We want to thank you for all your help in opposing Bill C-19's attempt to weaken Canada's gun control. It appears that our hard work to slow down C-19 has paid off. Despite its original promise to fast-track it, the government has not yet scheduled the Third Reading of the Bill,which will decide if the Bill is sent to the Senate. At this point, it appears that this vote will not be held until after the House of Commons returns from the Holidays at the end of January.
The past week has been busy; here are the latest developments:
On December 6, Canadians across the country remembered the 14 women killed at Montreal's École Polytechnique by a gunman 22 years ago. Family and friends of the fourteen women held a press conference in Quebec City asking the population to speak up against C-19 and to request help from the Quebec government to save the data.
In Ottawa, in addition to commemorating those pointless deaths on the December 6 Anniversary, hundreds of people marched on Parliament Hill to oppose this renewed threat to public safety and the weakening of gun control laws and to voice their concerns about what Canadians can expect if Bill C-19 is passed. Click here for a video of the rally on Parliament Hill organized in collaboration with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) with speeches from Coalition President Wendy Cukier; Suzanne Laplante-Edward, mother of Anne-Marie; the NDP; the Liberal Party; and the Bloc Quebecois. The Canadian Federation of Students, the Dawson College Student Union, and women's safety and victims' advocates and labour activists also played key roles in the ceremony.
Please ask your provincial government to save the gun registry's data for your region
If you have not already done so, please call your local MPP, MLA or MNA and your Premier's office asking them to do everything in their power to stop Bill C-19 and save the data on the 7.1 million long guns that are currently registered.
Unlike previous iterations of this 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 on December 6, 1989. It removes critical measures that have been in place since 1977 regarding the sale or transfer of firearms, which will enable individuals to acquire an unlimited number of rifles or shotguns without someone having to verify they have valid firearms licences. It also entails the immediate destruction of all the data on over seven million existing registered long guns and will no longer require gun dealers to report or record who they are selling new ones to, which will severely cripple the police's ability to trace guns recovered in crime.
So far, only Quebec has been loud and clear in its defense of the registry and efforts to save the data. Other provinces, particularly Ontario, need to stand up for public safety:
And at the same time, please mention these key facts:
Rifles and shotguns in the wrong hands are as deadly as handguns. We need controls on all guns.
Registering all firearms is essential to enforcing licensing. It holds gun owners accountable for their firearms and reduces the chances that their guns will be diverted to unlicensed owners, which helps choke off the illegal supply.
Registration is a one-time procedure, and it's free. The system is in place, and 7 million rifles and shotguns are already registered. Eliminating the long-gun registry will not refund the financial investment to set it up, nor will it save billions of dollars in the future.
The gun registry is an essential tool used 17,000 times a day by police, including when intervening in domestic disputes. It assists police in investigations and in removing ALL guns from dangerous people while enforcing prohibition orders or taking preventative actions.
Gun control works. Health and safety experts have shown that stronger gun laws have reduced gun-related death rates.
Licensing gun owners and registering firearms is the norm internationally. Scrapping the long-gun registry will undermine our ability to meet our international commitments to combat gun trafficking.
Thank you very much!
The Coalition for Gun Control
About us
Founded in the wake of the Montreal massacre, the Coalition for Gun Control is the only national non-profit organization working to reduce gun injury, death and crime in Canada.
It is endorsed by more than 300 crime and injury prevention, health, women's safety, victims' rights, policing, grassroots and community organizations
including the YWCA of Canada, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the families and victims of the École Polytechnique massacre and Dawson College shootings.
