February 28, 2021

Winnipeg
-14° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Winnipeg Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe
Canada

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Trudeau says no to gun registry... then yes

Liberal candidate plays both sides in divisive debate

By: Peter Rakobowchuk and Joan Bryden
Posted: 1:00 AM CST Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 3/12/2012 (3008 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Justin Trudeau has scrambled to explain his stance on gun control with the politically polarizing issue providing an early test in his Liberal leadership campaign.

The fallout from his sudden disavowal of the long-gun registry has required the front-running candidate to deal with a controversial policy debate days after the flare-up over unflattering remarks he once made about Alberta.

Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press
Justin Trudeau has a laugh with owner Tony Acciaioele at his hair salon while campaigning at a Quebec mall Monday.

CP

Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press Justin Trudeau has a laugh with owner Tony Acciaioele at his hair salon while campaigning at a Quebec mall Monday.

Trudeau handled it Monday by trying to appeal to both sides.

He spent a news scrum with reporters juggling questions on an issue that resurfaced over the weekend with his description of the Liberals' registry as a failed policy.

Trudeau explained he hadn't actually flip-flopped on the gun registry. In fact, he said, he always supported it, and still does support it in principle. But he said now that it's gone it's too divisive to try bringing back.

In the next breath, however, Trudeau added he supports Quebec's effort to bring it back in that province because he said the measure is not controversial there.

Finally, he offered his explanation of how the long-gun registry fits into his definition of a "failed" public policy.

"I voted to keep the firearms registry a few months ago and if we had a vote tomorrow I would vote once again to keep the long-gun registry," Trudeau told reporters.

"However, the definition of a failed public policy is the fact that the long-gun registry is no more... The fact is, because it was so deeply divisive for far too many people, it no longer exists." He repeated that definition of public policy, in both English and French.

Trudeau said he would rather spend the next three years, before the federal election, trying to find evidence-based policies that will unite Canadians and not divide them.

He made the remarks while touring a mall in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. Trudeau exchanged greetings with several dozen people as he went into shops.

A Quebec reporter asked Trudeau about that province's legal fight to keep its portion of the registry and he replied: "I find it's a very good idea. Because in Quebec it was not at all as divisive as it was elsewhere in the country," Trudeau said.

"Perhaps a solution is to let provinces find different solutions. What's important is protecting Quebecers from gun violence."

The performance earned him a scathing rebuttal from a prominent gun-control advocate.

A survivor of the Montreal polytechnique massacre, which occurred 23 years ago this week, Heidi Rathjen pushed for the creation of the federal registry. On Monday she blasted not only Trudeau's gun policy but also his broader approach to leadership.

"It's just political garbage," she said of Trudeau's policy.

"He's basically saying that the registry is a good thing only where it's popular, but that's not what a political leader does, that's not how you lead -- by implementing a public safety measure only where there's no controversy...

"It's not clear, it's confusing and I think it's a cop-out because he wants to please everybody and then he ends up pleasing nobody."

Meanwhile, Trudeau was drawing criticism Monday from people inside and outside his political party.

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up

Another Liberal leadership candidate, Joyce Murray, called Trudeau's initial remarks "disturbing," particularly with the Dec. 6 Polytechnique anniversary looming. She told the CBC she has always been a strong registry supporter and said she was glad Trudeau had clarified his remarks Monday.

Trudeau was also criticized by an activist former Liberal minister of justice.

Martin Cauchon, who is still pondering whether to run for the leadership himself, told The Canadian Press leadership contenders need to show they'll stand up for Liberal principles and values.

And he said the controversial registry, created by the government of Jean Chrétien in which Cauchon served, is an important part of the party's legacy.

 

-- The Canadian Press

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top