Ontario’s Attorney General Norm Sterling made it quite clear Tuesday that this province will not prosecute gun owners who refuse to register their rifle or shotgun.

His reason? He thinks it’s a "badly flawed piece of legislation." We agree, and we have said so since its inception. In his opinion, the federal gun registry conveys "the false promise that this registry is going to somehow enhance our ability to catch criminals." Instead, it "persecutes the wrong people, innocent people, good people who want to use long firearms for hunting and recreational use."

You can’t get much clearer than that. In voicing the province’s opposition, Sterling is joining with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Nova Scotia, which have expressed similar sentiments. We’re glad to see some provinces are digging in their heels on this one. The program is expected to cost Canadian taxpayers $1 billion, and it will do next to nothing to prevent the vast majority of firearm woundings and murders that are committed with illegal handguns.

Federal Solicitor General Wayne Easter, on the other hand, says the laws must be upheld, and so the stage is being set for a showdown.

We’re hoping the ridiculous and costly registration idea will be scrapped and the federal government will spend more time and energy stopping the sale of illegal handguns.

But knowing the Liberal mindset, that’s probably too much to hope for.