IT’S ON HARPER
The Supreme Court of Canada’s refusal Friday to allow Quebec to keep its portion of the data from the now-abolished federal firearms registry is a dark moment in a province still haunted by the murder of 14 women by a misogynistic gunman 25 years ago.
The tragedy at École Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989, set off calls for gun control and led to the national registry five years later. Imperfect and expensive as it might have been, the database was lauded by police, victims’ rights advocates and many ordinary Canadians as an important tool for law enforcement and one small measure of defence against the threat of violence. But the Conservative government killed the registry and destroyed its data in 2012.
Or most of it. Vehemently opposed to the move, Quebec battled all the way to the top court to preserve the information it had helped collect so it could create its own registry.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Quebec, saying the federal Parliament is within its rights to do away with the registry. The case came down to technical issues of federal-provincial jurisdiction.
The decision to get rid of the firearms registry was always political, and for that Prime Minister Stephen Harper bears full responsibility. For Harper, opposition to gun control has always been ideological, a nod to the most conservative segment of his electoral base. With his lawand-order legislative agenda and current focus on combating terrorism, Harper finds himself sharply at odds with police in this key area.
To deny Quebec the ability to create its own registry is to profoundly misunderstand the province’s values. Harper could have willingly handed over the data and avoided this whole legal showdown. But he chose to ignore Quebec’s pleas. He was the first prime minister to recognize Quebecers as a distinct society. His deeds fail to match his words.
Gun control is an emotional and visceral matter here after too many horrific shootings. The National Assembly has repeatedly voted unanimously to save the registry. It is noteworthy that all three Quebec justices on the Supreme Court bench — Clément Gascon, Richard Wagner and Louis LeBel (now retired) — were among the four dissenting voices.
During a visit to rural Quebec Friday, Harper proclaimed his happiness over the Supreme Court ruling and reiterated his intention to destroy the remaining data.
Quebec will now proceed with its own gun registry, likely at considerable expense. With a federal election looming later this year, Harper’s stubborn refusal to hear what a majority of Quebecers and their government want is a rebuke that could come back to bite him.