Hyer, Rafferty face punishment from party for gun registry vote

MPs Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty are facing possible sanctions from the federal NDP, after bucking party wishes and voting with the Conservatives to end the long-gun registry.

Bill C-19 on Tuesday passed its second vote in the House of Commons, by a 156-123 margin, with Hyer and Rafferty the only members of the party to vote to abolish the controversial registry.

According to a Rafferty spokesman, the pair could face a variety of punishment options.

Hyer is the NDP’s associate environment critic for biodiversity and national parks, while Rafferty sits on the standing committee on Aboriginal affairs and northern development.

The Northern Ontario representatives, by not adhering to a whipped vote in the Commons, risk losing those posts, either temporarily or permanently, though party officials could go as far as kicking them out of caucus entirely.

That’s unlikely to happen, however, the spokesman said. 

Hyer and Rafferty’s punishment is expected to be meted out on Wednesday. The party in the past has said that eliminating the registry will exempt certain firearms that shouldn’t be, pointing to the gun used in the 1989 Montreal massacre, and more recently, the mass killing in Norway this past summer.

The proposed legislation has been referred to thestanding committee on public safety and national security.

Rafferty last week said he was unsure about how he would vote because of the Conservatives’ pledge to destroy data collected while the registry was in existence.

Hyer, who represents Thunder Bay-Superior North, called the destruction of the data a $2-billion mistake.

Rafferty’s spokesman said a survey of constituents in Thunder Bay-Rainy River showed the overwhelming majority want the registry scrapped.