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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Bill to kill Long-gun registry NDPers swing voters as Grits wield whip

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 08/25/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

OTTAWA -- The fate of the controversial long-gun registry appears to rest with a handful of New Democrat MPs, leaving NDP Leader Jack Layton in a sticky position.

A Tory private member's bill to scrap the registry passed second reading last fall by a narrow vote of 164-137, with eight Liberals and 12 New Democrats siding with the anti-registry Conservatives.

But Liberals now say their dissenting MPs are solidly behind Leader Michael Ignatieff, who has instructed all Grits to oppose the bill when it comes to another vote late next month.

In return for their reluctant support, Ignatieff is promising a Liberal government would streamline the registration process, eliminate fees for gun licences and decriminalize first-time failures to register firearms.

Liberal MP Wayne Easter, one of the most adamant opponents of the registry, said he now intends to vote against Tory MP Candice Hoeppner's bill.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the Prince Edward Island MP called Ignatieff's compromise "a win-win for farmers, hunters and Canadians in general," and predicted it will bridge the urban-rural divide over the gun registry issue.

Similarly, Yukon Liberal MP Larry Bagnell called Ignatieff's compromise "a step forward."

"I think he's heard rural Canadians and tried to come to a compromise," Bagnell said in an interview.

Bagnell noted he has voted against the registry every time there's been a free vote on the issue, including second reading on Hoeppner's bill. He wouldn't specifically say how he'll vote next time but made it clear Liberal MPs will no longer be free to vote as they see fit on the matter.

"My understanding is we don't have any choice, that it's going to be a whipped vote," he said.

Privately, Liberal insiders say they expect all eight anti-registry Liberals to fall solidly in line behind Ignatieff.

That leaves the fate of the bill with the NDP, which is badly divided over the issue. Hoeppner's bill could still pass with the support of as few as three New Democrats.

Layton personally favours retention of the registry, as do two-thirds of his caucus. But a dozen New Democrats, primarily from rural and northern ridings, have won election at least partly on the basis of their anti-registry views.

Layton has refused to force his MPs to support the registry, insisting his party has never whipped votes on private member's bills. However, he's asked his justice critic, Joe Comartin, to try to find a compromise.

Comartin has said several of his anti-registry colleagues are rethinking their position but nine remain adamantly opposed.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 25, 2010 A6

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