QUEBEC — The Quebec national assembly unanimously approved a motion Monday calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reverse his decision to destroy the long-gun registry data.
The motion passed by a 106-0 vote and urges Harper to transfer the data to Quebec, which is setting up its own registry.
Earlier, during question period, interim Parti Quebecois leader Stephane Bedard asked Premier Philippe Couillard to personally call Harper, noting that the registry was partially paid with Quebecers' taxes.
He told Couillard he should ask the prime minister to "respect the consensus of Quebecers on this question."
Couillard agreed there is a very firm consensus in Quebec that firearms, including hunting rifles, should be registered.
"I myself, I go in for hunting, my firearms are registered and it didn't traumatize me to register them," he said. "It's normal to do that."
The premier said Quebec will follow two criteria when it carries out its commitment to set up its own registry.
"What are the needs of police forces? What do they need when they intervene," he told the legislature.
"Secondly, it will have to correspond to the ability of taxpayers to pay."
Couillard added he would not try to do like the Opposition, with "its desire to turn every subject into a federal-provincial squabble."
Last Friday, Quebec announced it would proceed with its own gun registry after a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling paved the way for Ottawa to destroy data coveted by the province.
