Media is reporting that law-abiding gun owners are upset that personal information was passed by the RCMP to a private polling company for research.
This use of long-gun owners' personal information was offensive and inappropriate.
Conservatives and law-abiding Canadians have consistently warned the Liberals that the long-gun registry would be misused in this manner. Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals should explain why they persist in defending such a wasteful registry that does nothing to address genuine crime.
Contrary to policy, the Minister of Public Safety was not asked to approve the polling. The Government would not have approved the polling. The Government expressly disapproves of what occurred.
The Government is referring the matter to the Privacy Commissioner to determine whether law-abiding citizens' personal information was misused.
We remain committed to repeal of the long-gun registry and hope this incident convinces Liberal and NDP MPs to stop blocking repeal.
