pierre bouchard
Member
Conservatives reject ban on handguns
The Conservatives have long been in the holster of the gun lobby Michael Bryant , Ontario attorney general
But Ontario attorney general calls on Ottawa to relent following shooting death of boy, 11
Jul 24, 2007 04:30 AM
RICHARD BRENNAN
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–Don't look to the federal Conservative government to ban handguns.
Despite renewed calls for a national ban in the wake of the shooting death of 11-year-old Ephraim Brown in Toronto on the weekend, the Tory government is not swayed.
"Effectively, there is already a ban on handguns in Canada. They are already extremely tightly controlled and are only available to those requiring them for employment purposes (such as police and armoured car guards), legitimate target shooters, and approved collectors," said a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
In addition to rejecting a handgun ban, the Conservative government wants to scrap the long-gun registry, saying it does nothing to keep guns out of the hands of the bad guys. This policy is popular in many parts of the country where gun ownership is seen as a right.
"The Conservatives have long been in the holster of the gun lobby," Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant told the Toronto Star after he and Toronto Mayor David Miller called for a ban on handguns.
Bryant called on Ottawa to heed the outcry that something be done to curb illegal guns, including cracking down on smuggling at the border and restricting even more who can own handguns.
"We've got 215,000 (registered) handguns in Ontario alone and each one of them is a target for theft," Bryant said. "I say `no gun, no funeral,'" he added, referring to the deaths that have plagued Toronto in recent years.
The federal government maintains that handguns, which have had to be registered in Canada since 1934, are effectively banned now because of the severe restrictions.
But NDP justice critic Peggy Nash (Parkdale-High Park) said her party supports an outright ban because "nobody needs a handgun in the city in Toronto." However, she said, "I don't think we can trust this Prime Minister to deal effectively with getting guns off our streets."
Dave Tomlinson, president of Canada's National Firearms Association, said a handgun ban would not reduce gun crime since many of the illegally owned guns are being smuggled in from other countries, including the United States.
"Taking the guns away from the people who (legally own them) is going to have absolutely no effect on the people who are carrying illegal guns," Tomlinson said.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said a prohibition on handguns isn't needed.
"Handguns are already effectively banned in Ontario," he said, adding Ottawa needs to beef up border crossings with more explosive-sniffing dogs to clamp down on smugglers bringing in firearms.
However, Tory distanced himself from Harper, saying he supported a gun registry and urged against scrapping it, calling the database "a sensible proposition."
The federal Conservatives have lamented that the Liberal-dominated Senate has held up two justice bills that would impose mandatory minimum penalties for individuals using restricted or prohibited firearms, including handguns, to commit serious crimes, or for any serious firearms crime that is gang- or organized crime-related.
"We stick with approaches that are tried and true and result in a reduction of gun crime," Day said in June when rejecting the idea of an outright ban.
Federal Liberal justice critic Marlene Jennings (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Lachine) said the Conservatives should first live up to their election promise to increase funding to municipalities so they can hire more police.
"It's much too early to be talking about a handgun ban. First we should be ensuring the (long gun) firearm registry is maintained and enforced, not abolished ... and, secondly, proper resources should be given to our law enforcement so that they can actually enforce existing legislation," Jennings said.
The Tory bill to abolish the long-gun registry was introduced in June 2006, but is a long way from being passed. The gun registry was set up in 1995 by the Liberal government, making it mandatory for all owners of firearms to obtain and file certificates with the federal government.
The registry was supposed to cost $2 million, but costs ballooned to about $1 billion. Even so, the majority of Canadians say they support the initiative and the system is used approximately 5,000 times a day by police across the country, according to the Canadian Police Association and figures compiled by the government's firearms centre.
The Conservatives have long been in the holster of the gun lobby Michael Bryant , Ontario attorney general
But Ontario attorney general calls on Ottawa to relent following shooting death of boy, 11
Jul 24, 2007 04:30 AM
RICHARD BRENNAN
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–Don't look to the federal Conservative government to ban handguns.
Despite renewed calls for a national ban in the wake of the shooting death of 11-year-old Ephraim Brown in Toronto on the weekend, the Tory government is not swayed.
"Effectively, there is already a ban on handguns in Canada. They are already extremely tightly controlled and are only available to those requiring them for employment purposes (such as police and armoured car guards), legitimate target shooters, and approved collectors," said a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
In addition to rejecting a handgun ban, the Conservative government wants to scrap the long-gun registry, saying it does nothing to keep guns out of the hands of the bad guys. This policy is popular in many parts of the country where gun ownership is seen as a right.
"The Conservatives have long been in the holster of the gun lobby," Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant told the Toronto Star after he and Toronto Mayor David Miller called for a ban on handguns.
Bryant called on Ottawa to heed the outcry that something be done to curb illegal guns, including cracking down on smuggling at the border and restricting even more who can own handguns.
"We've got 215,000 (registered) handguns in Ontario alone and each one of them is a target for theft," Bryant said. "I say `no gun, no funeral,'" he added, referring to the deaths that have plagued Toronto in recent years.
The federal government maintains that handguns, which have had to be registered in Canada since 1934, are effectively banned now because of the severe restrictions.
But NDP justice critic Peggy Nash (Parkdale-High Park) said her party supports an outright ban because "nobody needs a handgun in the city in Toronto." However, she said, "I don't think we can trust this Prime Minister to deal effectively with getting guns off our streets."
Dave Tomlinson, president of Canada's National Firearms Association, said a handgun ban would not reduce gun crime since many of the illegally owned guns are being smuggled in from other countries, including the United States.
"Taking the guns away from the people who (legally own them) is going to have absolutely no effect on the people who are carrying illegal guns," Tomlinson said.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said a prohibition on handguns isn't needed.
"Handguns are already effectively banned in Ontario," he said, adding Ottawa needs to beef up border crossings with more explosive-sniffing dogs to clamp down on smugglers bringing in firearms.
However, Tory distanced himself from Harper, saying he supported a gun registry and urged against scrapping it, calling the database "a sensible proposition."
The federal Conservatives have lamented that the Liberal-dominated Senate has held up two justice bills that would impose mandatory minimum penalties for individuals using restricted or prohibited firearms, including handguns, to commit serious crimes, or for any serious firearms crime that is gang- or organized crime-related.
"We stick with approaches that are tried and true and result in a reduction of gun crime," Day said in June when rejecting the idea of an outright ban.
Federal Liberal justice critic Marlene Jennings (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Lachine) said the Conservatives should first live up to their election promise to increase funding to municipalities so they can hire more police.
"It's much too early to be talking about a handgun ban. First we should be ensuring the (long gun) firearm registry is maintained and enforced, not abolished ... and, secondly, proper resources should be given to our law enforcement so that they can actually enforce existing legislation," Jennings said.
The Tory bill to abolish the long-gun registry was introduced in June 2006, but is a long way from being passed. The gun registry was set up in 1995 by the Liberal government, making it mandatory for all owners of firearms to obtain and file certificates with the federal government.
The registry was supposed to cost $2 million, but costs ballooned to about $1 billion. Even so, the majority of Canadians say they support the initiative and the system is used approximately 5,000 times a day by police across the country, according to the Canadian Police Association and figures compiled by the government's firearms centre.