Good News from our Northern Neighbors

Good news out of Ottawa, Canada:

A federally commissioned poll of "stakeholders" selected by the government to comment on potential changes to gun control found more opposition than support for tighter restrictions.

In the wake of the Dawson College shooting rampage in Montreal last September that left one dead and 19 wounded, the Conservative government said it would still move to kill the long-gun registry, but promised to toughen screening of gun owners.

It has yet to actually pass its bill to eliminate the registry, or bring in other regulations that would achieve the "more streamlined and effective" gun control system it promised.

When tougher screening measures were presented to participants in the survey, they were more often poorly received, while changes that appeared to lessen the burden on gun owners, such as dropping a five-year licence renewal requirement, were supported by a majority of participants.

[...]

Overall, it found 50 per cent opposed to a requirement for "a more robust set of background references," saying the current system is already sufficient. About 38 per cent supported more references. About 10 per cent were "neutral," the survey said.

There were similar responses to the other tougher licence screening measures.

So, Canadian citizens don't want more government interference. The Canadian government commissioned a research company, Ekos, to do the study. What do they recommend?

And Ekos [the research company conducting this survey for the government] also warned the results "should be interpreted with caution."

If you can't stand behind your work, why charge the government for this study?