Evidence of meeting #129 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was information.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Yes, certainly.
As already mentioned, during the consultation period on a bill, a lot can change. That's what we saw during consultations held by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on this bill: amendments were suggested.
At the Canadian firearms program, we are used to seeing changes along the way. That is part of the reason why we don't like to share information about a bill that is evolving during the process.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
However, the information that has been provided was meant to alert Canadians that there would be changes. Is that what you wanted to do?
I'm talking about Bill C-71.
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Yes. In this case, Bill C-71 had consequences, and Canadians had to be informed of the June 30 date. Our only intention was to inform them so that they could make good decisions about the firearms affected by this bill.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
The minister said earlier, and you mentioned it too, that suggestions were made on how to use what happened in June and May 2017 to do better next time. You're talking about consultations.
What would you suggest about the information on the website? I know you have to check the accuracy of a terrible amount of information. However, what could be done next time to make it better?
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
On our side, in the program, I would say that the more people who review a document, the better. We try to work closely with the people at the Department of Public Safety, our lawyers and our various communication teams. This would be our practice from now on.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
The minister mentioned earlier that, if necessary, the potential impact of a bill should be explained, but always by specifying that nothing is certain, since the bill still has to go through all stages: amendments can be made, Parliament must pass it, and then it must obtain royal assent.
Do you want people to submit their suggestions to you?
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Absolutely. We invite people to submit their suggestions. There is an email address on our website that Canadians can use to write to us directly.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
How would you track these emails? They should be sent to parliamentarians.
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
We can find a way to make sure these suggestions are sent to your committee.
Currently, we have people who check this email inbox every day and who handle requests and concerns from people on a daily basis.
We're open to hearing any suggestions you may have about how to forward them to you.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Strachan, thank you for being here.
Earlier, you mentioned the intention of the communication. Why do you want to change that?
You also said that the case we are currently handling is unique. I would like to hear your comments on that. You said that consultation would be needed to better educate Canadians. At least, I think that was your objective.
D/Commr Jennifer Strachan
I think this was a conversation between the Canadian firearms program team and the Department of Public Safety team. I don't know if a document was submitted at that time. The reason the team wanted to add comments to the communication was related to the calls and questions that Canadian firearms program people had received so far.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
Instead, questions and answers should have been prepared. You should try to anticipate the problems that may arise, rather than reacting a little late.
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
I can answer that question.
We had some internal discussions. The first choice was to say nothing and just let the bill move forward. If the bill were to pass, we would have waited until the provisions came into force to receive calls from Canadians wishing to register their firearms. In this case, the people who would not have been informed of certain aspects of the bill, such as the June 30 date, would most likely not have qualified and would not have been able to register their firearms.
In short, we had two choices: say nothing, wait two years and then tell people that it was too bad for them, or communicate the information in advance. We wanted to give them this information so they could make good choices.
Conservative
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I will speak in English.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Lib.
But you were with me on the official languages.
Conservative
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
I know and I wish I was still back there. I need that immersion again. I need that daily interaction.
Conservative
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
Maybe next week I'll use French.
Again, thank you, Deputy Commissioner and Director, for joining us today.
I want to follow up very briefly.
I believe it was you, Deputy Commissioner, who mentioned the national communications program. Is there a policy that goes with that to determine how that type of communication is exercised and how it's put out? Is there a policy that governs that?
Director, Firearms Regulatory Services, Canadian Firearms Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
No, no. It's just that my mike went off.
D/Commr Jennifer Strachan
Pardon me.
There is a policy that national communications have, but I can't say it's definitive with regard to how we post information on the web. I can find that out for you. Certainly, I can provide that.
Conservative
