Evidence of meeting #21 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 firearm.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Jacques Dupuis  Minister of Public Safety, Government of Québec
Sheila Fraser  Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Alain Cossette  Director General, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs
Bernard Pelletier  Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs
Tony Bernardo  Executive Director, Canadian Shooting Sports Association
Diana Cabrera  Member, Canadian Shooting Sports Association
Katherine Austin Leonard  Member, Canadian Paediatric Society

4:45 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

I see where you are going with this. Would you like me to answer right away?

4:45 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

No, no; wait a moment. Are their hunting dogs registered?

4:45 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

That depends.

4:45 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

My dog is registered, even though it is not a hunting dog. Dogs are normally registered in municipalities, but that may depend on the municipality. The hunting catch is counted, is it not?

4:45 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

It depends on the type of hunt.

4:45 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Fine.

There is one thing I do not understand. I will be straight with you: I, too, have been thinking about all of this. What is the problem with registering a gun? Everything is registered. Naturally, we register our vehicles, boats—everything is registered, but guns--

4:45 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

I can apply your same reasoning. We all know that everyone has to die. So, we should prohibit people from being born, and that way there would be no problem.

4:45 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

I do not see the connection.

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

It is the same kind of argument.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Let me ask you another question.

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

If the Registry served some purpose, we would support it. I remember debating this, and other issues, with my member of Parliament at the time, Pierre Brien. I said to him: give us the money that will be spent on the Registry. We wanted to do some education and prevention, but our means were very limited. At the same time, we were witnessing an appalling waste of public money.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

I agree with you, especially--

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

Then help us, and we will help you. I agree with you that homicides and suicides are a problem. But look at the statistics for the last few years. Overall, there has been no change in Canada.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Mr. Pelletier, I agree with you on one point: there is enormous waste, particularly for security at the G20 meeting. I consider one billion dollars to be excessive.

I would like to know one thing. You said you are against registering long guns, right? Your problem is long guns; you support abolishing the long gun registry.

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

Yes, that is correct.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Are you in favour of abolishing the handgun registry?

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

That is not our issue; I represent hunters.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Are you for or against its abolition?

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

You cannot hunt with handguns in Canada. So I am not going to take a position on that.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Fine. Do you own any prohibited weapons? Is that part of your issue?

4:50 p.m.

Volunteer Master Instructor in Gun Safety, Security Nature, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs

Bernard Pelletier

In the courses we teach, we tell people not to discuss their firearms, so that people will not be tempted to go and steal them. So, I will not answer that question.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

All right, fine.

I will move on to Ms. Fraser, if that is all right.

Ms. Fraser, you said that you have not conducted detailed audit work on the Canadian Firearms Program since 2006. Why have you not?

4:50 p.m.

Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada

Sheila Fraser

It simply was not a priority. There have been changes. In fact, the Centre itself has been dismantled and operations have been transferred to the RCMP. When we performed the last audit, in 2006, we noted satisfactory progress with respect to the recording of costs—which was a concern in 2002—and operations as well.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC

Will it be included in future studies? Is it included in your plans?

4:50 p.m.

Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada

Sheila Fraser

That is certainly possible, but it is not included in our plans for the coming years.