OTTAWA — The Harper government plans to fulfill its pledge to gut the federal long-gun registry by providing amnesty to gun owners who don't sign up and eventually unveiling legislation to eliminate it. Auditor-General Sheila Fraser will release her report on the controversy-plagued registry today.
Sources said the amnesty would be announced imminently and legislation would come some time this spring. They were unclear what the legislation would say, but it's assumed the law would not get rid of the handgun registry, merely the portion of the registry that deals with long guns.
| It's a start, and when Canadians see that, contrary to Liberal assertions, their country doesn't immediately dissolve in American-style crime, then Harper can come along and finish the job. |
The Conservative election platform included an unequivocal promise to scrap the registry, but the minority government is concerned that it might lose a vote on legislation to kill it in the House of Commons, hence the apparent need to introduce an amnesty to make the registry essentially inoperable. Even if the government managed to unveil a bill before the summer break, as sources say is its intention, it is unclear when — or if — the law would pass.
All three opposition parties have expressed support for the registry, even if some of that support has been qualified. Although the Tories are 31 seats short of a majority, sources said the government may be able to count on enough Bloc Québécois MPs, some Liberals and even the odd New Democrat to eventually pass the bill. |