Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: In the last six months, nine police officers have been killed in the line of duty in Canada. None of these murders could have been prevented by the nature or the content of your Bill C-21. The violence responsible for the many shootings across the country in no way relates to the restrictions in your bill. These are criminals using unregistered firearms to kill.

When the violence isn’t linked to organized crime, the murders are being committed by people suffering from mental illness who are out on the streets when they should be in institutions.

If you take the time, as I have, to examine the origins of the violence, don’t you find it discouraging to see how much time public servants are spending trying to classify firearms rather than looking for immediate solutions to this violence? I’m talking about judicial remedies, law enforcement and medical solutions.

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais Minister, I want to come back to Bill C-21. Do you think it will prevent crimes committed by street gangs in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, when the bill will simply hurt law-abiding citizens who take the time to register their firearms?