Mr. Speaker, Timiskaming-French River is a rural, northern Ontario riding, and our way of life differs greatly from that of urban centres. Solutions that work in Toronto will not necessarily work in the north. The majority of gun owners in my riding are law abiding and safe users of firearms for hunting and sport. It is part of our way of life.
In the interests of public security it is important to maintain a certain level of gun control in Canada. However, since 70 per cent of all criminal acts involving guns are committed with smuggled, illegal firearms, we need to have and enforce stricter laws and penalties for criminal users of firearms. We do not need more complicated regulations for law-abiding citizens.
I will forcefully oppose any new legislation that will impose further controls on law-abiding firearm owners.