Bill C 68 And The Ensuing Regulations example essay topic

Bill C-68 consisted of 137 pages of new laws with respect to firearms and weapons. The first enabling regulations, introduced in November of last year, added a further 85 pages, while those regulations introduced on October 30, 1997 added approximately 65 pages to our changing laws-laws which affect each and every one of us. Since the introduction of Bill C-68 in February of 1996, the Reform Party has repeatedly and relentlessly demanded the withdrawal of this ineffective piece of legislation. In an attempt to make Bill C-68 more palatable, we introduced over 250 amendments which were all rejected by the Liberal majority. Likewise, we endeavoured to make changes to the first set of regulations only to be met with fierce opposition from the governing Liberals. All of Reform's amendments were based on the testimony and recommendations of those with the most to lose from Bill C-68 -- firearm owners and organizations.

Seeing no perceivable way to amend the latest set of regulations (which will virtually shut down gun shows, shooting clubs and ranges and will have disastrous consequences for the entire recreational firearms community), Reform introduced amendments deleting all the regulations. When the amendments were rejected by the Liberal Justice Committee majority, Reformers left the Committee meeting as there was no purpose in remaining. We remain committed to repealing Bill C-68 -- a promise we made in 1995. Bill C-68 and the ensuing regulations are nothing but an unprecedented attack upon decent, law-abiding gun owners and taxpayers of this country who will bear the horrendous cost of universal registration. And, it is an unjustified attack based solely on biased opinions. In 1993 the Auditor General accused the previous Tory government of enacting their firearms legislation for "reasons of public policy" given there was no statistical justification (ie. no increase in the criminal, intentional and accidental use of firearms) for introducing Bill C-17.

The same criticism has been directed toward the Liberal government, since to date they have not been able to provide a statistical justification far their firearms legislation. Despite the Auditor General's recommendation, the government failed to adequately review existing legislation to determine its (in) effectiveness before hastily introducing their legislation. The most objectionable portion of Bill C-68 is the retroactive registering of all rifles and shotguns. During the recent review of the regulations enacting the registration system, expert testimony revealed the inherent danger of the mail-in system of registering firearms. Under the proposed system, firearm owners will be responsible for recording the distinguishing features of their firearm on an application which will be mailed to the Firearms Registrar. The information will not be verified.

In their presentation to the Justice Committee the RCMP stated that verification is absolutely imperative because "the potential for errors on applications from members of the public whom may not be well versed in firearms classification is extremely high. I f the police services of this country cannot count on the veracity of information entered into the Canadian Firearms Registration System, they may not use it to its full potential. If this occurs, the system cannot meet its objective of maintaining and increasing public safety". Chief Firearms Officer for P.E.I., Eric Goodwin issued a similar warning, "the information contained in the registry on restricted and prohibited firearms will be unverified and hence unreliable. This will impact on police safety, public safety and enforcement".

To date, the testimony of Justice officials, the RCMP and the Chief Firearms Officer has only served to reinforce my initial conviction that the multi-million dollar registration system for rifles and shotguns will do absolutely nothing to enhance public safety, and will create an expensive, unreliable mess as predicted by forensic scientists. Therefore, the Reform Party remains committed to repealing Bill C-68 and enacting measures aimed at reducing the criminal use of firearms when we form the government. Until such time, we will attempt through Private Member Bills and motions to pressure the government to eliminate Bill C-68..