Quebec is set to take legal action against the federal government to save data from the soon-to-be-abolished long-gun registry, according to reports.

The Canadian Press first reported the Quebec government planned to announce the move Tuesday. Radio-Canada's Quebec City bureau has confirmed the report.

Robert Dutil, the province's public security minister, will reveal details of the legal suit while accompanied by police brass, police unions, victims' groups and crime experts.

The Conservatives have been working for years to end a registry they call wasteful, ineffective, and which they oppose on principle.

The legislation to abolish the registry is expected to easily sail through Parliament.

Quebec has been saying that if Ottawa wants to destroy the registry, it would like to keep some of the data. The Conservative government has rejected that request, citing a variety of reasons.

But the federal move has been called into question by two officers of Parliament — the watchdogs responsible for both public information and for privacy.

Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault says destroying the data would violate the letter and spirit of the Library and Archives of Canada Act.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has urged caution in destroying the data and said there is nothing in federal law that prevents the government from sharing it with provincial counterparts.