Mr. Speaker, dust off your decoys and don your camo. Fall is here and hunters throughout my riding are celebrating the arrival of hunting season. Northern Alberta is a hunter's paradise, teeming with ducks, geese, deer and moose. This is a time of camaraderie outdoors, a time to pass on our traditions to our children and a time to put meat in the freezer.
Hunters are law-abiding and conscientious firearms owners. They are not criminals. Bill C-71, if it becomes law, will make these people put their names on the Liberals' gun registry. Their registry targets hunters, not gang members. We need to shoot down this ineffective bill and put our sights on the real criminals: the people who commit crimes.
I am a hunter, my friends and relatives are hunters, and the first nations in my riding are also hunters. We shoot game to feed our families. The government is going after the wrong people. We are not the criminals; we are hunters. As Uncle Si says, “That's what I'm talking about, Jack.”