Editorial: Will the Canadian Long Gun Registry Die Another Day?


This week, Michael Ignatieff threw an unregistered hand grenade into the Canadian gun registry issue. The Liberal leader of the Official Opposition jettisoned the tradition of members voting their conscience during a third reading of a bill. He now wants all his party members to vote against the dismantlement of the much and justly maligned Canadian long gun registry. Instead, Ignatieff urges the government to modify the invasive, unpopular and expensive law. Ignatieef’s decision to jump into the gun control fray (late in the game) comes hard on the heels of a botched abortion vote, where Liberal MPs broke ranks to vote anti-pro-choice. Yes, it’s deja vu all over again.

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A Note From A Neighbor to the North

We live right next door to the United States and share a very common North American culture and bond with Americans. We have a few philosophical and political differences that separate the two countries and they are contentious issues. Socialized medical care is a hot button issue in the States, yet it has been around here in Soviet Canuckistan for decades. It isn’t a perfect system, but it does allow equal access for all Canadians to health care. The upside is that a Canadian will not lose everything because of health issues beyond his or her control. Oddly enough, the Canadian government spends less per capital than the current US system. The other odd issue is that Canadians are up in arms about privatization for health care because it threatens the public system. The complete opposite of debate in Washington these days with the US issues, in many ways. Which brings me to the gun control issue in Canada vis a vis the ongoing debate in the United States.

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