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There's been a fairly significant development in the rules and regulations concerning the firearms registry and licencing system for gun owners. An announcement earlier this month by the minister of public safety says the Canadian firearms program has been changed in the interests of bolstering public safety and effective firearms control.

The new rules extend by one year the current fee waiver for firearms licence renewals or upgrades, and also extend until May 2009 the amnesty which has given those with expired licences, or who have never had licences, to bring themselves into compliance with the law.

This has been an important concern among firearms owners in New Brunswick Southwest and across the country.

The possession-only licence was originally created for those who owned one or more guns but had no intention of acquiring any more. However, if this licence were allowed to expire for one reason or another, those owners were previously required to upgrade to a possession and acquisition licence after passing a mandatory safety test.

The new rule changes eliminate this requirement. Those who have held possession-only licences in the past will now be allowed to reapply for a new possession-only permit within the coming year. It turns out that close to 100,000 possession-only licences have expired and there are other individuals who should acquire the licences so they will meet the requirements of the law.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says effective gun control requires high levels of compliance and these changes are designed to help that along.

There is no fee to apply or re-apply for the POL. All one has to do is call the toll free number for the Canada Firearms Centre, 800-731-4000 and ask for an application to be mailed. The centre will also be conducting a mailout in June to anyone on its file with a valid mailing address to make sure they know of the rule changes and user-friendly options available to them.

The firearms centre and police forces will continue to lay charges in connection with offences such as unsafe storage, pointing a firearm or carrying a loaded handgun in public.

The most common of these is unsafe storage, whereby many people stick their guns under a bed or stand them in a closet, sometimes with easily accessible and carelessly stored ammunition nearby. Such practices have led, even in our constituency, to easily avoidable accidents, sometimes tragic ones.

My government colleagues and I are well aware that we are on record as pledging to do away with the registry for long guns. We have not forgotten that campaign promise, but the reality of the current minority Parliament situation includes opposition to any such move by the other three parties in the House of Commons. Time will tell how this will work itself out, but in the meantime, prudent gun owners would be well advised to take advantage of the amnesty period and the opportunity to renew their licences without charge and with a minimum of fuss.

As Minister Day has stated, "our government is committed to effective gun control and tackling the criminal misuse of firearms. We believe in targeting criminals, not duck hunters and farmers."