Ottawa, ON - Conservative Member of Parliament Candice Hoeppner’s private Member’s bill to end the long-gun registry today was narrowly defeated in a key vote in the House of Commons.

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Member of Parliament for Nunavut, Minister Responsible for the North and Minister of Health voted in favour of MP Hoeppner’s bill, recognizing the negative implications of the long-gun registry on her constituents.

“While our government supports reasonable gun control, the long-gun registry does not prevent crime. It is simply a registry, one that is wasteful and ineffective,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “I assure my constituents that we will continue to fight to abolish the long-gun registry which is unsupportive of the Inuit way of life.”

Bill C-391 passed second reading last November with the help of 12 New Democrats, eight Liberals and one Independent. While six of those Opposition MPs voted again today with Hoeppner, there were nevertheless just enough votes to kill the bill.

In June, the Opposition-dominated Public Safety Committee passed a motion calling for Hoeppner’s bill to be defeated. If the motion would have been struck down today, it would have meant that Bill C-391 would proceed to third and final reading in the House of Commons.  Instead, 151 Members backed Hoeppner`s bill calling for the defeat of the motion, while 153 Members supported the motion, narrowly assuring the bill`s demise.

If you have questions about the information in this release or any other matters, please visit Minister Aglukkaq’s website at LeonaAglukkaq.ca or contact her office at 613-992-2848.