On target audiences

BigCityLib asks whether the Cons can pass Garry Breitkreuz' bill to repeal the federal long gun registry. But the real question is whether or not they want to - and the answer to that still looks to be "no".

If the Cons' actual goal was to eliminate the registry, then their path to get that done would seem to be obvious. After all, NDP MP John Rafferty has already announced that he plans to introduce a bill to the same effect. Which means that if the goal was to actually pass a bill, the Cons would be publicly working with Rafferty to try to round up additional support in Parliament and in the public.

Instead, the Cons are conspicuously ignoring the fact that Rafferty is looking to reach the same supposed goal, refusing to mention any opposition MPs by name and suggesting that they'll generally be reluctant to vote to repeal the registry. Which should serve as a strong indication that their intention is something other than to actually get the legislation changed.

That's doubly so when one looks at Breitkreuz' bill. Rather than merely repealing the registry, it also sets up what looks to me to be a highly unusual requirement that the Auditor General evaluate all gun laws every five years - without the slightest indication as to why gun laws in particular should be subject to that kind of review.

At best, that can be seen as a cynical way to keep gun issues in the news even after the main irritant is removed. But the provision might be seen as a poison pill for opposition parties - or worse yet, as an excuse for somebody to stop the bill in its tracks as requiring the Auditor General to spend money reporting even if it otherwise enjoys enough support to pass.

In sum, the real danger isn't that C-301 will eventually pass (since the Cons have essentially rendered the registry useless anyway). Instead, the greatest risk is that it will allow the Cons to keep gun owners on their side and motivated even as Harper deliberately avoids acting on his party's promises. And if the opposition parties are on the ball, they'll find a way to get a poison-pill-free version of the bill through Parliament to shut down the issue.