No Means No. Guy Lauzon and the Harper Government Refuse to Listen to the People of Canada on the Gun Registry – Editorial by Jamie Gilcig – Cornwall Ontario – September 27, 2010

Cornwall ON – Our MP, Guy Lauzon was on a Cornwall radio station pigeoning the position that the Conservative government will not give up and “some day get rid of the wasteful gun registry.”

To you sir I say someday we’ll get rid of the wasteful Harper government and yourself.

You and Mr. Harper are as bad as the Seperatists.   How many times does no mean no?

The Canadian people have clearly spoken, and maybe its time that issues like Jobs, the economy, hospitals & healthcare, real crime like fraud which cause much more harm than the type your government wants to build jails for; and accountability for politicians like yourself that abuse your positions of power?

You send out mailings talking about listening to the public.  What about the 50+%  of voters in this riding that didn’t vote for you or support Mr. Harper?

No means No Guy.  Learn it; love it; live it.

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of the Cornwall Free News, their staff, or sponsors.)

44 Comments

  1. During the gun registry vote, Harper was in New York City, representing Canada at the United Nations. He flew back to Ottawa specially to vote for the abolition of the registry, then flew back to New York again, presumably with his security people and his staff. How much did this cost the Canadian Taxpayer?

  2. The reason why people don’t vote is for reasons such as this. Politicians just do what is best for them. Their job is to get re-elected and support the caucus.

  3. How would removing the registry help? I mean I do not support the registry but how much would it cost to decomission?

  4. The problem is, you all think we live in a democracy. This is clearly not the case. When MP’s are compelled to vote following party lines, as opposed to representing their constituents, the voice of the people goes unheard. No one party can be held responsible; it is a failing of the system, and just one of many.

    This gun registry battle has gone on for ten years now, with no end in sight. It has created a rift between the right and the left all across the country despite the fact the majority of citizens don’t truly understand how or why it works or doesn’t work. Politicians love it when the general public are distracted and divided by seemingly inconsquential issues. It serves to divert their attention from rthe real shortcomings of out governing bodies.

  5. well said destructo, there is more truth in your post then people could ever imagine

  6. I agree that “No” does actually mean “No”. I say “Yes” to getting rid of the bully-boy tactics of the of the NRA and the Harper Government. Talk about being a sore loser! Good for those MPs who actually listened and were brave enough to vote in favour of the registry.

    I wish that people would actually read the facts from the Chiefs of Police and front-line workers and learn to live with the idea that Gun Control is another weapon that keeps them and us safer. No one is taking away the right to own a gun. We register cars, dogs and all manner of things – even babies – why is it so hard to register a gun?

  7. Good comment, Jamie; good posts, all.

    Canada is at last taking the measure of the Harper yo-yos.

    The long-gun registry a waste, Mr. Lauzon? Tell that to the RCMP, the police chiefs, and the families of the women gunned down by a long gun at the Ecole Polytechnique. If the long-gun registry helps to save a single life, it’s worth the cost.

    Idiot Conservatives: you want to talk about waste, look at the millions wasted on a fake lake etc at the G20 & G8; look at the billions proposed for unneeded prisons; and the billions more proposed for jet fighters we don’t need—all at a time when regular Canadians are hurting from the recession and facing, thanks to you, the biggest deficit in Canadian history.

    Hypocrite Conservatives: tough on crime, soft on guns; support our troops, fail the veterans.

    Incompetent Consevatives: high time Canada ran you out of town.

  8. Well said destructo… long ago we were not truly in a democracy. Then I listen to those that are unsatisfied that other parties whipped their party into voting to keep the registry, when its equally as bad for the conservatives to whip their party to vote against it.. The only party I have any respect for in that whole fiasco even though they suggested to keep the registry is the NDP. Is our current government following this action in order to cover something else bigger up, probably.. distraction so they can force something else through..

    Guy Lauzon runs away at every opportunity that he has to answer questions, some MP that is.. can’t even speak his mind without submitting paperwork to put his opinion out there.. that reeks of the PMO pulling his strings which in itself is utterly wrong.. these people work for US, not for the PM or the government will..

    But of course, Guy Lauzon won’t listen as was very well pointed out in this article..

  9. When does No mean No? After the gun registry vote in Parliament, the PC’s went up a couple of points, the Liberals dropped a few points and the NDP went down to the Green Party level. Is that what the voice of Canada is saying “No” ???? Surely you jest Sir!

  10. Concerned Citizen: Who, pray, are the PCs?

  11. This is the reason not to bother listening to the media. If you so called reporters actually FOLLOWED the actual first 2 readings of the bill, you would have noticed that the registry was going to fall. The Lieberals and the NDP, grossly mis-judged the public on this and allowed a “free vote” and actually allow the MP’s to represent their ridings. Once the first 2 votes were held, both opposition leaders quickly whipped their MP’s to follow party lines as the registry was going to fall. Both oppsition parties commited “political suicide” in doing so. Forcing their members to flip-flop on their original 2 votes (which they folowed their CONSTITUENTS requests) and followed party lines. The people HAVE spoken, and the only true voice heard was the Consevative Party. The rest of the country only heard 2 voices. Jack and Iggy. How is that democracy? And to you, Jamie Gilcig, please, before posting or writing any article, learn to do your homework and actually research or stick to a subject that you actually have knowlege of. Poor reporting with bad info.

    -J

  12. Grimalot, don’t be too naive about the NDP. The flip floppers were all well chosen for their ability to weather a voters storm; they all come from “safe” ridings that were won by large margins in the last election. Jack Layton only let the others off the hook because he had all the votes needed to get the fix in.

  13. Democracy and Liberals don’t mix. Whats the point of voting if they try to overturn what the public want’s anyway. In all the online polls and newspaper articles I have read the high majority of people want to scrap the expensive waste of time registry. The people have spoken but since the liberal leader did not like what they said he simply whips the vote. That should be illegal here in Canada. Members of parliament should not have to choose between there riding and there leader.I saw Justin Trudeau say that it doesn’t matter what we want they run this country and they make the decisions. Well I guess Canada is going the way of Dictatorship. It is truly shameful to be Canadian right now.

  14. The useless long-gun registry WILL be removed. It has cost billions for no benefit whatsoever. Further money will be better spent on health care, women’s shelters and controlling/tracking real criminals.

    As to the comparison of registering cars to firearms, if your driver’s licence expires the police do not show up at your door to seize and destroy all your vehicles, you do not spend any time arrested and in jail, and you do not get a criminal record with a prohibition from owning any motor vehicles.This DOES happen to legal firearm owners. Didn’t know that, did you?
    In addition you do not need a driver’s licence to own a car, and a vehicle only needs to be registered if you drive it on public roads.
    Some people need to learn some things before spouting their uninformed viewpoints.

  15. I can see why you’re a green party candidate. You live in a self-created world of delusion. The left is losing and Canadian left wing leadership ‘heads’ the list for worst candidates ever. See you at the polls.

  16. Got to love the Liberal posters talking about wasted money honestly who are you guys kidding?…Adscam, HST and Ehealth trump any frivolous spending the CPC has ever done. G8 and G20 meetings would have taken place no matter who was PM how much would the liberals have spent? they said the registry would only cost $2million and we are now at $2billion with less then 50% compliance and not a single life saved yet…….Yup that $1million on a fake lake is looking pretty good when it impressed foreign leaders who invest in our country and bring jobs here for Canadians….Honestly people pull your heads out of the sand and look around the Liberals turned Ontario the manufacturing mecca into a HAVE-NOT province.

    Tough on crime means tough on CRIMINALS not Licensed gun owners who are actually 50% less likely to commit a crime then non license holders…Criminals don’t have licenses and don’t register there for the people here supporting the registry are more likely statistically to commit a violent crime with a firearm then any licensed gun owner in Canada….Its all on the stats can web site go get informed.

  17. I am getting sick and tired of hearing these gun slingers and neo-cons talking about “not a single life was saved”. How do you know? Has someone been counting the number of police of emergency service people who have not been killed? This “not a single life” BS sounds like an NRA and neo-con fairy tale that no one can prove or disprove. Let’s get real. the only reason to own a gun is to kill something or someone. The more we know about who has guns the better we can protect ourselves. By we I mean those of us who don’t have guns and those who have to deal with people who have guns. Knowledge is power.

    It’s us against them, and them have guns.

  18. On the subject of waste, facts for head-in-the-sand neo-Conservatives

    Federal fiscal management since 1993:

    –Mulroney Conservatives $42 billion deficit
    –Chretien/Martin Liberals $16 billion surplus
    –Harper Conservatives $54 billion deficit and counting

  19. Author

    Morning PJR what really confuses me is that Conservatives love to point the finger with accusations of thieving by the Liberals. So if I’m understanding this correctly, according to the Conservatives, while “Stealing” the Liberal governments managed to have a surplus, but on the Conservative watch, with no “Stealing” they managed to accumulate record deficits.

    This should inspire confidence? I’d rather have a smart thief than a dumb spend happy Conservative any day of the week. And of course that money in Mr. Mulroney’s safe means that…….

  20. …..means that he didn’t steal it from Karl Heinz Schreiber, he was given it to represent a German supplier of armed vehicles. Period.

  21. @ Reg

    Gunslingers, neo-cons, and the NRA? Why is it when a liberal runs out of good arguments that he invokes the the blood curdling cry that the “NRA is coming”?

    If a Conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one. When a Liberal doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t want anyone else to have one either.

  22. Reg…. seeing as the registry was brought in as a public safety tool it has to have a measurable effect on public safety if you cant actually list the lives saved then its poor public safety legislation pure and simple. Handguns have been registered here since the 1930’s but Gangsters and criminals in general still commit over 97% of their crimes with handguns….The registry was a knee jerk reaction to Polytechnique which was then followed by Dawson that’s after the registry came to be….but but but the registry is supposed to prevent violent use of firearms….Funny a list and a piece of paper is supposed to stop people hell bent on killing….hummmm some of you need to ditch those rose colored classes and come back to reality.

    PJR: I have some answers for you.

    Between 1970 and 1976 under the leadership of the Liberal leader Pierre Trudeau, government spending grew to a record level of almost 22 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 1976. In 1978 the Trudeau government recorded a fiscal deficit greater than five per cent of the Canadian GDP.

    During the brief government (1979 – 1980) of Conservative Joe Clark, government spending actually declined to less than 20 per cent of GDP and by 1980 recorded a corresponding reduction in the federal deficit of slightly more than four per cent of Canada’s GDP.

    Between 1980 and 1984, under the leadership of Liberal Pierre Trudeau, government spending skyrocketed to an all-time record in 1984 of greater than 24 per cent of the GDP along with an all-time record fiscal deficit of almost nine per cent of Canada’s GDP. This record government spending and fiscal deficit as a percentage of Canada’s GDP has never been matched by any other Canadian federal government.

    Between 1984 and 1990 under the leadership of Conservative Brian Mulroney, government spending was reduced to less than 22 per cent of Canada’s GDP in 1990 and the government fiscal deficit also declined to less than 4.5 per cent of GDP. In 1987-88 the Mulroney government actually recorded an operating surplus of more than $2 billion, but the public debt charges of $31 billion forced the government to record a budgetary deficit.

    From 1987-93 under the leadership of Conservative Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, the government recorded operating surpluses of $2 billion, $7.5 billion, $12.1 billion, $11 billion, $11.5 billion, $2.3 billion and $1.5 billion dollars respectively but the public debt charges forced the government to record a budgetary deficit in each year.”

    What saved the country and allowed the Liberals to “eliminate the deficit?” First, the Free-Trade Agreement and later NAFTA. You know, the policy the Liberals promised to scrap as soon as Canadians elected them in 1993?

    Second, and most importantly, the hated GST. Again, the policy the Liberals promised to scrap as soon as Canadians elected them in 1993.

  23. At least Super Guy has been consistent with his view on the long gun registry, Scrap It! We law abiding firearm owners will never give up until this wasteful, useless registry is gone. Most front line Officers 92% of them want it gone, look it up. The gun registries have not prevented any of the crimes listed, Dawson, Polytechnique, 4 RCMP Officers killed or any others in the future. Can you imagine if Dawson had an armed person/guard that could have defended the students, less students would have been injured or killed. Handguns have been registered and strictly controlled and Toronto has lots of illegal handgun crimes. You cannot prevent these crimes by controlling law abiding people, why don’t some people get that??? Green Party, NDP, Liberals all wants to ban legal handguns and semi-automatic hunting rifles, remember that at the election.

  24. When Tory finance minister Michael Wilson and Mulroney left office some nine years later, the federal government had an operating surplus and the deficit as a percentage of GDP had been reduced by one-third, despite the worldwide recession of 1990-91. In other words, were it not for the interest Canada had to pay on the gargantuan debt the Liberals had solely created to that point, Mulroney would have been running a surplus.

    The Mulroney government slashed the rate of growth in program spending 70 per cent. In other words, instead of spending $1.23 for every one dollar collected in taxes, the Tories reduced program spending to 97 cents for every dollar of revenues.

    The prime interest rate went from 22.75 per cent to six per cent, the lowest in 20 years, and the inflation rate was 1.5 per cent, the lowest in 30 years.

    As for Harper’s Deficit here we are in a recession and Harper was forced by the threat of a separatist coup into the deficit we see today. The Liberals and NDP wanted to spent 2x what was spent on stimulus but Harper refused. In the next budget it will be announced we are over a full year ahead of the planned pay off date.

    Why is it Liberals think a surplus is a good thing? its a BAD thing it means Canadians are being over taxed!.. I guess that’s a Liberal ideology though Tax and Spend when the money runs out just raise taxes right….Look at what Dalton has done to Ontario we are in the worst shape since the Ray Days. The Liberals answer to solving deficit is increasing taxes while the conservative way is by cutting funding to lavish social programs.

  25. Hey, who said I was a Liberal? I said that I was not a gun owner. Does that make me a liberal or just not a neo-con. I’ll have you know that in the past I have voted Progressive Conservative, NDP, Liberal, Great Rhinoceros Party, Natural Law Party and the Green Party.

    The NRA is on record as providing unspecified support for a pro-gun lobby group in Toronto. I was going to give a link to the article that traces the link but I think I will just use one of your gun totin tactics..”look it up”.

    I still stand by my comments but I will add something else…..them don’t have a sense of humour.

  26. @ Reg.
    Yup, another lie by a Lieberal. The NRA is on record for SUPPORTING THE ABOLISHMENT of the long gun registry. Link here: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/09/13/canada-nra-gun-registry.html?ref=rss
    I also have a great sense of humour. I just take exception to people lying and twisting the facts. The fact that the gun registry is NOT accurate and CANNOT be trusted by the very front line officers that use it speaks volumes. Link here: http://thesudburystar.com/Community/NewsDisplay.aspx?c=64288 Again, the FACTS… No need to “look it up”, I’ve done it for you.

    -J

  27. The NRA isn’t in Canada, Reg, but there are Canadians in the NRA, that’s the difference.

    And you are right, knowledge is power. So for someone who doesn’t own any firearms to claim to be an expert on how they should be controlled, please, forgive my sense of humour.

    I wouldn’t take driving lesson’s from a blind person either.

  28. @ The Buckhunter

    I do believe that you have made my point for me. The NRA is indeed involved in lobbying for the pro-gun / anti long gun registry.

    Thank You

  29. Author

    Frosty I don’t need to own a machete or even know which way to flick it to know I don’t want people running around with them willy nilly.

    When I was young and goofy I worked in the Arctic. It was a stunning experience which I think more Canadians should have. The prisoners there were allowed to go out hunting with rifles. The guard would just go and hunt with them. At the end of the day they’d come back; give back their rifles and go to their cells.

    Canada is a diverse country. It’s wide expanses and good natured people have I think most times come up and created solutions together. I’m sure there’s some common ground that will be found between those that want to own lethal weapons for whatever reason and those that think lethal weapons serve no purpose in the hands of anyone other than the military and law enforcement.

  30. @ Frosty One

    Boy you guys certainly like to read stuff that isn’t really there. No where did I say I was an expert on gun control, just that I think they should be controlled. I am not unfamiliar with weapons. In the infantry I was considered an expert with the FN C1 A1 7.62 mm rifle as well as the submachine gun, 50 calibre machine gun and an assortment of anti-tank weapons.

    In civilian life I have chosen not to own a gun but am aware of what they are capable of.

  31. Do you register your vehicle in the hopes of reducing drunk driving? Do you use a pencil in the hopes of reducing spelling mistakes? This is what you expect the rest of us to believe? In this country, there are NO PROPERTY RIGHTS in the constitution. Confiscation without compensation is happening everyday in this country. A line needs to be drawn and people have to stand up and fight for their rights. The gun owners of this country have taken up the fight so that everyone can benefit. This is what the anti-gun coalition doesn’t see. It’s not about the guns, it’s about CONTROL!

    -J

  32. @Reg.
    And you don’t think that other countries aren’t involved in lobying the federal government for their own benefit? Explain the Avro Arrow… read your history books. It’s been going on for a hundred years. You definitely need a reality check.

    -J

  33. Author

    Well at least you’re admitting that. Most opposed to the Registry won’t. I give you credit for that. I agree that it comes down to the bottom line that either you believe in our system or you don’t. Those that oppose the gun registry for that reason may as well move out into caves with wait for the nukes.

    These are such bizarre arguments. I can understand hunters and some other situations which have perfectly rational solutions, but this far right rhetoric just doesn’t dance.

  34. “Harper forced by the threat of a separatist coup into the deficit we see today” –Wow, Srt4u2nv,even with your talent for self-persuasion what are you smoking?

  35. “Do you register your vehicle in the hopes of reducing drunk driving? “…No, but registering my car certainly helps the police if my car was stolen and used in a crime. It gives them a starting point for an investigation. Registering our dogs helps if they get lost, or attack someone.

    I get it, the registry costs too much, and certainly has flaws. Is it not possible to save the registry, and come up with some sort of compromise? Can it not be fixed? There is certainly a need for a certain (small) portion of Canadians who have legitimate uses for long guns. And they have every right to those guns. But I think it is important to keep track of who has them and where. If you buy a gun, report it. If you sell a gun, report it. If you have one stolen, report that too. It really doesn’t need to be so hard.

  36. @ The Buckhunter

    Are you saying that the NRA is a government? I’m sure the Americans would like to know about that.

  37. Excellent good sense, destructo!

  38. @Reg

    I’d be the first person to thank you for your service to our country, but if you return home and tell me I need to give up my freedoms, sorry I wont buy it. Long walk, short peer, enjoy your trip!

    @destructo

    The compromise was the old FAC program, LICENSING, training and background checks. Every firearms owner was responsible to keep the information for themselves. The stores also kept records of sales. It worked. The police can still tie a firearms license to an address. The number of firearms at the address is as irrelevant as the number of vehicles present. People who would do violence with a firearm aren’t going to get a license or register a gun.

    Which is why firearms owners are tired of being described as the possibly the next lunatic to go insane with their guns. We’ve proven ourselves to be worthy of our privileges of ownership. More so than you have to obtain a driver’s license.

    Assuming you drive, do you also have a fear of on-coming traffic suddenly veering at you? Probably not, because we’ve set standards of training, laws, behavior and etiquette for driving. The same thing goes for firearms. Common sense legislation is what firearms owners want. The long gun registry has no resemblance to that.

    Finally to admin, do you enjoy quoting NAZI propaganda? Are you one? Only the police and military? That is the dumbest thing anyone could say in regards to firearms.

    Everyone is up in arms about the possibility of the NRA supporting the abolition of the long gun registry. American laws do not allow the giving of MONEY in that support. The extent of support consists mostly of a pat on the back saying “Keep up the good fight.” Yet the Coalition for Gun Control has received money from IANSA, an organization that prides itself on attaining global civilian disarmament. They’ve FINANCIALLY (hundreds of thousands of dollars) supported the lobbying of our government to further their international agenda. Nobody seems to mind that kind of influence though, as long as it doesn’t come from (gasp) Americans!

  39. PJR where were you when the NDP, LIbs and Bloc threatened a coup if stimulus wasn’t included in the budget? under a rock?….honestly out of everything I posted the only thing you choose to refute is this?…..LMAO….

    The NRA is forbidden from operating outside the USA by its Constitution look it up folks and in reality who cares? whats wrong with the NRA helping Canadian gun owners with tips and pointers being given to the CSSA?…Do you know who funds the Anti-Gun movement? NOT CANADIANS!….Ever hear of George Soros the US Billionaire? he spends hundreds of millions funding the anti gun movement in Canada, UK, Australia well everywhere really…..The Pro-Gun lobby is purely grassroots and Canadian funded where as the Anti-Gun Coalition for Gun control gets its funding from foreign entities….Like George Soros and IANSA…..

  40. “What happened to Democracy says:
    September 28, 2010 at 10:39 pm
    Democracy and Liberals don’t mix. Whats the point of voting if they try to overturn what the public want’s anyway. In all the online polls and newspaper articles I have read the high majority of people want to scrap the expensive waste of time registry. The people have spoken but since the liberal leader did not like what they said he simply whips the vote. That should be illegal here in Canada. Members of parliament should not have to choose between there riding and there leader.I saw Justin Trudeau say that it doesn’t matter what we want they run this country and they make the decisions. Well I guess Canada is going the way of Dictatorship. It is truly shameful to be Canadian right now.”

    What about the Conservatives whipping their party to vote for abolishing the registry? Its not just the liberals, I think all parties that whip their members to vote a certain way should not be allowed to do so.. I agree with you, where is the democracy? In all parties…

    And speaking about MPs working for their constituents or their leader, look no further then the fiasco going on with Guy Lauzon getting his strings pulled by the PM.. the guy cannot even speak for himself, he has to file paperwork to do so.. else he runs away at any question situation…

  41. destructo the registry can not be fixed there is only a 45% compliance rate how do you fix that?….A list can not stop anyone from doing anything Dawson is the Proof. Handguns have been registered since the 1930’s but criminals still commit the majority of their crimes with handguns….Registering firearms of rather law abiding citizens focuses on the wrong people pure and simple criminals do not register and do not have licenses so by default the registry can not stop criminal use of firearms. The registry also does not tell you where the firearms are because you can lend and borrow firearms as long as you have a license. So a nutbar could have no guns registered to him but he has a license and borrowed one from a friend…How does the registry know where that firearm is?…..Then you have the FACT only 45% of firearms ever imported into this country are in teh registry that leave 55% unregistered…..You folks honestly think police put their faith in a registry that is only 45% accurate?….hahahaha…if this was a private sector program it would have went out of business long ago like 14yrs ago….Its disgusting our tax dollars are being wasted like this!.

  42. srt4u2nv: Good luck with your high-quality spin (“separatist coup” has now morphed to “NDP, Libs and Bloc threatened a coup”—coup being your inflammatory choice of word). It should open doors all the way to the current PMO. As for the rest of “everything [you] posted”, one untruth is enough to put the credibility of the rest in doubt.

  43. Grimalot, the only ones who were whipped by their party leaders were the Liberals. Jack let them vote with a “clear conscience” for or against…..but let it be known that he wanted the registry to stay. The Conservatives didn’t need whipping as they were all of a firm mind to get rid of that hole in the ground we call a gun registry. How many billions do you think its worth?

  44. Cojones Kid: Billions is stretching it, but if the registry saves one life (which could be someone dear to you), it’s worth the cost, don’t you think? The RCMP and Canada’s police chiefs would seem to think so.

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