Speaker agrees with Motz complaint over website wording on proposed gun bill

By Collin Gallant on June 22, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

The speaker of the House of Commons has agreed there’s merit to MP Glen Motz’s complaint that the RCMP has improperly advertised proposed gun legislation as already in place — which the local MP says confuses an issue he believes is being mishandled by the government.

“True to form with this Liberal government, they went ahead and put on a website all the rules that would take effect (as if) Bill C-71 was already enacted,” Motz told the News on Thursday.

“There’s no mention that it’s before the committee or hasn’t come back for second or third reading, or gone to the Senate. They’re using language like ‘this is what will happen.’

“No one is saying they shouldn’t advise gunowners, but the wording that was used is quite presumptuous.”

The bill itself, says Motz, is the focus of intense scrutiny from the opposition Conservatives. He’d like to see expert testimony and greater acceptance of the amendments his party has suggested.

The legislation, known as Bill C-71, would require RCMP to do more intensive work when doing background checks for acquisition permits, and require gun retailers to keep records documenting sales.

The Conservatives argue the bill would recreate some of the work of the National Gun Registry that was dismantled by the Harper Government in 2012.

“(The government) has tried to show there’s a huge issue in Canada where there isn’t one, and there never has been one,” said Motz.

That bill is now before a committee for further study, but House Speaker Geoff Regan said the impression given by RCMP material implied the government could enact the law without parliamentary approval.

According to Hansard, Regan said “the vast majority of the information was presented (by the RCMP) as though the provisions will definitively be coming into effect or are already the law of the land.”

That could be interpreted as presuming the authority of Parliament, and Motz says gun owners were left believing they were already breaking the law.

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, the parliamentary secretary to the government house leader, responded to the ruling.

“The government regrets that the situation took place and has taken steps to rectify it,” he told the Commons. “We support sending this issue to PROC for further study.”

Busy spring sitting

This week’s ruling comes at the end of spring session in Ottawa with no shortage of high-profile issues.

The government has set a date for the legalization of marijuana, announced it would purchase the Kinder Morgan Pipeline and dealt with interprovincial skirmishes.

Outside the commons, the government and ministers are dealing with volatile negotiations to renew the North America Free Trade Agreement, as well as unsettled foreign affairs policy stemming from discord between the United States and other G7 nations.

Motz said his party considers a stepping back of new tax regulations on small business as a “small victory for small business people.” As well, he said the party’s late session focus on cost estimates of Ottawa’s carbon-pricing plan needs to continue.

Overall, he’s not happy about the performance of the Liberal government.

“They’re failing Canadians and it will be very interesting to see how they re-jig themselves in the fall, because this time next year we’ll be getting ready for the election writ to drop.”

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