Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to stand in the House today to talk about the current Firearms Act, formerly Bill C-68.
When I ran for politics, during my campaign I became very familiar with Bill C-68.
I come from a rural riding in New Brunswick. As a matter of fact, I live in the woods and owned a gun at one time. When I ran for office, a lot of people in my riding, in New Brunswick, were totally against Bill C-68. As I heard and read more about it, I became totally against the bill.
When I ran to become a member of parliament I was very vocal about being against Bill C-68. My party, the Conservative Party of Canada, at that time said that if we formed the government we would scrap Bill C-68. I am now a member of parliament, but my party did not form the government. The people who put this bill forward have formed the government. I do not agree with it, but that is how democracy works.
Since that time I have been bothered by a few questions. I have personally been against firearm registration. I sold my gun because I did not understand why I should have to register it. As I had a licence and the gun was already registered, I wondered why I should have to register it a second time. For me it is purely political and a tax grab by the Liberals.
What bothers me the most is that today is a Reform supply day and all day they have been talking about Bill C-68. The Reform Party also said that if it formed the government it would repeal Bill C-68, but it did not form the government. Since then the Reform Party has been very vocal in the media and outside the House as to what Bill C-68 will do to Canadians.
Sometimes inside this House I feel that the story is different. We know that a subcommittee was set up last December by the justice department, made up of the justice critics from each party. Bill C-68 has now become law. It is harder to throw a law out than to throw a bill out. Now that the law is there we thought it would be easier for us to present amendments to the subcommittee which would help change some provisions within the law to make it easier for Canadians who live in rural areas to hunt. Just because we own guns does not mean we are criminals.
When the time arrived for all parties to meet at the subcommittee, the date was December 2, 1997. The critic for the Conservative Party was there with five amendments. He would have been able to change some of those provisions. The Reform Party went to the subcommittee with one amendment, which was to repeal Bill C-68 and nothing less than that.
I met people who voted for the Reform Party. They told me that the only gun control they want in the country is to be able to go to bed at night with a loaded gun next to their bed. Do we live in Canada or do we live in the jungles of Cambodia?
At the subcommittee, after the Reform Party brought in the amendment to repeal Bill C-68, which was defeated, instead of staying at the meeting to help the Conservative Party with its amendments, Reform members left the room saying that it was not an important issue for them. We had five amendments. On three of them even the Liberal side was split. If the Reform Members had stayed at the subcommittee three of the amendments could have passed, but we lost everything.
Today in the House we spent all day listening to speeches about Bill C-68. Personally I feel it is a waste of taxpayers' money because when members of the Reform Party had the chance to change some of the amendments they walked out.
Today there was a big rally on the Hill. From my office I could see the people. I sympathize with all Canadians because I support them and I am one of them. I do not know how many people there were at the rally. There may have been 5,000 or more. I support them and I will keep supporting them.
I am against gun control, but it is law now. Why can we not work together to try to change some of the provisions within the law to make it easier for people like me and many other Canadians who live in rural areas to own a firearm?
Members of the Reform Party come to the House and advocate one thing, but when they go outside it is another story. They tell Canadians that they are on their side and they are fighting to repeal gun control, but at the subcommittee they walked out, saying it was not an important issue for them.
What is going on here? It is a waste of taxpayers' money.