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MP Charlie Angus (NDP - Timmins-James Bay)

MP aims to defend gun registry
Angus will vote to keep controversial legislation
By Ryan Lux, The Daily Press
Posted 8 hours ago
After 15 years of promising to axe the controversial long-gun registry, the Conservatives are finally poised to make good on a pledge that has been their central ballot box issue for rural and remote ridings like Timmins-James Bay.

The government gave notice last week of its intent to introduce legislation to repeal the long-gun registry.

It is welcome news for hunters and anglers like Andy Chartrand of the Timmins Fur Council, but Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus said judging by the results of May's election – the long gun registry is not at the top of the mind for most of the region's voters.

Chartrand said the registry's abolishment is long overdue.

"It only made criminals out of honest sportsmen and hunters because the actual criminals never registered their guns anyways," said Chartrand.

He said it is nice to see the Conservatives dealing with the registry now they have a majority.

"We thought we were close last time but then we had members like Charlie Angus flip-flop."

During the years since the registry was implemented in 1995, Chartrand recalled many instances where well-intentioned outdoorsmen were slapped with fines due to the registry.

"There have been many people I know personally go through hardships they wouldn't have gone through had this registry never been implemented," he said.

Moreover, Chartrand doesn't buy arguments by police services that the registry provided an extra law enforcement tool. He said most hunters and anglers buy licences to operate their guns which can be accessed by police just as easily to find out whether they are being called to a residence where there are guns.

"Nothing will change," he said.


On that point, Chartrand and Angus agree.

Angus said, "Over the last seven years the issues we've dealt with relating to the registry have almost disappeared. Now most of our problems are with licensing" issues which will go away with the long gun registry.

"The billion dollars has been spent. Burning the records won't bring that money back."

Angus argued it has been the Conservatives who have benefited most from the registry.

"The Conservatives have certainly enjoyed the registry to raise funds and attack opponents," he said. "But if you look at the registry they attack, it's not the same one we have today."

Angus said most legitimate complaints centred on the registry's roll-out by the Liberals.

"It was brought in badly in a way that alienated a lot of people and people still feel rubbed raw over this," he said. "But the fact is I've talked to Timmins police officers who have used it and they tell me most of the problems have been cleaned up.

"Most gunowners I know just don't have a problem with registering their guns."

He pointed to May's general election where the Conservatives predicted Angus would be punished for voters for his party's role in saving the registry.

"The Conservatives ran their entire election on the gun registry," said Angus. "I don't think they mentioned a single word other than guns and we still won by more than 6,000 votes."

The other five rural New Democrats who "flip-flopped" their position on the long-gun registry also all won back their seats.

Angus said he will not be supporting legislation the Conservatives are expected to table later this week to scrap the registry.

However, from Chartrand's perspective, there is more at stake than money.

He argued that data contained in the registry represents a risk to public safety. Chartrand noted government data has been hacked before and there is a risk of criminals hacking servers to locate the biggest and best arsenals.

The entire project, said Chartrand, was an overreaction to what happened at École polytéchnique in Montreal where a lone gunman shot and killed 14 female students.

"It was an emotional reaction," he said. "But a registry can't stop someone who loses it from using firearms to do a dirty deed.

"I always said if a firearm kills a person, then a pencil makes a spelling error