The Conservative government has promised to introduce legislation this fall, effectively killing the long-gun
registry.
Bills C-51 (1977), C-17 (1991), and C-68 (1995) were enacted into law to tighten controls on firearms in order to prevent homicides related to their use. The effectiveness of these laws has fuelled several debates on the political scene.
Given the many limitations of assessments conducted to this day, the credibility of their results is often questioned.
"The easiest way to look at this is to talk about some of the common arguments that are made about firearms," said Shelby Clare, national president of Canada's National Firearms Association.
"People say that we register our cars, we register our dogs - we should register our guns. But it's not the same thing at all. If you don't register your car, a SWAT team doesn't show up, kick down your door and take your car away from you."
However, The Coalition for Gun Control states having a national registry does save lives and gives police more control over weapons.
"I think it's one of those things that your rights end where my nose begins. Guns just have the capacity to interfere with other people's territory like nothing else does. You don't cordon off a three-block area when someone has a knife, but [the police] have to when someone has a gun," said Barb Kane, a clinical psychiatrist in Prince George.
Kane became interested in firearms legislation before the passage and implementation of Canada's Firearm Act, when she experienced how difficult it was to remove firearms from the hands of individuals who were either dangerous to themselves or others.
She admits the registry isn't going to stop all gun crime but says it's a step in the right direction.
"The registry won't stop all [all gun violence], but it will stop some of them ... But one of the problems with the Conservatives being so against the registry, is there hasn't been much in terms of public education, in terms of how to use it."
Clare, however, likens the gun laws to prohibition and suggests that putting a ban on something really doesn't deal with the issue.
"[The laws] really aren't there to manage with criminals doing bad things. It does not matter that you a take a piece of paper and put it beside a fun and think that somehow prevents crime. It does not."
In 1995, the Liberal government estimated the cost of the long-gun registry at $2 million, however current estimates peg the annual operating costs of the registry at around $4 million.
