Fight for gun control will go on regardless of ruling
Canada’s most prominent guncontrol advocacy group says it is eagerly awaiting Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision on Quebec’s long- gun registry, but whatever happens, its fight is far from over.
“We’re really t reading new ground in this area,” Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control and a co- founder of the organization, said Wednesday.
“I think our lawyers and the ( Quebec) government lawyers did the best job they possibly could, and it really will be a matter of the court weighing the various arguments.”
Formed in the aftermath of the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, the coalition has been one of the groups at the forefront of the fight to keep Quebec’s long- gun registry data from being destroyed, as mandated by federal law.
There have been victories and setbacks as the legal process has unfolded, but Cukier said she wouldn’t speculate on what the country’s highest court might decide.
She noted, however, that even if the Supreme Court rules in the federal government’s favour — deciding that it has the right to delete the data immediately — that doesn’t necessarily spell the end of Quebec’s hopes to establish a provincial registry for long guns and rifles. There are a number of factors that will shape what the province can and can’t do without Ottawa’s data or financial support, and the coalition is in discussions with the provincial government and looking at possible options.
“One ( factor) will be the legal basis for setting up a registry. Under which powers would ( Quebec) be able to do so? And what would the scope of their power to register guns be?” Cukier explained. “There are an awful lot of questions that we’ll know the answer to on Friday, but there will be many other questions that will have to be explored.”
If the Supreme Court rules in favour of Quebec, the process could unfold in a similar manner, but with the added benefit of keeping the federal registry data dating back to the 1990s. Last October, a lawyer for the province, Eric Dufour, told the Supreme Court that Quebec already has the broad strokes of the legislation for a provincial registry drawn up, and that such a registry could be in place within a span of two months if the federal data can be used.
The Supreme Court’s decision is expected to be announced shortly after 9: 30 a. m. on Friday.
According to Cukier, while the case has required a major commitment of time and money from the coalition, it’s only one part of a much larger battle. The federal Conservative government has been accused of repealing important gun- control regulations, and new legislation tabled last fall ( Bill C- 42) loosens certain gun- licensing rules while tightening others. The bill has been widely panned by gun- control advocates.
“( Friday’s) decision is clearly a really important one,” Cukier acknowledged. “But regardless of the way the decision goes, the fight is not going to be over.”