Tories table bill to kill long-gun registry

Stephen Harper's Conservative government has introduced legislation to abolish the long-gun registry, a controversial program they gutted last month.

Shortly after 3 p.m. ET on Monday, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day introduced a bill to amend the Criminal Code and Firearms Act toend registration ofrifles and shotguns. The handgun registry will remain in place, as will bans on automatic and assault weapons.

MPs, who break for the summer on Friday, likely won't get to vote on the bill until they return in the fall.

"The changes that our government is proposing are part of a law-and-order agenda that makes better use of our resources to enhance public safety and security," Day told reporters. "This government refuses to finance inefficient programs."

People will still need licences to buy and own rifles and shotguns,butkeeping acentral registry was wastefully expensive, he said.

The registry wasmuch hated by gun-owning Conservative voters in parts of rural Canada.

"As you can see, this government is keeping its promise to scrap the long-gun registry portion of the gun registry and to update the firearms program to make it cost-effective and efficient as a crime-fighting tool," Day said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned on a promise to scrap the long-gun registry.

The gun registry as a wholewas supposed to cost $2 million when the Liberal government introduced it in 1995. Its cost wound up being roughly $1 billion.

Some changes had already been introduced

Last month, the Tories unveiled a number of measures that would effectively gut the system, including a one-year amnesty for people who haven't registered their firearms.

The government also told long-gun owners they wouldn't face prosecution if they didn't register their weapons.

Ottawa also said it would transfer responsibility for the registryfrom the Canada Firearms Centre to the RCMP and cut the annual operating budget for the program by $10 million.

The minority government may have a tough sell on the proposed legislation scrapping the long-gun registry entirely,given thatall three opposition parties have said they support the registry remaining in place.

Day and Justice Minister Vic Toews have said they believe they can cobble together enough votes to get the bill passed.

Opposition to the long-gun registry is highest among rural Canadians and hunting enthusiasts, who say the registry penalizes legal gun owners and does nothing to reduce crime.

Support is high in urban centres and in Quebec, where the Conservatives are trying to build support.

MPs face long nights

The long-gun bill is one of a number of items on a very busy agenda before Parliament breaks for the summer on June 23.

To deal with what Ottawa insiders callthe "silly season," MPs will likely sit until midnight most nights to take care of business.

The star of the show is theFederal Accountability Act, which appears likely to pass in a House of Commons vote after 44 amendments were struck at a parliamentary committee last week.

A sweeping package of measures designed to make federal dealings more accountable, the bill is based on a key Harper campaign promise to clean up government.

Also on the government's schedule this week:

• The Tories are to introduce a bill raising the age of consent to 16 from 14.
• Harper is expected to issue an official apology for the head tax charged toChinese immigrants from 1885 to 1923.
• The Air India inquiry officially opens on Wednesday.