Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to speak to Bill C-68, the gun control bill introduced by the Minister of Justice. The purpose of the bill is to tighten controls on firearms, which may be seen as a response to the unfortunate incident that took place at the Polytechnique more than five years ago. According to the polls, a majority of the public is in favour of tighter gun controls.
In fact, for many years nearly 80 per cent of Canadians and 91 per cent of Quebecers have been asking the government to take action in this respect. The public wants access to, and acquisition of, firearms to be made more difficult. It wants assault weapons to be strictly for military use, it wants handguns to be prohibited and it wants stricter controls on the sale of firearms.
The bill is a partial response to these concerns, and the minister will establish a national firearms registration system. According to the information we received from the minister, the new system is supposed to be the foundation of the gun control program. It will be administered by the RCMP, in co-operation with the provinces and territories. The system will be used to fight the criminal use of firearms by issuing prohibition orders, taking action against smuggling, monitoring compliance with safety regulations and helping the police to trace stolen weapons.
The minister tells us the system should pay for itself. It will cost an estimated $85 million to implement this measure. In December, the minister said that the cost would be amortized over five years. In February, he said seven, and that the system would generate revenue. I am sorry, but I doubt the system will pay for itself. We do not know how much it will cost the provinces to co-operate with the federal government, and what will be the cost to the general public, both nationally and provincially, of sharing the responsibility with the federal government, and how much taxpayers will have to contribute to make this system an effective one.
The minister also said that holders of firearms acquisition certificates will not have to spend a single penny to get their new licence to own a firearm, and I suppose they do not mind. Current firearms owners only have to pay a renewal fee of $60 five years from now. In some cases, I heard at my office that this might be a problem for people who practise target shooting. This area is not quite clear to me. Meanwhile, in accordance with the new federal creed, the provinces are being asked to help implement a system without knowing what the cost will be.
A memo from the office of the Minister of Justice, dated January 19, said that the government hoped, but could not confirm, that current owners of firearms would not be charged a fee for a licence to own a firearm. So it is not quite clear whether firearms owners who have already paid will have to pay again.
The same memo goes on to say that once again, the fee schedule will be progressive, in that fees will increase over time to encourage the public to register their firearms as soon as possible. This is all very praiseworthy, but when we see how taxes are going up, the public probably has every right to say: "First we will be able to register free of charge but pretty soon we will be paying enormous amounts to be able to own a firearm".
"Once again, we hope the cost will not be too high during the first year", said the minister. In short, the method for financing the system is somewhat obscure, there is some question as to the final outcome.
Another point to be made is that certain weapons will remain in circulation. Despite the bill, 13,000 military type automatic weapons, including over 4,000 AK-47s will remain in circulation due to the system of vested interests. I might be tempted to indulge in a little black humour here and say that it is really too bad that the unemployed do not own such weapons, then they could keep at least one vested interest.
Coroner Anne-Marie David held hearings in Montreal in November and made certain recommendations. She called for simpler and more consistent storage regulations, easier to understand.
She also wanted the regulations amended to force those selling weapons to keep them locked or inoperative. She called for a specific regulation governing shipments of weapons stored and transported by an importer. She asked that weapons be confiscated in the case of a second unsafe storage, display or transportation offence. She called for a vast information campaign to increase public awareness, a request echoed by a number of associations of firearms users.
None of these measures is contained in the current bill. Representatives of the Quebec police force and the Association of Police Chiefs told Dr. David that the existing regulations are so complex they require police experts to interpret them. How are ordinary citizens going to figure them out?
Between 1926 and 1992, 64 per cent of the homicides in Canada were committed with weapons other than firearms. Between 1988 and 1991, 95 per cent of violent crimes did not involve the use of firearms, but, rather, kitchen knives, force or dangerous instruments. In 1991, 0.3 per cent of violent crimes or murders were committed with firearms. For 1991, statistics indicate that 67 per cent of violent crimes were repeat offences.
Two rights oppose each other in this bill: the right to the enjoyment of safety in life and the right to privacy and to own a firearm.
Like many hon. members, I have received a lot of information. This information has come from the person responsible for this issue, but also from people keenly interested in the matter in my riding. From this information, I would like to share two interesting points with the hon. members, if I may.
The first is that criminal acts and domestic accidents do not involve weapons that are legally purchased and registered, but invariably weapons obtained illegally on the black market, no matter the calibre and barrel length. I note that the present bill contains no provision in this regard.
The second is that the minister would be well advised to prohibit certain weapons and accessories: certain pistols, for example, are no longer made of tempered steel but of a composite material combining plastic and carbon, and can pass almost undetected through metal detectors. Airports are beginning to give this serious thought. There are also laser sights and infrared telescopic sights of use only to hired killers. My information indicates further that these items are not used for legitimate target practice and are more dangerous than the old .25 and .32 calibre handguns and guns with a barrel length of less than 105 millimetres.
I therefore believe it is important to proceed with this bill. People want firearms controlled. But they have to be controlled in a way that users living peacefully in the country, for example, who want to take a walk on their property, regardless of the time of day, and perhaps take a shot at a partridge, are not harassed by a system that tries to control things but that fails to get to the heart of the problem.
I therefore invite everyone, whether they agree or disagree, to express their viewpoint to the committee to further enlighten those who will have to decide on this bill.