As the voters of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke know, among many issues, I was elected on the promise that should the Conservative Party become Government, we would abolish the hated Liberal long-gun registry. Once Canadians gave us the mandate of a majority government, we kept that promise.
It is very evident the only thing stopping the wasteful long-gun registry from returning, is a Conservative Government. Members of the law-abiding outdoors sports community were once again attacked by members of the Opposition in Ottawa and their supporters who look for every trick or bureaucratic loophole to bring back the hated long-gun registry. This time law-abiding firearms owners are being attacked by a federal bureaucrat and the use of an administrative loophole by a gun registry supporter, to claim the RCMP have not acted lawfully administering the law, a charge they vigorously reject. It was the democratic will of the Parliament of Canada with a majority vote after the last election to abolish the hated long-gun registry. Last time it was the Province of Quebec with a court challenge to keep the long-gun registry in their Province. On and on it goes by supporters of the long-gun registry.
When Bill C-68 was passed by the old liberal administration, it was spiked with a number of traps to make our job of scrapping the long-gun registry difficult. Bill C-19 was our first piece of legislation that scrapped the long-gun registry. This Bill started the process of removing legislation that cost taxpayers over a billion dollars for nothing. Bill C-42, the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act that is currently before Parliament, continues the work of getting rid of the worst excesses of rules and regulations that were part of Bill C-68. Bill C-68 had the intended effect of harassing law-abiding hunters and farmers as a smokescreen by an old government that was soft on crime.
The decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to reject the Quebec application to keep the long-gun registry led some members of our outdoors community to believe the harassment was over. Recent events and unfortunate comments by the Information Commissioner is a warning to all law-abiding members of the firearms community that we can never be complacent when it comes to protecting our rights, including the right to own and enjoy private property, in this case a firearm.
Protect your right to own and enjoy private property. Do not be fooled by false promises from an Opposition that ignores rural Canada except when it wants to put their hands in your pockets. My position and the position of our Federal Government is clear. A promise made is a promise kept.
As your Federal Member of Parliament, I am pleased to represent you on a variety of issues. Whether that issue is promoting agriculture, international trade, Canadian Unity, AECL, CNL, the military or jobs in the working forest, I am here to serve you! As always, if you have any concerns of a federal nature, or just want to share your views with me, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Office contact Information: Constituency Office of Cheryl Gallant, MP, 84 Isabella St., Pembroke On. K8A 5S5 or call 732-4404. There is no postage required when you write your Federal Member of Parliament.
