Although the national long-gun registry is long gone, the battle over its legacy and the fate of the registry database continues in Quebec.
But the lawyers have taken over.
While the database of gun owner records over the registry’s existence have been destroyed, the Quebec government wants to keep data on its gun owners intact as a base for its own provincial registry.
It challenged the federal government in court and lost the first round when the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that the registry was within federal jurisdiction and valid.
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The National Firearms Association and a Quebec gun dealer went to court to argue that given the Court of Appeal decision, the Quebec gun owner records should be destroyed now.
On Sept. 26, the Federal Court of Canada rejected the gun owner application, noting that the Quebec government has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
“Although Parliament abolished the long-gun registry last year with respect to non-prohibited weapons and ordered the destruction of records that had been collected, those records have not been destroyed vis-à-vis Quebec residents,” said a Federal Court Sept. 26 announcement explaining the reason for rejecting the gun lobby application for immediate destruction of the records. “Quebec has taken the position that the destruction of those records would be unconstitutional.”
It said: “The Federal Court refused to rule on the motion for an interlocutory injunction, but rather stayed the motion as Quebec has an application for leave to appeal the decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada.”
