Yorkton-Melville MP Garry Breitkreuz is a long-time, very devoted opponent of the federal gun registry.

So it was somewhat odd that the Conservative MP was a no-show in the House of Commons this morning, when it came time to debate his private member's bill to scrap the registry.

Alison Crawford

The reason, it appears, is because Breitkreuz is deferring to his colleague, Portage-Lisgar MP Candice Hoeppner, who introduced her own private member's bill on gun control earlier this month. Brant Scott, Breitkreuz's parliamentary assistant, said his boss feels Hoeppner's bill has a better chance of garnering support from opposition MPs.

A quick comparison of both bills shows Hoeppner's bill is more focused.

It proposes a complete ditching of the registry and all of its records. Breitkreuz proposed a number of additional features that turned off a number of otherwise sympathetic MPs, such as making it easier to transport restricted weapons and requiring people to renew their licences every 10 years instead of every five years.

It is also interesting to note that Hoeppner's bill is almost identical to the government's official gun bill, which was tabled earlier this spring in the Senate. That's why she included a coordinating amendment that pretty much says forget all about this one if the Senate bill passes.

It is extremely unlikely, though, that the government bill will pass in the Liberal-dominated Senate. And that's what will make Hoeppner's version an interesting piece of legislation to watch.

For one thing, a number of rural MPs from opposition parties are reportedly keen on supporting her bill, which then raises the question of how the government will respond.

The Conservatives have long talked tough about scrapping the gun registry, usually around election time, which suggests to many that they see gun control largely as a useful wedge issue to differentiate themselves from their opponents, the Liberals especially.

Three years in power and the Conservatives have done little more than extend a rolling amnesty for gun owners, an amnesty that waives the fees for licence renewals.

— Alison Crawford