Yukon MP in favour of bill to tighten Canada's firearms rules

Some Yukonerssaya federal bill that would tighten firearms lawsin Canada is fair to gun owners.

BillC-71, tabled this month in the House of Commons,would enhance background checks, vendor record-keeping and implement new transportation regulations aroundfirearms.

"The things that they are proposing ...only make common sense," said Gord Zealand, executive director of the Yukon Fish and GameAssociation.

• Liberals propose tightening Canada's firearms law with new record-keeping practices

Currently, when a person registers for a firearms licence,RCMPcheck the last five years of theperson's history to see whether they've committed a violent offence, for example,or been treated for a mental illness. The new bill would require those checks on a person's entire life history.

A person granted a firearms license would thenface ongoing checks that would happenthrough daily searches ofpolice and court databases, in order toremain eligible to carry that firearms license.

The bill also puts pressure on firearms vendors to keep more intensive records.

"I'm happy that's what the emphasis is not on your normal, everyday hunter,like we have in the Yukon," said Larry Bagnell, MP for Yukon.

Bagnell lost the the 2011 election after he voted with the Liberal Party to keep the long-gun registry,apolicy many Yukoners wanted the government to scrap.

However, Zealand is cautious about some aspects of the bill that would require more licensing to transport certain firearms to other areas besides a shooting club or range.

"There is nothing additional that wouldn't make sense to most of us," said Zealand.