It was not mentioned during the campaign that the registry would be destroyed. In addition, Ms. Hoeppner's bill was debated a few weeks before the election was called. Also, considering some of the ministers' statements and the fact that the data is now to be destroyed, it seems that we were somewhat misled. I'm not asking you to answer this question. As a minister, you must maintain a certain level of diplomacy.
I have with me a letter dated November 2, written by the Director of the Montreal Police Department. It says the following:
Although the gun control registry is not ideal, its implementation costs were seen as excessive and it cannot guarantee that this type of violence will stop altogether, all police officers consider it to be a fundamental tool for reducing firearm-related risks.
The government and other people who want to do away with the registry claim that Canada's police leaders are out of touch with the police corps, that they do not represent the opinion of police officers in the field. You are at the head of Quebec's public security organization. Do you think that there is a gaping chasm between the police leaders and police officers in the field? If that's the case, I think that the firearms registry is just one of our concerns.