So I guess even if it is regulatory under the harmful products act, just the fact that somebody can come into my home, if I'm running a business in my home, on the basis of a suspicion that the product I'm selling is not safe...that's a fairly serious infringement. Now, maybe it's reasonably justified, but here's what I'm trying to get at. Yes, I understand that gun-shop owners don't want to feel intimidated. I understand that, but we're not dealing with an innocuous product here; this is a.... I understand that 99% of gun owners, long-gun owners, are law-abiding citizens. I know many myself, and I've said in the House that they're the pillars of the community.
On the other hand, we're not dealing with an innocuous product. It's something that could be misused. My understanding was that the green book was a way of encouraging or even requiring a gun-shop owner to check if the purchaser of the gun has a valid licence, because I think they have to enter that information. Now, the law requires that someone be sure that the buyer has a licence before they can sell them a gun. But what you're doing, it seems to me, is that you're making it more likely that somebody won't check if there's a licence.
I'll give you an example. In the United States, you cannot sell a gun to somebody who is not lawfully entitled to own one, so you would think that a seller would verify that the person has a licence before selling to them. But an investigative reporter did a story wherein he posed as someone who wanted to buy a gun over the phone or on the Internet and sort of hinted to the seller that he didn't have a licence. What he said to the seller was, “Look, I'm just telling you, you wouldn't want to necessarily sell me a gun if you knew...”. The seller went ahead and sold anyway.
So I'm just a little concerned that there are some retailers.... And I'm not impugning all retailers, but we know there are retailers who sell to underage kids. Some retailers might say that they're not really going to check whether that person has a licence or not, and by getting rid of the green book you're essentially making it easier for them to get away with that. I think that's a concern. That's a valid concern. That has to be weighed against the desire to not have retailers feel intimidated by the state.
I think that's a valid concern and I'd like your comment on that.