Evidence of meeting #19 for Public Safety and National Security in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was firearms.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:10 p.m.
A voice
I've already done it.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
5:10 p.m.
President, Coalition for Gun Control
The Auditor General looked at how the billion dollars was spent over 10 years. That information is broken down and shows that more than two-thirds of the money that was spent went to licensing gun owners. The $4.1 million, as far as I'm aware, is a figure that was given by the RCMP when they were asked how much would be saved if the registration of rifles and shotguns were eliminated. Remember, 7 million have already been registered; it's only a few hundred thousand every year that are re-registered, so it makes sense to me.
There was previous testimony by one of the deputy commissioners that put the estimate around $3.3 million, I think. But those figures come from the RCMP, not from the Auditor General, as far as I know.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Thank you for that correction. I do appreciate it, so it's very clear, and I apologize that I inadvertently made an incorrect statement. I'm glad you've corrected that.
Professor Mauser, I'll use Ms. Glover as my role model: have you received funding from the NRA for any of your studies or research work?
5:10 p.m.
Professor Emeritus, As an Individual
Yes, I have. When I first began researching--
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Have you contributed to the Conservative Party of Canada, or its predecessor the Canadian Alliance, or its predecessor the Reform Party of Canada?
5:10 p.m.
Professor Emeritus, As an Individual
I have contributed to the Conservative Party, the Reform Party, the NDP, and the Liberals.
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Liberal
5:10 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
I'm pleased; I'm pleased. Thank you so much. That's wonderful.
It just goes to show that whether it's Madam Cukier or Mr. Mauser, they're following in the wonderful Canadian tradition of supporting our political parties as truly a fundamental pillar of our democracy.
Bravo to you both.
Mr. Mauser, have you ever stated that you thought it would be a good idea to have a small number of employees working in schools, colleges, or educational institutions, to be trained in firearms in order to be able to protect the students who are there? Would that be a correct statement?
5:15 p.m.
Professor Emeritus, As an Individual
I don't remember saying such a statement, although I quite possibly did.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Well, let me quote.... Apparently it's an article that you wrote to the Montreal Gazette regarding the Dawson College shooting, which was, in fact, not published in the Gazette but was published in volume 10, number 278, of the Canadian Firearms Digest. I have the entire quote here, but I'm not going to read it all.
How much time do I have left?
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Thank you.
My last question to you, Professor Mauser, is that, to my understanding, it's not only an issue of registration of long guns that you don't agree with, you also believe that licensing is even worse than registration. Is that correct?
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
So in fact, when you come here to speak in favour of Bill C-391, you believe it doesn't go far enough, because it would only abolish the registry of long guns. You believe that no one should have to be licensed to own a firearm. Is that correct?
5:15 p.m.
Professor Emeritus, As an Individual
I am a strong proponent of police screening.
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Conservative
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Conservative
Dave MacKenzie Conservative Oxford, ON
Thank you, Chair, and thank you to the witnesses.
Minister, just so you understand, we were limited in how many witnesses we could have. Those other four attorneys general would have liked to be here.
But I do have a question for you, Minister. I have a quote here that “a law registering firearms has neither deterred these crimes nor helped us solve any of them”. As well, “None of the guns we know to have been used were registered...the money could be more effectively used for security against terrorism as well as a host of other public safety initiatives.” That is a quote attributed to Julian Fantino, who was at the time Police Chief in Toronto, and who is now the Commissioner of the OPP.
Do you think he's changed his view?
5:15 p.m.
Attorney General of Ontario, Government of Ontario
Well, I'll let the commissioner speak for himself.
As always, there was a lot of cost in setting up the registry. We now have it. The question is what to do with it. My advocacy is that we continue it. Thousands of police officers represented by their chiefs say that it's an important public safety tool.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Dave MacKenzie Conservative Oxford, ON
Sergeant Rutledge, I think you indicated that you're an active police officer, you're assigned as a dog handler, and you frequently attend with SWAT teams. Has there ever been a case, or could you tell us of a case, in which you've checked the registry and believed the information to be valid?
5:15 p.m.
Sergeant, As an Individual
I've used it probably only a couple of times, and that was on the back end of an investigation, not on the front end. Being from an urban-rural community, we still rely on knowing the people we police, and using confidential informants and witnesses. We rely more on that at the front end of things, and that's how I go.
