MP Candace Hoeppner's bill to kill the gun registry was defeated in its third reading on Sept. 22, by only two votes.
In a press release, Hoeppner (Portage-Lisgar) said it is up to the constituents in ridings whose MPs "flip flopped" to hold their members of parliament accountable. In the days before the vote on her bill, Hoeppner spoke with the constituents in several ridings where the MP had announced a change of heart.
"It is a dark day for law-abiding Canadians, for taxpayers who are tired of wasting money on the long-gun registry, and for the constituents in those Opposition ridings where MPs first promised high and low to do their part to end the registry, and then caved in and backed away from the promises they had made," Hoeppner stated in her press release.
Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff turned Bill C-391 into a whip vote, meaning members were required to toe the party line or face possible consequences, such as being removed from high profile roles or even kicked out of the party.
While federal NDP leader Jack Layton said he would vote against Hoeppner's bill, he would allow his party members to vote as they felt necessary. Within days of the announcement, MPs Charlie Angus (Timmins), Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury), Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt) and Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing) all announced they would change their vote to no, even though they had supported the bill in two previous readings.
“There are some serious problems with the registry that must be fixed, now,” Thibeault stated in a separate press release. “But rather then throw the baby out with the bathwater, I will be fighting for major changes to the program that address the concerns of my constituents.”
According to the press release from Thibeault, the NDP are putting forward several proposals to fix the issues with the long-gun registry, including merging possession and acquisition licences, addressing issues with inherited firearms, addressing mental health issues and gun ownership and mandating the Auditor General to ensure the long-gun registry is cost-effective.
In a previous interview with NorthernLife.ca, Thibeault said he hopes the cost to Canadians to register their firearms, as well as the criminal charges that go along with not registering or registering late, could be eliminated from the registry.
