Niki Ashton, NDP MP for Churchill riding, voted to repeal the federal long-gun registry in Ottawa on Nov. 4.
Manitoba Conservative backbencher Candice Hoeppner (Portage-Lisgar) had sponsored Bill C-391, a private member's bill, which received support from all of the Conservatives and many opposition MPs, including 12 Ned Democrats, eight Liberals and one independent, while none of the Bloc Quebecois MPs voted in favour of the bill. The bill passed easily, 164-137.
The proposed legislation is now moving to an all-party committee for public hearings before it goes back to the House of Commons for a final vote and then heads to the Senate. The bill would only end the long-gun portion of the registry so that people would not need to register rifles and shotguns, while the requirement to register hand guns would remain in place.
There's been a lot of controversy over the bill in the past, with a report from 2002 from the federal auditor general that found the final cost to implement the program would cost more than $1 billion instead of the $2 million originally estimated.
Leading up to the vote, Conservatives like Hoeppner created radio ads urging Canadians in swing ridings to tell their MPs about their opposition to the registry.
"The long-gun registry didn't do anything to stop criminals from having guns. It was a huge waste of money and it targeted the wrong people," she says. "The reason I introduced this bill is because I do think we have a problem with crime in Canada, gun crime, but it is primarily, overwhelmingly hand guns that are smuggled in across the border that are used in gang and drug related criminal activity. Focusing on law abiding citizens who register their firearms and go through that process just doesn't make sense."
Although Ashton voted for Hoeppner's bill to repeal the registry, she says she's very disappointed in the way the Conservatives, Hoeppner especially, handled the situation.
"I have a real problem with how she dealt with this. It shows how the Conservatives have been playing political games. The advertising they sent in was paid for by public dollars the fact that they saw this as being important - it was basically to stir us up," she rationalizes. "If they asked me [how I was going to vote], I would have told them, but they didn't. They just wanted to use us to gain political points."
Ashton says despite her problems with the way the situation came about, she was glad to represent residents of the Churchill riding in the vote.
"I stood up to vote for our constituents, for people that live in Northern Manitoba. Given that so many people have real concerns with the way the registry works, and voiced those concerns to me, I was voting on their behalf," she says. "I was proud to stand up on behalf of our region, but I feel strongly that the way in which the Conservatives presented it and tried to get support is unacceptable."
Police have been against the Harper government over the repeal of the long-gun registry, calling it an important crime-fighting tool that they use often. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) said in a news release on Nov. 4 that the registry has saved lives.
"Some of the most important queries are about domestic violence calls, which every police service in Canada receives," says CACP president William Blair. "This is not a regional issue. It is not an issue between big cities and small towns. It is not about hunters and sportsmen, collectors and enthusiasts. It is not about politics. It is about public safety. It is about giving police the information to deal with the danger posed by a firearm in the wrong hands."
