Thank you.
I really think, for the good of the public, we need to stop using the phrase, “scrapping the program”. We're making the gun registration system even stronger. One of the things we are doing to make it stronger is not requiring the farmers, the duck hunters, and others with unrestricted firearms to go through the impossible process of registering those at a cost of millions of dollars. There have been great improvements made in the system, and Deputy Commissioner Peter Martin can talk about them. The fact is, using 2003 figures, half of 1% of the homicides were committed with a long gun.
Why do you not support us in terms of wanting mandatory sentences for people who commit crimes with any kind of gun? We can't get the Liberals to support it. Three of the four Liberals on this committee wouldn't vote to support us on that. The Liberals say, farmers, let's go after them, but to criminals, let's back off. I'm asking for some honest advice here. Why do you not support that? Why do you not support going after criminals?