Gun Registry Survives Vote

OTTAWA -- As Members of Parliament got to their feet in Ottawa, registering their vote on the fate of the hotly debated long gun registry, political watchers on Vancouver Island couldn't predict a winner. "It's so close that if somebody gets hit by a bus, all bets are off right. Nobody can predict with confidence the results" says the University of Victoria's Dennis Pilon.

It's a $2 billion debate - does the costly long gun registry actually keep Canadians safe? Depends who you ask. "We maintain the registry is important to protect women from domestic violence" says Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, which prompted Prime Minister Harper to respond, "The registry does no such thing."

Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Gary Lunn spoke on CFAX-1070 Wednesday before registering his vote in the house - siding with his boss. "If you ask any law enforcement officer when they walk up to a crime scene, do they operate differently if they check the registry if its got guns or not? No they don't."

Not so say Victoria police.

"When you respond to a call and you know there's firearms either registered to the address or the people involved in that call do have access to firearms, it can change dramatically how you respond" says Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria Police.

The long-gun issue has become a shootout with the Conservative government and gun owners on one side, the opposition and police on the other. Critics of the registry have been particularly vocal over the past two weeks on the south island, specifically targeting Esquimalt - Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin.

But Wednesday, Martin stood in favour of killing bill C-391 and saving the registry. The final vote was 153-151, a victory for the opposition, but the Prime Minister says this fight is far from over. "People in some regions of Canada will never accept being treated like criminals, and we will continue our efforts until this registry is finally abolished."

Harper is promising to make an election issue of Wednesday's vote, something Dennis Pilon says may be a sign. "It could signal the Conservatives are giving up on urban Canada. They've been shut out repeatedly."

And this latest setback will further test the patience of gun enthusiasts like Allen Page at Island Outfitters, "I wish they'd just sort it out and spend the money on more important things like policing, border control, or health care."

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