Gun Registry

The Liberal party will be whipping their vote on the gun registry in the fall. It is expected that any Liberal who votes against the registry or who doesn't show up will face party sanction. Michael Ignatieff has indicated that he supports a compromise on the bill to waive fees and be less harsh with first time offenders. This seems to have appealed to some of the Liberal MPs who have voted to kill the registry in the past.

The NDP is allowing a free vote for their MPs and this could result in the private member's bill from the Tory side passing and the gun registry will be kaput.

Two NDP MPs in Manitoba have voted to kill the bill in the past. Both are expected to do the same thing in the next vote. Jack Layton says that the public should not blame the NDP if the vote ends the registry.

I think only the most partisan of NDPer will feel comfortable with this particular free vote if ends up killing the registry. The NDP can blame the Liberals, the Conservatives or anyone else but the results of the vote will be the same: the end of the registry and a list of NDP MPs who made it possible.

The two MPs in Manitoba who look to kill the bill are:

* Niki Ashton (Churchill) - T: 866-785-0522 Ottawa: 613-992-3018 Email: Ashton.N@parl.gc.ca

* Jim Maloway (Elmwood-Transcona) - T: 204-984-2499 Ottawa: 613-995-6339 Email: Maloway.J@parl.gc.ca

One thing is certain: I would change my vote if the registry was killed by my MP or by the party I normally supported.

I was opposed to the gun registry at the beginning because I believed the costs were being seriously underestimated to get it started. The Liberals should have been ashamed of themselves for such cost over-runs and poor management.

Now that the program is running, it has passed Auditor General checks and passed muster with the police who utilize it. Medical and social advocacy groups support the registry.

I believe that the registry should be retained given what we are hearing now.

The fate of the bill lies with the NDP since the Tories have always promised to kill the registry. It is the NDP that doesn't seem to have a policy on the gun registry when all other parties have now stated where they stand.



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