PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE:
2004.02.05
EDITION:
Final
SECTION:
News
PAGE:
A9
BYLINE:
Tim Naumetz
SOURCE:
CanWest News Service
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Female
MPs oppose death of gun registry: Liberal women's caucus angry MP predicted free
Commons vote on funding will kill program
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Liberal
MP Roger Gallaway angered MPs in the Liberal women's caucus after saying he
believes the gun registry will lose its funding when estimates for the Canadian
Firearms Centre come before Parliament in March.
Several
MPs in the powerful women's lobby said yesterday they will fight for the gun
registry to the bitter end, and argued any motion on funding would be an
expression of confidence in the government, requiring support from all Liberal
MPs.
But
Mr. Gallaway, who said he is aware a "little nest" of government MPs
is trying to stir up support for the program, reiterated he believes the
registry's funding will be decided in a free vote either in a Commons committee
or the chamber itself and will likely be defeated.
Mr.
Gallaway said his statement last week that the registry may be doomed raised a
storm of publicity across the country and he received e-mails of support from
throughout the western provinces.
Members
of the women's caucus, however, met yesterday with the minister in charge of the
program, Albina Guarnieri, minister of state for emergency preparedness. They
argued the government should remain committed to the registry. Ms. Guarnieri is
heading a review of the $1-billion program and has said all options are open.
"Gallaway
is very wrong," said Montreal MP Marlene Jennings. "The gun registry
is not going to die. The government is firmly behind the gun registry and firmly
behind gun control."
Ms.
Jennings argued the estimates, which are the annual departmental requests for
funding sent to parliament each year, are part of the budget process and
therefore cannot be subject to a free vote even under the democratic reforms
Prime Minister Paul Martin unveiled yesterday.
Toronto
MP Sarmite Bulte agreed the registry should be maintained. She said one of the
program's leading supporters, Wendy Cukier of the Coalition for Gun Control,
appeared in her riding to mark international women's day last year and outlined
"absolutely frightening" figures about the role of firearms in
domestic homicide and abuse.
London,
Ont., MP Sue Barnes, the former chair of the Commons finance committee who is
now parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, agreed the gun
program should be maintained, although she supported the government review to
control costs.
"Canadians
believe in the gun registry," said Barnes, who noted the program's annual
costs have already been trimmed to $113 million a year and it has become a tool
for police forces. "Having said that, no one wants to see fiscal
waste," she added.
Kitchener,
Ont., MP Karen Redman, said she also supports the registry, but believes changes
are needed to gain greater public acceptance. Rural Ontario MP Rose-Marie Ur,
however, said while she believes the government should continue to register
handguns, as it has since the 1930s, rifles and shotguns should be excluded.
"We're
for safe streets, we're for safe communities, but you tell me how registering a
gun will achieve that purpose," said Ur. "Money that's going into that
(registering hunting rifles and shotguns) is just absolutely a waste. Let's make
sure that the money that we have is going into more police officers, more
customs officers."
Gallaway
termed "rubbish" the argument that a vote on estimates for the
registry would be a vote of confidence in the government. "There's a little
nest of them who are trying to stir things up," Gallaway said of his
opponents in the caucus.
-----------------------------------------------
DOMESTIC
HOMICIDES ARE UP!
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns99.htm
HOMICIDES
ARE UP!
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns95.htm
SUICIDES
ARE UP!
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/suicidesincanada.htm
RATE OF VIOLENT CRIME HAS MORE THAN QUADRUPLED SINCE 1962
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/PoliceReportedCrimeCanada962-2002.pdf
69.9%
OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS WITH FIREARMS INVOLVED HANDGUNS
2.2%
of 209,472 CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS
INVOLVED FIREARMS
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/ViolationsAgainsthePersonbyTypeofWeapon,2002.pdf