NEWS RELEASE
June 18, 2009	For Immediate Release

Breitkreuz exposes devious and underhanded opposition games
Opposition tries to secretly kill Bill C-391 that would scrap useless long-gun registry

(OTTAWA) Yorkton-Melville M.P. Garry Breitkreuz is calling on federal opposition parties to abandon their legislative guerilla tactics that would thwart a vote on scrapping the useless long-gun registry.

M.P.s from all three federal opposition parties who sit on the Sub-Committee on Private Members Business are trying to render Bill C-391 non-votable, even though there are no legislative reasons for doing so. The bill would abolish the gun registry, and several opposition members have publicly stated they would support it. Opposition party leaders, however, don’t want it to come to a vote.

“Scrapping the gun registry has obviously created a deep rift in the Liberal and NDP camps, and the only way they can emerge intact is to try to avoid voting on this issue at all,” says Breitkreuz. “It is an outrage that representatives of these parties would use their combined majority on the committee to intentionally ruin the Canadian legislative process. These members deserve to be severely reprimanded by their constituents and all who believe in the pillars of democracy.”

The sub-committee’s mandate is limited to ensuring that all Private Members Bills debated in the House of Commons satisfy four basic criteria, which deems them “votable.” Opposition members have exceeded that mandate.

During a public meeting held on June 15, the opposition members ignored all precedent and procedure, and overruled advice from committee analysts who said there is no basis to make Bill C-391 non-votable. Fortunately, government M.P.s on the sub-committee were able to avert a vote on the bill’s “votability,” so it remains on the Order Paper.

“On the upside, this tactic shows there must be lots of opposition members who would vote in favour of scrapping the long-gun registry,” explains Breitkreuz. “They are at odds with their party leaders because they want to cater to their constituents, who also want the registry discontinued. So, the best hope for them is to avoid a vote altogether and pretend to be victims of circumstance. I know the hunters and farmers and sport shooters in this country, and they will bring the weight of the world down on any opposition M.P. who supports the registry.”

Breitkreuz removed his own Bill C-301 from the parliamentary process because opposition members claimed it contained some firearms concessions that they would not support. He cleared the way for Bill C-391 tabled by Portage-Lisgar M.P. Candice Hoeppner, which solely targets scrapping the registry.

“We have done all we can to satisfy the opposition so we can get rid of the registry,” says Breitkreuz. “It still isn’t enough. I think the time has come for opposition M.P.s to start listening to the people they represent at home, rather than the people who hold their reins in Ottawa. There’s obviously a difference between the people’s choice and what opposition leaders are dictating. It’s time to put an end to the hidden agenda and devious tactics.”

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For further information contact:

Brant Scott
c/o Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
(613) 992-4394
Breitg0@parl.gc.ca