Victims of Gun Violence, Police, Health and Safety Experts Applaud the Government of Quebec's Leadership to Save the Gun Registry's Data

QUEBEC CITY, QC, Dec. 13, 2011 /CNW/ - Victims of gun violence, police, health and safety experts were in Quebec City today to applaud the Quebec Government's announcement that it will undertake a legal challenge to maintain the federal long-gun registry and preserve the data should the Harper government's Bill C-19 becomes law.

Despite the warnings by safety experts that Bill C-19 will seriously jeopardize public safety and impact our international obligations to combat the illicit gun trade, the government has refused to amend the Bill at the parliamentary committee stage. Bill C-19 goes far beyond simply ending the registration of non-restricted rifles and shotguns, including the powerful semi-automatic Ruger Mini-14 used in the Montreal Massacre. Bill C-19 ends the need to verify a license when firearms are purchased, removing an essential safeguard. It also ends critical measures that have been in place since 1977 tracking the sale or transfer of firearms and will enable individuals to acquire an unlimited number of rifles or shotguns without any record being kept. The Bill also entails the immediate destruction of all the data of over seven million existing registered long guns, severely undermining the police's ability to trace guns recovered in crime.

Quotes:

Yves Francoeur, President of the Montreal Police Brotherhood: "We are proud that the Quebec government will stand up for police officers and defend this essential life-saving tool. The federal government has ignored safety experts in pursuing this dangerous course of action. On the island of Montreal alone, there are about 60,000 long-guns. No one can seriously maintain that losing track of all of them will have no impact. No one can claim that turning back the clock to the 1970s when there was no record of gun sales will have no impact. In defending its earlier legislations to repeal registration the Conservatives included specific provisions to reinstate the recording of gun sales saying it was to assist police in tracing stolen firearms and crime guns. But it has omitted these provisions in the latest legislation and voted down amendments to reintroduce them."

Eve-Marie Lacasse, Coordinator of the Fédération des femmes du Québec: "Stronger gun control has had a profound impact on the safety of women - murders of women with firearms have declined dramatically with the introduction of licensing and registration. Weakening gun control will undermine women's safety. So far Quebec appears to be the only government committed to defending the right of women to be safe. The Quebec government can count on the support of women's safety advocates if they need to pursue this battle."

Heidi Rathjen, graduate of l'Ecole Polytechnique and spokesperson for the group Poly se souvient: "The Quebec government is acting in line with the demands of the witnesses and victims of the Polytechnique tragedy, defending the gun control law through a courageous and concrete gesture. All Quebeckers should be proud of their government and parliamentarians who have shown that the motions passed in favor of gun control are not empty words but a sincere desire to defend the safety of all citizens. In contrast to the false claims of the Conservatives, the Quebec government really represents the interests of victims."

Bruno Marchand, Director of the Quebec Suicide Prevention Association: "The Quebec government reiterates today its engagement to keep citizens safe through stating the simple facts: gun control works. The long-gun registry, combined to the licensing of gun owners and safe storage regulations has been associated with a dramatic reduction in the number of gun deaths — on average 250 suicides and 50 homicides annually.*"

Wendy Cukier, President of the Coalition for Gun Control: "The Quebec government is stepping in to protect Canadians where the Federal government is failing. Eliminating the registration of firearms will put Canadian's lives at risk and undermine Canada's ability to meet its international obligations in combatting the illicit gun trade. Now that the money has been spent, destroying the data makes no sense whatsoever, and is simply punitive. This information on 7.1 million registered long-guns can be useful as an investigative tool for police officers for firearm tracing purposes. We hope Quebec's example will encourage other provinces to take a strong stand."

The Coalition for Gun Control, founded in the wake of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, is an alliance of more than 300 organizations including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, the YWCA of Canada, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Canadian Auto Workers, the Canadian Labour Congress, and numerous other organizations and community groups across the country. The alumni and families of the victims of the Montreal Massacre along with other victims of gun violence also played a pivotal role.

^* Lavoie, Michel, Pilote, Ruth, Maurice, Pierre, Blais, Étienne. (2010) Brief Submitted to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security Concerning Bill C-391, the Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act. Québec: Institut national de santé publique. http://www.inspq.qc.ca/pdf/publications/1090_MemoireProjetLoiC391ArmesFeu_VA.pdf

For further information:

Yves Francoeur: 514-527-4161
Heidi Rathjen: 514-816-7818 or [e-mail]
Eve-Marie Lacasse: 514-717-4847
Bruno Marchand: 514-567-5811
Coalition for Gun Control: 514-528-2360 or [e-mail]