The Honourable Helena Guergis, P.C., M.P., Minister of State (Status of Women) is a pretty impressive title. It comes with a staff of about 80, a salary in the low $200,000’s, a car and driver, and as we all know after six years, a pension to die for, which the member from Simcoe Grey will qualify for on June 28th 2010.

On the Status of Women website it states and I quote.

Status of Women Canada (SWC) is a federal government organization that promotes the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. SWC works to advance equality for women and to remove the barriers to women's participation in society, putting particular emphasis on increasing women's economic security and eliminating violence against women.

The point I wish to make here, is in respect to the last few words, i.e. eliminating violence against women. This past Wednesday, (Nov. 4, 2009), the Honourable Lady voted in favour of a bill that will go a long way towards eliminating the long gun registry. My question is who does she represent with this vote? Simcoe Grey being a large mostly rural riding, has many hunters and farmers, who I suspect are mostly male, but it also has, if it fits the bill in this country, about 52% women. For the record, about 1.9 million people or 5.5% of the population is licensed to own a gun in this country. They own just over 7 million guns.

Does she represent the many women’s groups that have appealed to MP’s to keep this legislation? Does she represent the Chiefs of Police, who have come out in favour of the long gun registry? Does she represent the people of Simcoe Grey, who I suspect are split on the issue, or does she represent the Conservative Party, in it’s ever on going battle to form a majority government, by spitting off groups, putting rural against urban, men against women, province against province? It is the job of government to unite not fracture, as this government continues to do.

I suspect that the Minister was in on the spin that this is a free vote, but knew what do to and did it. One would think that the Minister of State (Status of Women)’s first responsibility would be to women. Given that the long gun registry came about after the slaughter of fourteen women, at the L’Ecole Polytechnique with a long gun, known to this day as the Montreal Massacre, almost twenty years ago now, should she not consider the effects of this change on women, not only in this riding, but across Canada first. Long guns are the most common type of firearm used in spousal homicide, according to the RCMP.

Many women’s groups including the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres are opposed to this bill. On The Status of Women website under the link Minister of State, there is a brief biography that notes that the minister volunteered at the Barrie Rape Crisis Centre. Clearly she does not listen to her fellow volunteers.

Our Conservative government and our MP clearly think that they know better than the Canadian Association of Police Boards which recently stated. “As civilian oversight bodies of municipal policing, CAPB cannot support any attempt to weaken police ability to deal with gun violence, as this bill will surely do, if passed.”

It does not have to be absolutely clear that the lack of the registry will hurt women. It should be enough, that there is a chance that violence against women may increase, if this bill is passed. I have many friends that are farmers and hunters, and I have no fear that they are about to go out and shoot someone. That is not the point. The registry is about knowing where these guns are, and ensuring they are stored properly.

Some say that the penalties are too high for not following the law. So follow it. As the saying goes, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. It is that simple. Yet we have a large group that has taken a vigilante approach to this law, and refused to participate. This group has been encouraged to do this by our Conservative government, our so called law and order, accountability government. There is nothing accountable, about how they have diluted the registry.

If elected, Green MPs will work hard to create a registration system that is fair, free, and easy to use. We will eliminate registration fees and decriminalize registration for hunting rifles and ensure law-abiding citizens do not have their firearms confiscated.

As a male it is not for me to decide what is best for women in this country. Yet I would, if I was a woman, want the Minister responsible for the Status of Women to put women’s safety and security first, no matter what.