Mr. Speaker, yes, but if I may say so, I do not believe that response leads logically to the conclusion there is not a good case for registering all firearms in Canada.
May I point out that the increased use of hand guns for criminal purposes in recent years has for the most part first, been in urban centres, and second, been because of smuggled illegal hand guns.
The proposal we will bring forward will deal, among other things, with preventing illegal firearms from coming into Canada. We will never do it perfectly but we can improve what we are doing.
Second and very briefly on the subject of registering long guns, it should be borne in mind that in rural areas the fatality rate for firearms is higher than in urban areas and primarily derives from the use of long guns, not hand guns.