LAUZON TO SUPPORT BILL THAT WILL SCRAP THE LONG-GUN REGISTRY

February 13, 2009

Ottawa – SDSG MP Guy Lauzon today endorsed a private members bill put forth by his Conservative colleague Garry Breitkreuz that would scrap the decade-old Canadian long-gun registry -- Bill C-301.

The long-gun registry was originally budgeted to cost Canadians $2 million, but the price tag spiraled out of control to an estimated $2 billion a decade later. Lauzon says it’s time to pull the plug on this useless money pit, because the registry has not saved one single life since it was introduced.

“The registry is a political pacifier created to give the impression that Canada would be safer for it,” explains Lauzon. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe Canadians would rather see their tax dollars keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and gangs, instead of trying to control law-abiding citizens.”

If Breitkreuz’s bill receives support from a majority of M.P.s, it will also invite the Auditor General to conduct a public safety test on all gun control measures every five years. The Auditor General’s reports will reassure Canadians that all gun control laws are cost-effective at improving public safety, reducing violent crime and keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals.

 “We need hard evidence to guide us in forming cost-effective crime control measures,” says Lauzon. “This is a non-partisan issue and I hope it will be supported by all federal parties. Certainly there are M.P.s in all parties who believe hunters, farmers and sport shooters have been forced to comply with an onerous registration process that made no sense. It’s high time to switch our focus to the bad guys.”

Breitkreuz’s bill also introduces legislative steps to streamline the Firearms Act. The changes will improve efficiency and enhance Canada’s public safety objectives, while still providing our police with all the information they need for effective law enforcement.

“Bill C-301 would finally make public safety the priority of our country’s gun control laws,” explained Lauzon. “Many Canadians have come to realize that the long-gun registry wasn’t working because it targets the wrong people. It’s a waste of time and money to lay a piece of paper beside every gun in the country. And the last I checked, criminals were not hampered in the least by the registry. Those are the people we need to go after if we really want to control crime.”