Judgment day for gun registry data
For the past three years, a legal battle over long guns has been raging between the federal government and the province of Quebec. The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to bring an end to that battle on Friday morning, when it rules on the fate of Quebe
WHAT IS THIS CASE ABOUT?
At its heart, this case has been about whether the federal longgun registry data collected in Quebec between 1995, when the registry became law, and 2012, when the federal government passed legislation that effectively killed it, belongs to Ottawa, to the province or perhaps to both. If it is the property of the federal government, Ottawa can destroy it unilaterally.
If Quebec has some say in the data’s fate, the goal is for it to be preserved and used to build a new provincial database. Gun- control advocates have argued that a long- gun registry is invaluable for police and helps protect citizens from gun violence. Opponents say it’s wasteful, ineffective and unfair to long- gun owners.
WHAT IS QUEBEC’S ARGUMENT?
Lawyers for the province contend that information on an estimated 1.6 million rifles and shotguns in Quebec was collected with provincial collaboration. Therefore, Ottawa should seek consent from Quebec before destroying the data. To destroy it unilaterally would run contrary to federalism.
WHAT IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S ARGUMENT?
Ottawa contends that it alone has ownership rights over the data collected. It is the property of the federal government, and can be destroyed without Quebec’s permission under the Constitution. The data was collected for the federal registry, and repurposing it could violate the law.
WHAT HAVETHE COURTS SAID?
Plenty. Initially, in early 2012, two Quebec Superior Court judges sided with the province, issuing an unprecedented series of injunctions to stop the destruction of the data and force the federal government to continue registering long guns in Quebec.
Justice Marc- André Blanchard explained that he favoured an injunction because “the beneficial effects of maintaining the registry in Quebec appear greater than the urgency of applying the new law.”
The following September, Blanchard ruled that since the registry had been developed through partnerships between the federal government and its provincial counterparts, each should have a say in what happens to it.
It was a short- lived victory for Quebec. Within a year, Blanchard’s decision had been overturned by the provincial Court of Appeal.
The court noted that “the Parliament of Canada, which considers the data at issue to be pointless and inefficient and believes that its existence in a registry infringes the right to privacy, can certainly decide to stop compiling and preserving that information.”
Quebec, the Appeal Court noted, “has no property right in the data.”
The Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the case in late 2013, ensuring that the data would survive until a decision is reached this Friday.
WHAT IMPACT COULD FRIDAY’SDECISION HAVE?
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the land, and if it rules against Quebec, there is nowhere left to go. The federal long- gun registry records for the province will be destroyed — likely immediately — as they have been in every other province.
If the Supreme Court rules in Quebec’s favour, then a provincial registry could potentially be set up within a few months to track long- gun owners in the province using the federal data as a base.
Quebec may also proceed with a new registry without the federal data, but the cost and effort required could prove prohibitive.