I am still not sure how to say I ask you all to put these thoughts into your brain and consider them as you're making your decision. I'm trying to say “think about”, but I won't put it that way.
The Bloc has been consistent. But all the other parties are divided on whether the long gun registry has helped stop violence against women. Niki Ashton, one of my colleagues from Manitoba, agrees. If we're going to do a remembrance, let's remember women who have died because of gun violence. It's not certain whether the long gun registry has stopped gun violence. I'm not sure if members are aware that Mr. Lépine had a licence to own a gun. Mr. Lépine, who committed these horrific acts, came from an abusive family. He saw his father be very abusive. He went through a lot of tragedies. He was a new Canadian. He obviously was a very disturbed man, but he got a licence to own a firearm.
First of all, we need to look at this process. My bill does not end the licensing process. This man got a licence to own a gun, so even if the registry had been in place and he had registered every one of his firearms, he still would have gone and committed this horrific crime.
We're talking about the long gun registry, which is a public safety issue. We should talk about licensing and who is allowed to own a firearm legally. There are some people who should never own a firearm. If they're criminals, they're going to go and steal one. But the licensing process denies legal access to a firearm to people who have a history of mental illness, domestic abuse, violence, or criminal activity.
It should be noted that police officers 94% of the time check the long gun registry database to find out who owns a firearm. For example, when they're going on a domestic dispute call and they want to find out if this person is licensed to own a firearm, they immediately look up the name and address. Under my bill, they would continue to have access to that information. About 2% of the time, they're looking at the serial and certificate number of the firearm. That's what the registration keeps track of. That does nothing, unfortunately, to stop bad people from having a firearm.
So if we're going to talk about the long gun registry, let's talk about the facts of the long gun registry. Let's talk about how women are dying because men are committing acts of violence against them. Let's talk about how right now there are no minimum sentences. Usually, they get a slap on the wrist if they commit a crime against a woman, especially in domestic disputes. I think we would all agree that this is unfair and wrong.