Ottawa — March 27, 2012 — Today, the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee (CFAC) met to discuss progress made on the Government of Canada’s Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act, as part of a two day meeting on improving effective firearms regulations in Canada.
Comprised of 12 members who are civilian firearms users, some with extensive law enforcement experience and others with a background in public policy issues, the CFAC provides subject-specific advice and expertise to the Government of Canada on improving the effectiveness of firearms control in Canada. The CFAC was formed in 2006 as part of the Government’s consultative process on firearms control measures.
“I am very pleased with the progress our Government has made to date on ending the wasteful long-gun registry. We are committed to delivering on the promise we made to Canadians to scrap the long-gun registry once and for all,” said the Honourable Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety. “It needlessly and unfairly targets law-abiding Canadians, while doing nothing to reduce crime or strengthen our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”
“Money spent on the long-gun registry should be used to crack down on real criminals, not law-abiding farmers and hunters,” said Candice Hoeppner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety. “By eliminating the long-gun registry, we can instead focus our efforts on measures that actually work to tackle crime and protect families and communities.”
“Our Government will continue to uphold our commitment to effective gun control measures that minimize unnecessary burdens on law-abiding firearms owners, while keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and off our streets,” continued Ms. Hoeppner. “We will also protect the privacy of law-abiding Canadians by destroying the long-gun data currently held in the registry.”
The Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act, which would repeal the requirement to register non-restricted firearms and destroy existing registration records related to non-restricted firearms, was introduced by Minister Toews on October 25, 2011.
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