On Friday morning, Liberal leadership candidate and MP for Papineau Justin Trudeau toured the Dart Helicopter Services plant in in Hawkesbury, Ont. After the tour, he spoke to about 100 employees and supporters in the company’s cafeteria. During the question-and-answer session, one worker — who would not say how he voted or planned to vote — asked him where he stood on the long-gun registry. Here’s what my tape recorder was able to pick up in his response to that query:
I grew up with long guns. Rifles and shot guns. Yes, the RCMP guarding me had handguns … [laughter]
But I was raised with an appreciation and an understanding of how important in rural areas and right across the country gun ownership is as a part of the culture. I do not feel that there is any huge contradiction between keeping our cities safe from gun violence and gangs and allowing this important facet of Canadian identity which is having a gun. One of the last times I was up in the high Arctic before I got into politics, I was taking a school group on a hike across parts of, actually, Greenland. And when I was doing that, it was one of the only times I ever taught with loaded thirty-ought-six slung over my shoulder. You don’t usually think of teaching with a heavy-duty rifle … but when you’re in polar bear country, you have to be aware of that.
The fact that we have a government, or successive governments, that have managed to polarize the conversations around gun ownership to create games in electoral races when you don’t have to have a …
There is no concept, no idea, that gun ownership is ever going to be under attack for law-abiding hunters and farmers across this country. But we need to keep our cities safe and I don’t see that that’s an unsolvable solution but I do see that the long-gun registry, as it was, was a failure and I am not going to rescuscitate that. But we will continue to look at ways of keeping our cities safe and making sure that we do address the concerns around domestic violence right across the country in rural as well as urban areas in which, unfortunately, guns do play a role. But there are better ways of keeping us safe than that registry …
Later that day, in a scrum in Alfred, Ont., reporters asked him again about his gun registry comment from earlier in the day. Here’s what he said:
“It ended up being a failure. It ended up dividing Canadians more than it actually protected Canadians so I’m very serious at looking at other ways and hearing from Canadians about other ways to protect people from gun violence. Whether it be in cities or whether it be in domestic situations in more rural areas where long guns are still unfortunately are too-utilized in situations of domestic violence. So, we have to look for it. We have to be smart. We have to make sure we are not dividing Canadians once again for electoral gain the way Mr. Harper is so successful at playing up differences between urban and rural folks. We have to work on bringing people together and keeping them safe and that’s something to which I am committed.”
You can listen yourself to that list bit, recorded in Alfred, Ont.:
Interesting.
Ive some footage of him in Parliament speaking different words regarding the dangers of not keeping the long gun registry…tracking guns, reducing crime, suicides, domestic violence……. standing up to vote in favor of keeping it.
There is another video on Youtube of him debating with protesters outside of Parliament after the vote as well (google his name and long gun registry, youll find it) where he more or less repeats this.
I am perplexed by his flip-flop nature on this. Are these his real views now? Does his loyalty lie where the votes are? If elected will his true views on citizen firearm ownership be revealed to be less than “pro” and more “anti”?
food for thought
Trudeau has shown through the past few years that his answers and stands on issues depends on his audience. If he was attending a feminist anti-gun group, he would be praising the registry. When he talks to rural Canadians, he thinks the registry is a failure.
He did this with a talk on Oil the other day. Praised the oil sands in Alberta and idea of selling to Asian markets, but in BC condemned the ideas of pipelines.
Hard to get that oil to market from Alberta to Asia with pipelines. Last time I was in Alberta, I don’t recall seeing any Seaports or Tanker transfer points.
There are 2 problems. First Trudeau is about as trustworthy as Dalton McGuinty. Second he will not be able to resist the antigun zealots in his party and special interest groups.
Justin we don’t believe you.
Quebec wants to keep the ‘gun registry’ so I take it from Trudeau that he will support the ‘gun registry’
The biggest jackasses are the reporters: one minute they write Trudeau is for the gun registry, then they have to rewrite that Trudeau is against the ‘gun registry’ then the next time, they might write that Trudeau: is, can, could will, maybe, would on the gun registry.
Like most pundits who follow Trudeau would echo: “I agree with Trudeau on the gun registry”
Then when Trudeau changes his mind, those same pundits will say ” I agree with Trudeau what he said ‘against the gun registry.’
I think that Trudeau says what he feels like knowing that his perplexed confused reporters will follow him at every word even if they have to write and rewrite his gaffes.
mr t can lie all he wants , i’m still voting for him.
if i were running i’d say anything i needed to to get in office , then do what it took to get fuel to 75 cent per litre and let the rest work itself out
Hmmm, is it not against the law to have a loaded rifle slung over your shoulder?
young Trudeau is just learning how to be a Liberal.Say anything….. you won’t have to account for it anyway!! Next lesson the fireside chat.
Mr. Trudeau is a God send in disguise. We as Canadians are very fortunate that he decided to run as a leader just like his father. As far as I’ m concerned all Harper has done for us is help out the very rich like Valey (Inco) and Xstrata (Falconbridge) and all other big corperations. They have promised all this investment that never occured and Harper keep’s going all over the world telling these company’s we are open for business at any expense to Canadians. Harper is oblivious to the average familie’s problems and doesn’t know what’s happening back here. Harper is a very sad leader. Mr. Trudeau can’t possibly do any worse than Harper.
Mr. Trudeau is a Liberal. Liberals brought in the gun registry and wasted many millions of our dollars that could have been better spent on our senior citizens in need or to improve the lot of those in uniform. Make a list. Trudeau will tell you what you want to hear now but in the end he will still be supporting the left wing of his party. Vote Liberal and vote for another useless gun registry. It is the same thing. Kudos to PM Harper for following through with his promise.
Cheers
God, help us all if young “SUPERBOY” gets in. We should really ask ourselves who’s puppet he is going to be. Remember our last Liberal PM’s’ what was the name of the the SCAMS they were involved in? Remember “ABSCAM” was that Paul Martin or Cretian? You should all remember how well Canadians have come through this last glitch in the world economy and I can tell you from personal experience it is by far better than the Americans have endured under Obama. Harper is an Economist and that has been the best for Canada. What experience does young Mr Trudeau bring to the table? Other than his last name what has he ever done? If you don’t know who his father was, Google Pierre Trudeau. The worst PM Canada has ever had and if his son wants to follow in those footsteps and he is elected, God help us.