44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to highlight the importance of hunting in our rural communities. Although I am not currently a hunter, I do enjoy wild game meat. Venison and moose meat are my favourites.
For my Franco-Ontarian community, I know that the tradition of hunting is rooted in its way of life. Whether it is back home, in eastern Ontario, or in the north, when hunting season arrives, time stops and people head for the woods.
In 2012, the current Prime Minister declared in Hawkesbury, where I was born, that the long gun registry was a failure. We have never targeted hunters with our legislation, including Bill C‑21. It is not unusual for certain amendments to be debated at the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
I salute the efforts of Liberal, Bloc Québécois and NDP members to ensure that hunters will not be mistakenly subject to this law.
Hunting is part of a legitimate way of life.
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Mr. Speaker, just moments ago the Assembly of First Nations, which represents indigenous people across Canada, issued a declaration publicly opposing the Liberals' Bill C-21. This Liberal hunting gun grab is not only a threat to the livelihood of hunters, trappers and sport shooters but a violation of the treaty hunting rights of all first nations.
When will the Prime Minister end his attack on law-abiding hunters and indigenous treaty rights and stop Bill C-21?
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Mr. Speaker, consultation at this late stage in the process is an act of bad faith by the government. It is a slap in the face to reconciliation. The government needs to go back to the drawing board and consult with first nations and hunters across this country before coming up with any new legislation on this matter.
It is black and white. The Assembly of First Nations knows it; the Conservatives know it, and all other parties know it. The government denied it for weeks, saying it was not going after hunting rifles and shotguns, but now it is finally admitting it. It knows it was misleading the House. When will the government stop going after law-abiding hunters and sport shooters?
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Mr. Speaker, the government has been very clear that it is not targeting the guns commonly used for hunting. I applaud the members of the Bloc—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing our Prime Minister hates, it is diversity, the diversity of opinion. He goes after anyone he does not agree with by insulting them, harassing them and restricting their rights.
His latest target is law-abiding firearm owners. He is banning thousands of firearms used for hunting, while giving gangs and smugglers a free pass. The PM should spend more time up in a tree stand and less time standing against hunters. The Liberals have missed the mark on Bill C-21. When will they stop targeting law-abiding hunters and farmers?
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Mr. Speaker, after what we just heard from our Conservative colleagues and the insults they have hurled at my colleagues, we will take no lessons from them on this.
When it comes to firearms, we have been clear from the beginning. We would never prevent hunters from hunting or prevent indigenous communities from practising their traditions. That is why we will continue to work with those who are willing to do so, in order to protect Canadians and get rid of the assault weapons and handguns that have been used to commit horrific killings, whether at École Polytechnique or the Quebec City mosque.
We call on everyone to act responsibly to protect Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by acknowledging the good work the hon. member does on the public safety committee and the perspective he brings forward.
We will not be banning any guns that are commonly used for hunting. We spent two hours at committee today, getting very technical answers on what is included in the bill and the types of guns that are being considered under this legislation. I look forward to working with the hon. member, and in fact all members of the House, to make sure we get this legislation right.
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Mr. Speaker, in many different moments in time, when we are dealing with contentious legislation, we have an opportunity to work on our differences and find solutions. I would suggest in this instance, when we are talking about the type of weapons that are involved in terrible tragedies, tragedies like the one unfortunately we commemorated and memorialized just a couple of days ago with Polytechnique, our square focus must be on keeping our streets safe and being able to look into the eyes of victims, and making sure we are removing those guns that are offending. What we have said, in no uncertain terms, is that those guns used for hunting are ones we want to make sure are not included.
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