Mr. Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 36. It is my privilege to present 17 petitions containing well over 15,000 signatures of Canadians who are opposed to Bill C-68.
The petitioners are requesting that Parliament not attack the recreational firearms community and that it support legislation that severely punishes one who uses a weapon, including a weapon other than a firearm, protects the rights and freedoms of the law-abiding recreational firearms community to own and use firearms responsibly, passes careful scrutiny to see that it will improve public safety in a cost effective manner, and repeals present firearms control legislation, which features tortuous language and has been characterized by the courts as one of the most horrifying examples of bad draftsmanship.
As we draw to the close of the debate on Bill C-68 this week because of time allocation invoked by the government, let these petitions serve as a reminder that the minister does not have the support of these nor millions of other Canadians.