My first question will be on firearms-related offences.
As all Canadians are aware, there are tens of thousands of unregistered firearms in this country, most of them owned by law-abiding citizens who have never had a speeding ticket or been stopped for going through a stop sign. They're held by many rural and urban Canadians, but there are literally tens of thousands of them. My concern is that when this legislation comes into place--and I expect it will come into place and Canadians will support it--we will have created a group of people who, through no fault of their own, because they didn't register their firearms, suddenly become criminals under this new bill. Quite frankly, they're criminals under the existing legislation.
I'm wondering if there's been any thought or any process given to the idea of an amnesty. Amnesties work. We tend to have a firearms amnesty on an ad hoc basis every six, seven, or ten years. People turn in firearms that they're not using. That takes a lot of handguns off the streets. It would also be an opportunity for people to legally register firearms that haven't been registered so far.
I'm wondering if any thought has been given to that.