Like Hitler

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 2:30 PM - 0 Comments

Larry Miller makes sure the last hours of debate on the long-gun registry don’t pass without a Hitler reference.

It appears the quote he cites is also in some dispute.

Update 4:23pm. After QP, Mr. Miller rose with the following point of order.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today in this House I was speaking on Bill C-19 and I referred to and used the name Adolf Hitler. While the references to the gun registry and what this evil guy did to perpetrate his crimes are very clear, it was inappropriate to use his name in the House and I apologize to anybody it may have offended.

Back to business

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, January 30, 2012 at 9:30 AM - 0 Comments

The House of Commons reconvenes this morning at 11am. First to be debated is John Carmichael’s bill on displaying the Canadian flag and an hour later the House will move to the government’s legislation on pooled pension plans.

Third reading of the government’s bill to eliminate the long-gun registry was apparently scheduled to take place today, but the government has apparently opted to put that off.

Finger guns

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 1:14 PM - 0 Comments

Conservative MP Jim Hillyer was apparently quite excited to vote in favour of eliminating the long-gun registry.

The permanent campaign continues

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, November 28, 2011 at 12:43 PM - 0 Comments

The NDP buys billboard space to attack the elimination of the long-gun registry.

The NDP message will be reinforced with the barrel of a gun. The image of a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic, a “non-restricted” weapon which won’t have to be registered when the long-gun registry is scrapped, sits above the tag-line “No More Safeguards. Is that why you voted Conservative?” … The three cities chosen for the billboards are notable because they are all areas where the NDP made new inroads in the 2011 election. One of the key target audiences is Conservative ridings in Toronto, but it is intended to reach a broader spectrum – and two of the target cities are in Quebec, where the NDP have new-found strength, and where support for the registry is high.

Talking to Althia Raj, Brad Lavigne explains the NDP’s mindset.

Registered division

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 12:35 PM - 0 Comments

The long-gun registry splits the NDP leadership contenders.

Brian Topp, the Montreal-born Toronto union leader considered by many as a front-runner, said as prime minister, he would attempt to revive the controversial program to register all long guns … Two other urban MPs seeking to replace the late Jack Layton — Peggy Nash of Toronto and Paul Dewar of Ottawa — are also in favour of bringing back the registry…

A fourth big-city candidate, Thomas Mulcair of Montreal, said through a spokesman that he wasn’t at this point taking a position on the issue. Cullen and three other candidates — Niki Ashton of the remote Churchill riding in Manitoba; Robert Chisholm of Dartmouth, N.S.; and Martin Singh of Musquodoboit Harbour, near Halifax — said they wouldn’t bring it back.

Mr. Topp says reestablishing the registry would have to be cost effective. Ms. Nash says it would have to be less onerous. Mr. Dewar says he would register weapons “in a way that consults with stakeholders and finds solutions.”

To the shredder

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 4:21 PM - 0 Comments

The information commissioner has concerns about the government’s commitment to destroy records related to the gun registry.

Suzanne Legault told a Commons committee Tuesday that a federal bill to scrap the long-gun registry – and delete millions of records – violates the letter and spirit of the Library and Archives of Canada Act.  “It does raise major concerns in terms of transparency and accountability in general,” Legault said. “As Information Commissioner, I have serious concerns about the impact this bill will have on government information management.”

Various members on the government side of the House laughed when the NDP’s Jack Harris raised this in QP. Otherwise, here’s the transcript of his exchange with Vic Toews. Continue…

This week in party discipline

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 2:45 PM - 0 Comments

Two New Democrats—Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty—have been sanctioned by interim party leader Nycole Turmel after breaking with the party over this week’s gun registry vote. Mr. Rafferty expresses some confusion and says it’s his constituents who are now punished. Mr. Hyer posted the following on Facebook today.

I’d like to thank all my constituents (on both sides of the registry issue) for the incredible show of support for me over the last day or two. It means a lot to me that people appreciate the duty of those elected to represent the wishes of their constituents in Parliament first & foremost.

The Commons: A gun-measuring contest in the House

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 6:32 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. At last the House was united.

“Mr. Speaker,” declared Alice Wong, minister of state for seniors, reading carefully from the piece of paper in front of her, “I will take no lesson from the opposition.”

Both sides variously roared with agreement and soon thereafter the farce of this afternoon’s proceedings moved from thinly veiled to unabashed. Switch “I” for “we” and the government might have an answer for everything and we might be able to pronounce closure on this entire business of parliamentary democracy for at least the next four years. Think of all the time that would free up. Not to mention the money saved on electricity bills when we no longer have to bother pretending there’s a reason to keep the lights on in here.

The hour had actually begun on a stridently serious note, at least insofar as there is surely nothing more serious than the gun. Continue…

The registry and privacy

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 4:32 PM - 0 Comments

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews first claimed that long-gun registry data needed to be destroyed lest it fall into the NDP’s hands. Mr. Toews then argued that destroying the data was necessary as a matter of privacy. On the latter point, the privacy commissioner seems not entirely to agree.

Jennifer Stoddart said there’s nothing in the Privacy Act that prevents the federal government from sharing the data with provincial governments. Indeed, the Privacy Commissioner said the act actually permits disclosure of personal information, provided it’s done through a federal-provincial agreement for the purpose of administering or enforcing any law or carrying out a lawful investigation.

Time is short

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 1:34 PM - 0 Comments

The Conservatives have invoked time allocation on C-19, the bill that eliminates the long-gun registry. Of the ten government bills debated in the House since Parliament reconvened in June, the Harper government has now invoked time allocation on five of them: C-3 (budget implementation), C-10 (the omnibus crime bill), C-13 (budget implementation), C-18 (Canadian Wheat Board) and C-19.

On a sixth bill, C-6, which legislated an end to the lockout at Canada Post, the government invoked closure.

The young Stephen Harper would no doubt be concerned.

Criminals didn’t register guns, but registered guns figured in crime

By John Geddes - Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 10:45 AM - 0 Comments

Among the arguments against the long-gun registry, I think the most compelling, at least superficially, was the indignant assertion that gun owners are, by and large, law-abiding citizens who present no danger to society. I know that’s true. Why impose a registration requirement on them?

I’m inclined to respond with smart-alecky questions about similar impositions. Why audit taxpayers when most dutifully pay up? Why ask drivers to blow at those RIDE checks when most are sober? But I fear that many of those who hated the gun registry would miss my rhetorical point and heartily agree that random roadside breathalizers and routine CRA audits should be done away with next.

Continue…

The Commons: Bonfire of the registry

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 6:06 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. At its essence, this debate over the long-gun registry was always a debate about paperwork. And so it is only right and fitting that it should end now with a fight over what should be done with that paper.

For the record, Article 29 of Bill C-19, an Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act, states that “the Commissioner of Firearms shall ensure the destruction as soon as feasible of all records in the Canadian Firearms Registry related to the registration of firearms that are neither prohibited firearms nor restricted firearms and all copies of those records under the Commissioner’s control.” And variously this much is viewed as a waste of both information and money.

“Why,” Nycole Turmel asked this afternoon, “destroy two billion dollars of accumulated information, while the provinces and the police want to keep it?” Continue…

Standing up for victims, except this once

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 1:37 PM - 0 Comments

A note from the office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.

Following the tabling of the Government’s proposed legislation to abolish the long gun registry, Sue O’Sullivan, Canada’s Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, today spoke out in support of the long-gun registry, urging the federal government to maintain the registry as a tool for preventing further victimization. “Our position on this matter is clear – Canada must do all it can to prevent further tragedies from happening, including using the tools we have to help keep communities safe, like the long-gun registry,” stated Ms. O’Sullivan.

According to 2002 RCMP data, long-guns are the most common type of firearm used in spousal homicides. Over the past decade, 71% of spousal homicides involved rifles and shotguns. “Though there are varying points of view, the majority of victims’ groups we have spoken with continue to support keeping long-gun registry,” explained Ms. O’Sullivan. “I have brought that voice forward to the Government by relaying those views directly to the Minister of Justice in our most recent meeting.”

The Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime helps victims to address their needs, promotes their interests and makes recommendations to the federal government on issues that negatively impact victims.

Abolishing the gun registry: following the links as suggested

By John Geddes - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 1:15 PM - 0 Comments

It’s not fair, I suppose, to expect Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to have cleaned up all the inconsistencies on federal government websites in advance of his announcement yesterday that the long-gun registry is about to be, not only dismantled, but obliterated so all that expensively compiled data on guns can never be used again.

Still, I found it surprising that at the bottom of the background document his department provided yesterday, Abolishing the Long-Gun Registry: Proposed Reforms to the Firearms Act and Criminal Code, I found a note helpfully suggesting a visit to the RCMP’s Canada Firearms Program website.

Continue…

Leave no trace behind

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 3:54 PM - 94 Comments

In addition to eliminating the long-gun registry, the government’s new legislation will destroy all records related to the registry.

The government’s lead minister declared he wants to thwart the ability of any other party, such as the NDP, to recreate it as well. “We won’t have these records loose and capable then of creating a new long gun registry should they ever have the opportunity to do that,” ” said Public Safety Minister Vic Toews at a news conference at an Ottawa valley farm.

The House: On weakness

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 3, 2011 at 1:30 PM - 41 Comments

A footnote on the meaning of Brad Trost.

Here is a question put to the government by the NDP’s Francoise Boivin last Thursday. Emphasis mine.

Mr. Speaker, women’s rights should not be open for debate, yet members of the government seem to think they are. The Supreme Court of Canada has clearly ruled that access to abortion is a fundamental right. Either the Prime Minister has lost control of his caucus or his government’s new policy is to outlaw abortion and turn back the clock on women’s rights. Which is it?

This attempt to define Brad Trost’s public stance as a reflection on the Prime Minister’s leadership is especially interesting given the party to which Ms. Boivin belongs. A year ago it was Jack Layton who was apparently failing to keep sufficient control of his caucus. Continue…

Mitchel Raphael on the ‘Hurricane’ MP and Layton’s makeup secrets

By Mitchel Raphael - Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 11:00 AM - 4 Comments

Mitchel Raphael

When politicians don’t want to shine

NDP Leader Jack Layton has switched his brand of TV makeup from MAC to Cover FX. The effects have been so good that his assistant, who until recently did Layton’s makeup for him, has switched to the line herself. Better coverage and less shine were the main selling points. The plus side for the NDP is the fact that Cover FX is a Canadian company and one of the few camouflage makeup lines approved by PETA. Cover FX was developed first at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital to help burn victims and those with severe skin disorders. Now celebrities such as Angelina Jolie have adopted the line (she’s said to use it to cover her tattoos). Stephen Harper, according to a PMO staffer, uses MAC foundation; former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff also used MAC. Current Liberal interim Leader Bob Rae’s makeup tips remain a state secret.

A summer of guns and Grisham

In the summer, Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner juggles several books. Right now she’s on John Ralston Saul’s Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin; she also intends to read John Grisham’s latest. Part of her summer is being taken up responding to letters of support for her private member’s bill to scrap the long-gun registry, which was defeated while the Conservatives had a minority. Before the summer break, Hoeppner was made parliamentary secretary to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, which many saw as a nod to her performance on the long-gun registry issue. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird called her “Hurricane Candice” because of the storm she whipped up when she went to town hall meetings. Hoeppner is still getting pressure from groups who want to see even less gun regulation. However, she anticipates that the government bill to scrap the long-gun registry will be pretty close, if not identical to, her private member’s bill, which had the support of some NDP MPs. This time around, she says, it will be interesting to see which NDPers still vote in favour of scrapping the registry. NDP MPs Malcolm Allen and Glenn Thibeault, who had been in favour of scrapping the registry and then changed their minds during the last session of Parliament and the final vote that killed Hoeppner’s bill, said their votes to keep it had minimal effects on them in the last election.

Continue…

The House: 'When politicians speak to us'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 25, 2011 at 10:30 AM - 9 Comments

Rather than simply lament for how little attention is paid to the institution, I thought I’d ask some smart people if they had anything to say in response to my piece about the state of the House of Commons. Over the next little while, those responses will appear here. First up, Nick Taylor-Vaisey.

Does Canada’s House of Commons matter? Well, it can matter. But that all depends on what our MPs are talking about and how they’re approaching the conversation.

Remember that debate about the gun registry? Civil it might not have been, but was it popular? You bet. People paid attention because they cared about what was at stake. It helped that Ottawa’s politicians had just returned from a summer break, and news media around town were looking for a juicy story. But people everywhere were talking about the gun registry. The House of Commons mattered. Continue…

The gun registry, the vote, the after-party

By Mitchel Raphael - Friday, September 24, 2010 at 11:35 AM - 0 Comments

This week saw the big showdown over the long-gun registry. MPs voted 153-151 in favour of a Liberal motion that kills Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill to get rid of the registry. Just before the vote, a small group of young protesters stood in front of the Peace Tower demanding the registry be scrapped.

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Bruce Hyer after the vote. He was one of the few NDP MPs who voted to keep the registry.

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The Liberals held a victory party at D’Arcy McGee’s pub after the vote.

Continue…

Which party came out on top of the long-gun registry debate?

By macleans.ca - Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 4:12 PM - 0 Comments

Long-gun registry saved

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 6:54 PM - 0 Comments

As projected, the House of Commons has approved a motion of the public safety committee to defeat Bill C-391, by a margin of 153 to 151.

The Liberals and NDP have issued official responses. The Prime Minister said the following to reporters after the vote.

After 15 years, opposition to the long-gun registry is stronger in this country than it has ever been.  With the vote tonight, its abolition is closer than it has ever been.  The people of the regions of this country are never going to accept being treated like criminals and we will continue our efforts until this registry is finally abolished.

The Commons: Iggy’s sharp right hook

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 5:49 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff stood first to express his concern for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in the wake of hurricane Igor, second to lament for the Finance Minister’s speech the other day.

“Yesterday the Minister of Finance delivered a wild partisan rant,” Mr. Ignatieff. “I assume that the Prime Minister approved this speech because, after all, he makes the rules, but what I wanted to know is whether the Prime Minister understands that this was a classic example of the politics of fear, division, envy and resentment at a time when Canadians need to hear a message of hope and unity.”

There were several bursts of laughter from the government side.

Stephen Harper stood next, first to express his concern for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in the wake of hurricane Igor, second to half-heartedly dismiss the Liberal leader’s lament.

“As for the government’s economic policy, we are, of course, providing hope and opportunity through the economic action plan,” he ventured, “and stand strongly against the tax and spend policies of the Liberal Party.”

Various Conservatives stood to applaud. Continue…

With an hour and a fifteen minutes to go

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 4:30 PM - 0 Comments

Messrs Ignatieff and Layton are promising that all of their respective sides will be in attendance for the vote on C-391 that is now expected to take place at about 5:45pm. Independent MP Andre Arthur stood before QP and informed the House that he remained opposed to the long-gun registry. Liberal MP Scott Simms, who had been the subject of some speculation this morning, is expected to vote against C-391. Postmedia’s Janice Tibbetts has the NDP’s Niki Ashton still in favour of C-391.

If all that holds true, the committee report to be voted on tonight will be approved by a count of 153-151, thus defeating Bill C-391 and preserving the long-gun registry.

Recorded division

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 10:51 AM - 0 Comments

The actual text that will be put before the House this evening at approximately 5:30pm is as follows.

The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security has the honour to present its second report.

In accordance with its Order of Reference of Wednesday, March 3, 2010, your Committee has considered Bill C-391, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act (repeal of long-gun registry), and agreed on Thursday, June 3, 2010, to report the following:

That this Committee, pursuant to Standing Order 97.1 (1), recommends that the House of Commons do not proceed further with Bill C-391, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act (repeal of long-gun registry), because the Committee has heard sufficient testimony that the bill will dismantle a tool that promotes and enhances public security and the safety of Canadian police officers.

There are a total of 304 votes in play—308 seats minus three vacancies and the Speaker, who only votes in the event of a tie. At our last count, there were 153 MPs committed to defeating C-391, 150 MPs committed to seeing it passed. That breaks down, by our math, as follows. Continue…