When MPs began final debate on eliminating the long gun registry Feb. 13, a veteran Saskatchewan Conservative MP held pride of place.
Yorkton MP Garry Breitkreuz, who has led the fight against the registry for most of his 18 years in the Commons, was the lead speaker as the House of Commons began its final two days of debate on Bill C-19.
At press time, the Commons was scheduled to vote Feb. 15 to send the legislation to the Senate for final approval and passage into law this winter.
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The government limited the time available for final debate, despite opposition objections.
“I have always said that government moves slowly but I never dreamed it would take this long to get rid of something that has been absolutely a waste of time,” Breitkreuz told the Commons.
“We have had a majority government for less than 100 days and we have made the commitment to get rid of this.”
Conservative speakers used the last two days of debate to pressure rural opposition MPs who once told their constituents they supported ending the registry and then changed their minds to defy their party leadership and vote with their rural voters.
Opposition MPs used the time to castigate the Conservatives for ending a program supported by many police and police chiefs’ associations, women’s and victims’ rights groups.
The Quebec government has said it could sue Ottawa to get gun registry data already collected for the province so it can start its own registry.
The Conservatives plan to destroy the data collected since 1995.
