We had a lot of testimony from a lot of shooting groups, so the original bill included an exemption for Olympic shooting. However, it became very clear to us that there is a very vibrant culture of responsible handgun sport shooters: cowboy action shooting, IPSC and Paralympians, among others. They were not being adequately covered by this legislation.
Understanding that sometimes prescribing things in legislation is not the best way to govern or legislate, we have proposed adding “a handgun shooting discipline” as wording to allow some flexibility in determining which handgun disciplines or sporting activities would be legitimately allowed for getting a restricted licence or a registration for a handgun. That's why we're moving forward with that.
Clearly, this is an important part of culture, particularly in western Canada, and I think it's important that we not sterilize something that has not.... Nobody has provided any evidence that these people conducting these activities are an increased threat to society. We should always err on the side of liberty unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.
Maybe there are other Conservatives who have something to say on this.