More

Ontario Gun Registry: Tim Hudak, Progressive Conservative Leader, Accuses Liberals Of Planning 'Back Door' Ontario Gun Registry

CP  |  By Posted: Updated: 05/15/2012 12:18 pm

Amazing
 Inspiring
 Funny
 Scary
 Hot
 Crazy
 Important
 Weird

TORONTO - Ontario's Progressive Conservatives accuse the Liberal government of planning to create a provincial gun registry.

Premier Dalton McGuinty says he has no intention of creating an Ontario gun registry, but he does want stores to follow a practice started in 1978 to keep registers of who buys guns.

Opposition Leader Tim Hudak says McGuinty was a huge fan of the long gun registry that was recently killed by the Harper government.

He says McGuinty's true motive is to bring in what he calls "a back door gun registry" that the Tories oppose.

Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has told the provinces the collection of point-of-sale data is no longer authorized under the Firearms Act.

Ontario disagrees, and says it's willing to let the courts decide the issue if necessary.

Related on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow...

  • 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.
FOLLOW CANADA POLITICS

TORONTO - Ontario's Progressive Conservatives accuse the Liberal government of planning to create a provincial gun registry.Premier Dalton McGuinty says he has no intention of creating an Ontario gun ...
TORONTO - Ontario's Progressive Conservatives accuse the Liberal government of planning to create a provincial gun registry.Premier Dalton McGuinty says he has no intention of creating an Ontario gun ...
Related News On Huffington Post:
 

Filed by Jacqueline Delange  | 
 
 
  • Comments
  • 6
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
yer
Stop the Alberta Taliban
238 Fans
03:51 AM on 05/15/2012
Oh Tim, Ontarians want a gun registry. Hudak: The Gift that keeps on giving. Dalton will never lose with him around.
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
AlWaterloo
53 Fans
02:32 PM on 05/14/2012
I know he's trying to pander to all of us gun toting people in Kitchener Waterloo prior to the by-election but really Hudak, you must have forgotten that we're in Southern Ontario not Northern.
Permalink  |
photo
Spanky McFarlane
ILLEGITIMUS NON CARBORUNDUM.
179 Fans
02:16 PM on 05/14/2012
I heard McGinty & he is basically collecting the same data the Province did before the Gun Registry was repealed. Basic info was always collected @ thepoint of sale & it is every Provinces right to do so regardless of what Harper or 'his' RCMP t try to enforce on the Province.

It's a simple case of that pesky 'Law thing' getting in the way of the Harper Government once again.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Jason Bullock
134 Fans
 
01:19 PM on 05/14/2012
Ain't that precious... Hudak thinks he's still relevant.
Permalink  |
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
Maria Korovessis Sewell
To decimate is to reduce by one tenth.
531 Fans
 
02:04 PM on 05/14/2012
LOL!
Permalink  |
yer
Stop the Alberta Taliban
238 Fans
03:52 AM on 05/15/2012
nice one!
Permalink  |