Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just want to say that, as an average Canadian, it would be very difficult for me to say no to a law that requires an individual to register any type of firearm that can be deadly. But before jumping to any conclusion on that, I decided to meet with the chief of police of Peel region, where I reside. I had a frank discussion with the chief. I wanted him to talk with him about it so that I wouldn't be totally tainted, maybe, by my own biases. He was very firm about maintaining the registry as it is. The registry, along with the gun control legislation, is a tool that police officers use as a preventative measure to protect the safety of Canadians. It's a preventative measure.
Yes, we need other measures to protect the safety of Canadians, but this is one instrument that police officers have been telling us about. I really hope we don't dismiss the arguments that police officers are bringing forward to us, as parliamentarians, as the government. They're telling us that they use these tools.
So we should not dismiss arguments that may not agree with what we believe is necessary, and we should take them seriously. I know that a few police chiefs have said it was maybe not that effective, but the majority of police chiefs have said that their police officers use it on a daily basis. It's the combination with the gun control measures we have that gives police officers the ability to know where guns are.
On another level, it's a deterrent for gun owners to act irrationally occasionally. Most gun crimes are committed without any premeditation. If a gun owner knows that his or her gun is registered, it's another deterrent for them; they'll think twice before committing a crime. Perhaps that's the reason why a lot of gun crimes are not committed by guns that are registered.
This government is not only dismantling the gun registry, it is also providing amnesty for people who want to own long guns. It's a concern. The burden is on the government to explain why it wants to dismantle the existing gun registry, as it works.
Thank you.