Madam Speaker, Monday was the first day of hunting season in my constituency of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. The subject of the Liberal gun registry continues to be a hot topic of discussion in rural Canada. I am therefore pleased to rise from my seat not only on behalf of the hunters and sportsmen of my riding but for hunters and sportsmen across Canada.
At every opportunity my constituents encourage me to continue to hold accountable a government that insists on spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a dubious policy that is of questionable value to the people of Canada.
The hunt, as the government probably intended, gets smaller and smaller every year, since hunters are giving up in disgust over the red tape, regulations and costs that are the results of the government's pursuit of law-abiding firearms owners.
The firearms registry is a complete and utter government failure, so it was with surprise that I noted three remarks by the Solicitor General about the firearms registry in response to my question of June 2.
The Solicitor General stated first that the intent of the Liberal gun registry “is not to penalize hunters and legitimate gun owners”. The minister then stated that the registry system was working “more efficiently”. Third, the Solicitor General remarked that the intent of the gun registry was that it was supposed to “make our streets safer”.
Before I continue, I believe it is important to state my party's position on the Liberal Party's gun registry so that there can be no confusion as to where the Canadian Alliance stands on this issue of the gun registry. The Canadian Alliance firearms policy states the following:
We believe there should be severe mandatory penalties for the criminal use of any weapon. We will replace the current firearms law, including its firearms registration provisions, with a practical firearms control system that is cost effective and respects the rights of Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly. We will especially emphasize a more stringent punishment of individuals who use a firearm or other weapon in the commission of a crime involving a threat of or actual violence.
During the summer of 2002, Dr. Ted Morton, professor of political science at the University of Calgary, prepared a paper entitled “How the Firearms Act (Bill C-68) Violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms”. Professor Morton documented the following charter violations: the right to liberty; the right to security of the person; the right to procedural fairness; the right against unreasonable search and seizure; the right to privacy; the right to be presumed innocent; the right against arbitrary detention; the right to freedom of expression; the right to bear arms; the right to council upon arrest or detention; and the right to property and equality rights.
Dr. Morton's paper goes on to explain:
To the extent that the Firearms Act restricts any of the rights listed above, the burden of proof shifts to the government to prove that such restrictions are “reasonable”.
To do this, the Supreme Court has developed the “Oakes test”, which requires the government to demonstrate that the Act serves as an important public policy objective; is rationally connected to that objective; impairs the right in issue as little as possible; and does more good than harm (proportionality).
While the purpose of the Firearms Act--the reduction of illegal use of firearm violence--easily qualifies as an important public policy objective, the means used to achieve this objective utterly fail the... three rules of the Oakes test.