My research presented today is merely on the long-gun registry and homicide. I did not look at suicide. If you look at suicide, you can see that suicide rates have been declining for a long time, and that while the use of firearms in suicide--by long gun or handgun--has declined and started declining way before Bill C-68 was introduced or implemented, hanging has increased.
The problem with suicide isn't access to a particular kind of method, but access to any method. Ropes are eminently available to people who wish to hang themselves and, unfortunately, our aboriginal population has a cultural predilection for ropes rather than guns. This is uncontrollable. This is very sad. We should focus on suicide prevention, not gun access or restriction.