Currently, the number of homicides committed using a gun is decreasing, but it is as though over the last decade we had seen an increase in this type of crime and found it necessary to act. That is the impression we are under, but it is quite the opposite. Since 1979, the crime and homicide rate involving the use of guns has been in free fall. The registry came into effect in 1992. With or without the registry, crime and homicide rates will continue to decline. This is obvious, and it is for all kinds of reasons.
Yes, urbanization is of critical importance in terms of the use of firearms. When I was at the Ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche du Québec [Quebec Ministry of Leasure, Hunting and Fishing], the number of hunting permits was constantly decreasing. That has been the case for 20 years, to the point that we are wondering whether there will be a new generation of hunters. There are all kinds of factors to be considered. The fact that couples are separating is one. Hunting is no longer passed along as a cultural value from father to son. In many cases, when a couple separates, it is the mother who raises the children. Hunting, however, is not really a part of women's values. There is therefore a natural phenomenon of decline as far as crimes are concerned. Whether or not there is a registry, it cannot be scientifically proven that this will have an impact on crime.