Mr. Speaker, it has been obvious, right from the start, that police officers are asking for gun control to help them in their duties.
As I said earlier, the officers I met when they came to visit and lobby told us clearly that it helped them a lot, that they often made requests to the firearms control information office to get ideas about the people they could go and see following a request for an investigation, and so on, in that area. It has done them a great service.
Yes, I think that in this way it is excellent. I think, and I will say it again, that expenses absolutely must be cut; there absolutely must be a public inquiry so that we can find out where the money has gone and manage this properly in the future.
Yes, I agree, and I have always said so, with gun control, which, like the health services we have mentioned, can sometimes be a way to prevent suicides. Additionally, since gun control began, many applications for firearms acquisition permits have been turned down.
If they were turned down, it was because of the criteria that have been established. Here, too, there has been a lot of screening. That is also due to the registry. Thus, it is very important for it to exist, but the costs must be controlled.