Nunavik MP sticks to his guns

Nunavik MP Guy St-Julien has come up with a way of fixing the Firearms Act.

“What we want is one single card. We want a card with a photo on, but it would be valid for everything, absolutely everything,” St-Julien said in an interview from his office in Val d’Or. “Right now it takes a card for each gun.”

Last week, St-Julien filed a notice of motion in Parliament, asking the federal government to “abolish the Canadian firearms possession and acquisition certificate.”

Instead, St-Julien is proposing a “lifetime certificate,” that would be issued to Quebec hunters for a one-time fee. This would allow them to buy or possess firearms and buy ammunition.

St-Julien would keep the federal requirements in place for handguns, restricted firearms and for all non-hunters.

St-Julien said there would be control over gun ownership in Nunavik, putting the gun registry and licensing into the hands the Kativik Regional Police Force.

St-Julien said he constantly hears about the problems that hunters in his riding, and particularly those in Nunavik, have tried to comply with the firearms laws on registration.

“You don’t always have the serial numbers you want in the North because some of my Inuit friends have had the same rifle for 50 years,” St-Julien said.

He’d also like to make it easier for hunters who have a criminal record to keep their fireams.

St-Julien wants more information to be available in Inuktitut, too. He said he’s aware how few documents have been translated into Inuktitut and that English- or French-speaking operators answer when Inuit call toll-free numbers for information.

“The idea is making the rounds. People thought it was too simplistic, but now they’re starting to wake up in Ottawa,” he said.