Polls show public support for abolition of registry

Polls show public support for abolition of registry
Majority of Canadians agree with Prime Minister that the long-gun registry must go

On March 23, 2009, a Toronto Sun online poll asked, "Do you support Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s call to scrap the long-gun registry?" An overwhelming majority, 84 percent, supported scrapping the registry. A survey by Toronto-based CP24 the same day, asked, "Do you think the Government should scrap the Federal long gun registry?" Fully 66 percent responded that the registry should be scrapped, or that it was a bad idea from the outset. Polls run by The Globe & Mail, CTV News, Ipsos-Reid and others dating back to 2002, have repeatedly demonstrated that Canadians believe that the registry is ineffective and should be abolished.

O.F.A.H. Executive Director, Mike Reader noted that the latest results are especially telling, given that they were conducted in Toronto, the largest urban centre in the country. "The outdoors community knew from the outset that the long gun registry would not be effective in preventing crime, because it targets licensed, law-abiding citizens who use legal firearms for hunting or recreational sport shooting instead of targeting criminals who use illegal handguns to commit crimes in our communities. Canadian taxpayers are fed up with paying for the registry that never has, and never will, reduce crime or increase public safety."

The O.F.A.H. is one of many organizations across the country that has fought the long-gun registry from the beginning. In the decade that the registry has been in place, it has been poorly managed, with cost overruns verging on two billion dollars. It has been subject to repeated privacy violations and has done nothing to reduce violent crime. Two reports by the Auditor General of Canada have called into question the effectiveness of the registry, and soundly criticized government overspending on a program that was supposed to cost no more than $20 million.

With over 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 655 member clubs, the O.F.A.H. is the largest nonprofit, charitable, fishing, hunting and conservation-based organization in Ontario, and the voice of anglers and hunters. For more information, visit www.ofah.org.

• Myth: The firearms program and the long gun registry will protect public safety.
• Fact: In her report, the Auditor General of Canada pointed out that no authoritative study has been done, more than a decade after its launch that shows any impact on gun statistics stemming from the long gun registry.
   
• Myth: The firearm’s registry prevents tragedies such as happened at Dawson College.
• Fact: The registry did not prevent the shooting at Dawson College, nor can it prevent any other random act of violence.
   
• Myth: The current firearms system prevents individuals who should not possess firearms from gaining access to them.
• Fact: The system does nothing to prevent those convicted of violent crimes from obtaining firearms, nor does it provide for supervision of these individuals. They are not even required to report a change of address to police.

-30-

Contact

Click here to download the PDF version of this release