'$1-billion didn't prevent tragedy': PM

'$1-billion didn't prevent tragedy': PM
Date: Sep 16, 2006 10:04 AM
PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.09.16
EDITION: All but Toronto
SECTION: News
PAGE: A3
COLUMN: Linda Frum
BYLINE: Linda Frum
SOURCE: National Post
DATELINE: OTTAWA
ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Jana Chytilova, For National Post /
StephenHarper, in an interview in his Ottawa office yesterday, said the
gun registry is an "unfortunate diversion of resources" that did not
stop a gunman from going on a shooting rampage at a Montreal college.
WORD COUNT: 1710

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'$1-billion didn't prevent tragedy': PM speaks on gun registry, Afghan
mission

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OTTAWA - LINDA FRUM Despite what may have been at the top of your
political agenda for the resumption of Parliament on Monday, clearly the
topic everyone is now focused upon is the gun registry. Jean Charest,
one of your key political allies, has vowed that he will bring pressure
upon you not to scrap the gun registry as you have promised to do. What
are the likeliest political consequences of this tragic shooting?

STEPHEN HARPER For the government the consequences will be that we will
get all the facts and come forward with proposals, at some point in
time, to make sure that such an event is less likely to happen in
future. I think we're all concerned how such an individual, however it
happened, could get a hold of so many firearms. That's a serious problem
that has to be addressed. And when we get all the facts, we'll figure
out how to address it. We all feel terrible about the deaths, and
obviously, we are very concerned about those who are recovering. But we
can't just jump into the dark and make conclusions without facts. That's
how we got the gun registry in the first place. That's how we spent a
billion dollars on a policy that didn't prevent the tragedy.

LF One fact that has been confirmed is that the gun that was used was a
registered gun.

SH Whether it was registered or unregistered, the gun registry clearly
did nothing to prevent the tragedy, which those of us who have spent
time studying gun control policy figured out a long time ago. And this
is an unfortunate diversion of resources. We want to make sure when we
face these kinds of problems, particularly something like this, that we
figure out what exactly happened and what things we can do to prevent
it.

LF If you proceed with scrapping the gun registry, as sounds likely, it
will become one of many policy decisions you will have made that runs
contrary to popular public opinion in Quebec. Your support of Israel
over Hezbollah, your extension of Canada's Afghan mission, and your
rejection of Kyoto are some others. Conventional wisdom has it that you
need Quebec to achieve a majority in the next election. And yet, you've
taken a number of stands which would appear to be contrary to your
future political interests.

SH I guess I don't accept those judgments. I think that what Quebecers
want are policies that actually prevent crime, or prevent dangerous
people from having firearms, and not ones that don't. I believe that
Quebecers want environmental policies that actually make a difference
over the long term to our environmental record in this country. Not just
grand slogans. I believe that Quebecers, like other Canadians, want to
live in a safe and secure world where Canada contributes, Canada opposes
terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Canadian leaders distance
themselves from those organizations, and where we work with our allies
to prevent them executing their acts of terror, not just in Canada, but
elsewhere. And that we are serious about our obligation to help other
less fortunate people live in peace, security, and some degree of
prosperity and democracy. And I'm confident about defending those
positions in Quebec and anywhere else.

LF That's not what the poll numbers say about what Quebecers want.

SH I've learned that the so-called numbers, most of the time -- what's
the best way to put it -- they are somebody trying to provide democratic
legitimacy to their own political opinion. If I believed any numbers I
wouldn't be prime minister today. You do what's right. You go to the
public, all the time but certainly at election time, and you explain
what you're doing and why you're doing it. And then the public will
decide what the numbers actually are.

LF We've seen the recent demise of the political career of Tony Blair.
It could be said that the root of his undoing was that he took on
positions in foreign policy that were principled, but against popular
opinion. Looking at that, plus the price he paid for his failure to
deliver on his promise to reduce patient waiting times, do you see any
lessons there for you?

SH Well, I think the big lesson from Tony Blair is that, more often than
not, he did the right thing, or he did what he believed was the right
thing. Not just in the face of public opinion, but in the face of the
opinion of his own political party.

LF Tony Blair gave an interview to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz this
week in which he said that while Western leaders are increasingly aware
of the global nature of the struggle against Islamic extremism, within
Western public opinion "there is a big battle to be won." Where do you
think Canadian public opinion lies on this 'battle'?

SH I think broadly speaking, Canadians are aware that there are threats
to their security and they expect their government to respond to those
threats. But I think most Canadians are probably not aware of how
genuinely acute and dangerous those threats really are. But as political
leaders, we can't wait for incidents to happen that demonstrate to the
public they should be more concerned. We have to make sure we take the
actions that are necessary so that those incidents never happen. I
suspect that until, or if, such an incident happens the public will
never be as alarmed as it should be. But that doesn't change our
responsibility to make sure we don't face these kinds of tragedies in
this country.

LF There are two guards posted outside your door here at Centre Block.
That's new since the Toronto arrests in the alleged terror plot, isn't
it?

SH Security has been increased, but I don't preoccupy myself with it. I
try to tell the RCMP that whatever decisions they have to make, they
should do them in a way that minimizes any disruption in my life and the
life of my family or to any contact I want to have with the public, with
the press, or with my colleagues.

LF Do you think Canadians are going to stick with you on the Afghan
mission if the casualties continue to grow?

SH My view is that when push comes to shove, Canadians will always stand
behind men and women in uniform. The question really is: The men and
women in uniform -- will they stay behind the mission? All the evidence
I have is that they really understand and believe strongly in the cause
they are there for. It's a noble cause. It's not just ultimately
defending our own security, which was the origin of the mission, but
doing good things to help the lives of people in one of the least-safe
and least-developed countries in the world. Until we got there, the men
lived in terror, the women lived in bondage and the children lived in
ignorance. And it may have been one of the two or three most awful
places in the world to live. It could be that way again very quickly.
They believe in the cause. Several of their comrades have laid down
their lives for that cause, and that's what's important to me. I would
never compel our men and women in uniform to do something they don't
believe in. I think they believe in it more strongly than ever. The
international community wants us there. People in a democratically
elected government want us there. And those are the only considerations.
And as long as everyone wants us there, no poll will have any bearing
whatsoever on my decisions.

LF While not expecting you to predict who will win the leadership race,
do you have any comments on the general direction of the Liberal Party
of Canada?

SH The direction? The Liberal party has no direction. The real challenge
for the next leader will obviously be to unite the party and give them
some direction other than just to run with whatever the issue of the
week is that they think they can make a cheap point out of.

LF It's been a long time since young children have lived at 24 Sussex
Drive. What do you and Laureen do to try to keep their lives normal?

SH Well, I worry about that. We still live pretty normal lives in some
ways. They go to public school. They're involved in a lot of the same
activities that other kids are involved in. And of course,
notwithstanding that I live in a mansion, we are not wealthy people. We
can't afford to think we will live this lifestyle forever because we
will not when I'm not prime minister. At the same time, I can't pretend
that they are not living a life that is very unusual and I just hope
that it will enrich their lives and not take them off-path and give them
unrealistic expectations. But so far, everything seems OK. They seem
like happy, sociable children who seem to be learning in school. And
that's my biggest worry -- of all the worries I have. Any of the things
we need to worry about in government, I can either fix or do things
about, or they are way beyond my control anyway. But I do worry that
this is an unusual experience for kids. But I look at other kids who
have been raised in similar environments and they turned out just fine.

LF Yes, maybe Ben and Rachel will host their own TV shows one day.

SH Yes -- I suspect in the end what causes kids to end up being happy,
healthy, productive members of society probably has less to do with what
specific job their parent has and probably has to do with things that
are more subtle than that. But Laureen and I try to do the best we can
as parents, notwithstanding the other pressures in our lives.




The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !