An appeal to Jack Layton

The Montreal Gazette:

By Yves Francoeur, President of Montreal Police Brotherhood

Please Jack Layton, behave like a statesman!

On September 22nd, a crucial vote in the House of Commons will determine whether Canada will lose an important tool helping to ensure the safety of Canadians: the firearms registry of firearms. Mr. Layton, behave like a statesman and impose that your troops vote in favour of maintaining full registry of firearms, including long guns.

The need for the registry is unanimous among key stakeholders in public safety in Canada, the Canadian Police Association, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Association of Police Boards as it helps the police in crime prevention, crime investigation, to trace firearms and promote individual and social responsibility. If it was purely up to the ideological position of the Conservative government, there would not even be a debate.

Indeed, data compiled by Chief Superintendent Marty Cheliak of the RCMP, as head of the Canadian program of firearms, are eloquent:

- In 2009, the management of the registry cost $ 4.1 million, slightly more than $0.12 per citizen.

- The registration or transfer of a gun can be made by phone or online in minutes.

- Registering or transferring possession of a gun is free.

- In 2009, 111,533 firearms have been seized by the police in maintaining public safety or further criminal use. Of these, 87,893 were long guns.

- Some 16 police officers were killed by firearms in Canada since 1998, 14 were killed by a gun. About 15% of homicides by firearms in 2007 were with a long gun.

- Police from across Canada use the registry 11,076 times per day and 2,842 of these applications are connected to events relating to public safety.

For all these reasons, we join women's groups across the country who are too often victims of these guns, and groups working in suicide prevention, to ask you to impose to your troops that they vote in favour of maintaining full registry of firearms. We are convinced that it is the best decision you can take in the interest and especially for the safety of all citizens of the country.