if there's someone who is in the midst of planning a terrorist act or someone in the midst of planning some kind of child abuse — we do want to give them the tools to find those people," he said.

"When it comes to the Internet, there's always a balancing of rights and obligations, but no one has 100 per cent rights and no one should have 100 per cent obligations."

The Conservatives tabled the Internet bill this week and quickly sent it to committee after it sparked massive backlash from the public and privacy advocates.

The move comes as the majority government won approval to scrap the controversial gun registry and destroy gun ownership records, something Prime Minister Stephen Harper had repeatedly promised to do since taking office in 2006.

Related on HuffPost:

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• What's In Online-Snooping Bill

  Like similar legislation introduced in the past by both Conservative and Liberal governments, the new bill includes provisions that would: <em>With files from CBC</em> (Shutterstock)

• Warantless Online Info

  Require telecommunications and internet providers to give subscriber data to police, national security agencies and the Competition Bureau without a warrant, including names, phone numbers and IP addresses. (CP)

• Back Door Access

  Force internet providers and other makers of technology to provide a "back door" to make communications accessible to police. (Getty)

• Location, Location, Location

  Allow police to get warrants to obtain information transmitted over the internet and data related to its transmission, including locations of individuals and transactions. (Alamy)

• Preserve Data

  Allow courts to compel other parties to preserve electronic evidence. (Alamy)

• New Bill Is Different

  However, unlike the most recent previous version of the bill, the new legislation: (Alamy)

• Less Data

  Requires telecommunications providers to disclose, without a warrant, just six types of identifiers from subscriber data instead of 11. (Alamy)

• Oversight

  Provides for an internal audit of warrantless requests that will go to a government minister and oversight review body. Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews is pictured. (CP)

• Review After 5 Years

  Includes a provision for a review after five years. (Alamy)

• More Time To Implement

  Allows telecommunications service providers to take 18 months instead of 12 months to buy equipment that would allow police to intercept communications. (Alamy)

• Expanded Definitions

  Changes the definition of hate propaganda to include communication targeting sex, age and gender. (Alamy)

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• What does this new bill on the gun registry do?

  We keep hearing about scrapping the long-gun registry, but really what we're talking about is scrapping the requirement for people to register their rifles and shotguns - that's what Bill C-19 aims to do by making amendments to the Criminal Code and Firearms Act. Once passed, people will not have to register their non-restricted or non-prohibited firearms. It also provides for the destruction of existing records in the Canadian Firearms Registry for those firearms. <em>With files from CBC</em>

• What exactly is the registry?

  It's a centralized database overseen by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that links firearms with their licensed owners. It contains information about all three types of guns that must be registered - non-restricted, restricted and prohibited. (All firearms must be registered.) To register a firearm, you have to have a licence to possess it.

• Does the bill make any changes to licensing requirements?

  No. Canadian residents need a licence in order to possess and register a firearm or ammunition and that won't change. There are a couple of different kinds of licences because of various changes to laws and regulations over the years.

• What are long guns?

  There are three types of guns under Canadian law: non-restricted, restricted and prohibited. Most common long guns - rifles and shotguns - are non-restricted but there are a few exceptions. A sawed-off shotgun, for example, is a prohibited firearm. A handgun is an example of a restricted firearm. Different regulations apply to different classifications of firearms.

• How many guns are we talking about?

  As of September 2011, there were about 7.8 million registered guns. Of those, 7.1 million are non-restricted firearms.

• Why does the government want to get rid of the long-gun registry?

  The government says it is wasteful and ineffective at reducing crime and targets law-abiding gun owners instead of criminals, who don't register their firearms.

• Who wants to keep it?

  Police and victims' groups are big supporters of the registry. Police say the database helps them evaluate a potential safety threat when they pull a vehicle over or are called to a residence. They also say it helps support police investigations because the registry can help determine if a gun was stolen, illegally imported, acquired or manufactured. This year, the RCMP says police agencies accessed it on average more than 17,000 times a day.

• When will the registry cease to exist?

  The government has passed the legislation and the registry no longer exists. Except for in Quebec, where an ongoing court challenge means the owners must still register their guns in the province.

• Why does the government want to destroy the records?

  The government is doing this to ensure that no future non-Conservative government can recreate the registry. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has also made it clear that if any province wants to set up its own registry it would get no help from the federal government. The Conservatives are so fundamentally opposed to the existence of the records, because they say they focus on law-abiding citizens instead of criminals, that they don't want them available for anyone to use.

• How much does the registry cost?

  The registry cost more than $1 billion to set up in 1995 and the cost was the source of much controversy. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said on Oct. 25 that the government's best estimate is that it costs about $22 million a year to operate. That's the entire registry, not just the long-gun portion, but he noted most of the guns in the registry are long guns. He said he didn't know how much money scrapping the requirement to register long guns would save the government. Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner says there are also "hidden costs" that are borne by provincial and municipal police agencies to enforce the registry.