PUBLICATION:
The Leader-Post (Regina)
DATE: 2004.02.14
EDITION:
Final
SECTION:
City
PAGE:
B2
BYLINE:
Jana G. Pruden
SOURCE:
Leader-Post
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Critics
upset with 'shotgun' Regina meeting
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Opponents
of the federal gun registry got a long-awaited chance to say their piece to a
federal minister Friday, but the meeting fell far short of expectations.
"It
wasn't even close to what I expected," said Darryl Schemenauer, owner of
T'N'T Gunworks in Regina. "I'm disappointed, my meeting was really
useless."
Schemenauer
says he got a call early in the week that federal Minister for Emergency
Preparedness Albina Guarnieri, who is reviewing the gun registry at the request
of Prime Minister Paul Martin, wanted to meet with him for an hour to talk about
the registry.
Schemenauer
says he was impressed by the offer, and was looking forward to talking to
Guarnieri about his numerous concerns about the controversial registry.
But
the minister was running late, Schemenauer says, and the meeting was cut down to
less than 10 minutes.
"There
were lots of issues we could have talked about and I wish she would have given
us more time," he said. "They should make time for people like us,
people in the West, and five minutes doesn't do much."
In
a hasty statement to the media after the meeting, Guarnieri says she's been
hearing a wide variety of viewpoints on the issue, and is "pretty confident
there are some good, solid recommendations in the offing."
She
also said she is going "to the source" to hear the challenges and
successes of the registry.
But
Greg Illerbrun, with the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, says her commitment
to reviewing the registry was overshadowed by the brief time she spent with
Regina residents on Friday.
He
said Guarnieri told him that the government is not going to pull the plug on the
registry, and though she seemed sympathetic, he says he's not expecting much
from the review process.
"I
think that Albina is competent, she understands what the problems are, but I
don't think there's the political will to make the changes," he said.
"I
think she understands where we're coming from, but I don't think there will be
changes from what I read between the lines today."
Guarnieri
flew back to Ottawa after the meeting and was unavailable for further comment.
It's not clear whether she attended other meetings in Regina.