Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice has indicated his desire to enact stringent gun control measures that will primarily affect law-abiding citizens and will do little to address the criminal use of guns.
I fully support several measures which call for increased penalties for the trafficking of illegal weapons and certainty of sentencing for weapons offences. However, I caution the Minister of Justice to bear in mind that of all homicides committed between 1961 and 1990, less than 1 per cent were committed with legally owned handguns. As a result the registration of all firearms will be of little value in attempting to reduce crime and it will be the law-abiding citizens who will bear the brunt of this legislation.
The reality is we have a serious crime problem, not a serious gun problem. The principle of the protection of life and property of every Canadian citizen must be the number one priority when considering all legislation pertaining to our criminal justice system. I trust the Minister of Justice will bear this in mind.