Mr. Speaker, I am frankly sick of listening to the flagrant misrepresentations the hon. member is indulging in with his efforts to mislead the Canadian public as to what is going on in this bill. He knows perfectly well he is doing it and he should be ashamed of himself.
I refer him for the purpose of clearing up the error-perhaps he will admit his deliberate error-to section 92(1) of the proposed new bill currently before the House. Page 68:
Subject to subsection (4) and section 98, every person commits an offence who possesses a firearm knowing that the person is not the holder of
(a) a licence under which the person may possess it; and
(b) a registration certificate for the firearm.
Subsection 3 says:
Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable-
-to the 10 year imprisonment to which he referred. This is a person who committed an offence possessing a firearm knowing the person was not the holder of a licence and that the gun was unregistered. In other words, it is the criminal misuse of firearms.
Let us go back to section 91(1) of the bill:
Subject to subsection (4) and section 98, every person commits an offence who possesses a firearm, unless the person is the holder of
(a) a licence under which the person may possess it; and
(b) a registration certificate for the firearm.
Then it says in subsection (3):
Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2)
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or
(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
He knows that an offence punishable on summary conviction carries a maximum sentence of six months or a $2,000 fine. It also carries the possibility of an absolute or conditional discharge. He knows that the innocent gun owner who fails to register will be charged under that section, not someone who is committing an offence which is the section he is referring to when he talks about 10 years. He is misleading the Canadian public. He should apologize for his deceit.