'Bad, scary' guns amendment shot down by Tories Laura Payton,CBC News
The bill to end the long-gun registry is heading back to the House without changes after Conservatives shot down an NDP amendment that would have kept sniper rifles registered. The House public safety committee went clause by clause through the bill and voted to send it back to the House of Commons without changes. It's one of the
last steps for the bill before it proceeds to the Senate. The committee's chair, Kevin Sorenson, will present the report Wednesday.
last steps for the bill before it proceeds to the Senate. The committee's chair, Kevin Sorenson, will present the report Wednesday.
NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who has voted in the past to end the registry, said he
can't support a bill that will allow more urban assault rifles into society. He
pointed to examples of rifles that are not made for hunting.
NDP MP Jack Harris referred to the type of weapon as "bad, scary" guns, which
are unrestricted but had been tracked through the long-gun registry. Harris
argued they fall outside the realm of prohibited weapons but are still something
that should be registered.
Despite initial speculation the Conservatives might support the amendment,
they voted it down with little debate.
"The government will not be supporting this amendment," Conservative MP
Candice Hoeppner said.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, who sponsored the bill, said the amendment
is a separate issue from the bill.
The change could be handled in the enacting regulation, which deals with
details not included in the legislation, although the committee's legal staff
advised that the amendment was admissible in the committee's discussion.
"That's got nothing to do with bill C-19... And I wish people would stop
confusing the two things," Toews said.
Sniper rifle used in Afghanistan
One of the examples Cullen gave is a sniper rifle that was used in
Afghanistan to record the longest-distance kill ever, where the subject was 2.5
kilometres from the shooter.
"This is not what the hunters and farmers in my part of the world use when
they’re going after moose or deer," Cullen said.
"We all claim to seek safer streets. This amendment allows us to do
that."
Cullen says previous versions of the bill, one that was tabled in the Senate
and Hoeppner's private member's bill, included this exclusion.
The government has said it's a defining moment for them. The Conservatives
have long campaigned against the registry and promised in last spring's election
to eliminate it.
can't support a bill that will allow more urban assault rifles into society. He
pointed to examples of rifles that are not made for hunting.
NDP MP Jack Harris referred to the type of weapon as "bad, scary" guns, which
are unrestricted but had been tracked through the long-gun registry. Harris
argued they fall outside the realm of prohibited weapons but are still something
that should be registered.
Despite initial speculation the Conservatives might support the amendment,
they voted it down with little debate.
"The government will not be supporting this amendment," Conservative MP
Candice Hoeppner said.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, who sponsored the bill, said the amendment
is a separate issue from the bill.
The change could be handled in the enacting regulation, which deals with
details not included in the legislation, although the committee's legal staff
advised that the amendment was admissible in the committee's discussion.
"That's got nothing to do with bill C-19... And I wish people would stop
confusing the two things," Toews said.
Sniper rifle used in Afghanistan
One of the examples Cullen gave is a sniper rifle that was used in
Afghanistan to record the longest-distance kill ever, where the subject was 2.5
kilometres from the shooter.
"This is not what the hunters and farmers in my part of the world use when
they’re going after moose or deer," Cullen said.
"We all claim to seek safer streets. This amendment allows us to do
that."
Cullen says previous versions of the bill, one that was tabled in the Senate
and Hoeppner's private member's bill, included this exclusion.
The government has said it's a defining moment for them. The Conservatives
have long campaigned against the registry and promised in last spring's election
to eliminate it.