Trudeau explains his gun policy as debate flares - Winnipeg Free Press
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http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/can...181877071.htmlST-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, Que. - Justin Trudeau scrambled to explain his stance on gun control Monday as the Liberal leadership candidate took flak from opposing sides on the divisive issue.
The presumed Liberal front-runner tried to mollify both sides of the debate, rekindled over the weekend by his description of the long-gun registry as a failed policy.
Trudeau spent a news scrum with reporters handling one of the first divisive policy debates to have erupted during his campaign.
He explained that he hadn't actually flip-flopped on the gun registry.
In fact, Trudeau said, he always supported it, and still does support it in principle. But he said now that it's gone it's too divisive to try bringing it back.
In the next breath, however, Trudeau added that he supports Quebec's effort to bring it back in that province because he said the measure is not divisive there.
Finally, he explained why the long-gun registry fit his definition of a "failed" public policy.
"I voted to keep the firearms registry a few months ago and if we had a vote tomorrow I would vote once again to keep the long-gun registry," Trudeau told reporters.
"However, the definition of a failed public policy is the fact that the long-gun registry is no more... The fact is, because it was so deeply divisive for far too many people, it no longer exists."
Trudeau repeated that definition of a failed public policy, in both English and French. He said he would rather spend the next three years, before the federal election, trying to find evidence-based policies that will unite Canadians and not divide them.
A reporter asked Trudeau about Quebec's legal fight to keep its portion of the registry and he replied: "I find it's a very good idea. Because in Quebec it was not at all as divisive as it was elsewhere in the country," Trudeau said.
"Perhaps a solution is to let provinces find different solutions. What's important is protecting Quebecers from gun violence."
Meanwhile, Trudeau was being blasted Monday by people inside and outside his political party. One of his critics included a former Liberal justice minister.
Martin Cauchon, who is still pondering whether to run for the leadership himself, told The Canadian Press that leadership contenders need to show they'll stand up for Liberal principles and values.
And he said the controversial registry, created by the government of Jean Chretien in which Cauchon served, is an important part of the party's legacy.
"I believe that we have to update our policies and make sure that next election we're going to be able to show leadership to Canadians," Cauchon said in an interview.
"But, you know what, I believe as well ... that a candidate running should have the backbone to respect and stand for the principles that we have always stood for."
Cauchon said party renewal shouldn't mean Liberals have to turn their backs on accomplishments such as the Charter of Rights, official bilingualism or even the gun registry.
"I do hope that the starting point for our party will be to respect key values and key principles and, to me, the gun registry is an important one ... I can't imagine having one single candidate in our racing saying the gun registry — what was the term that he used? — a failure."
Cauchon said the registry was an important part of the Chretien government's efforts to make the country a safer place. He noted it was supported by police chiefs as a key policing tool.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government killed the registry and destroyed all the data in it — except in Quebec, where the provincial government has gone to court to prevent destruction of the records.
Cauchon acknowledged there were some problems getting the registry off the ground initially, including ballooning costs, although he disputed the $1 billion estimate. But he said it was working well by the time Harper scrapped it.
Cauchon said he believes the registry should be re-created in a manner that will "not compromise the safety of our communities or the security of our people."
He also blasted Trudeau for suggesting last week, in remarks to local Liberals in Hawkesbury, Ont., that gun ownership is an "important facet of Canadian identity" and "part of the culture of Canada."
"The point is pretty simple. We're not living in the (United) States," where Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms.
"We're building a different society."
Cauchon said Canada has taken the approach that gun ownership should be "circumscribed" by regulations to ensure safety. He called it a sensible compromise between those who advocate unrestricted gun ownership and those who would ban them altogether.
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