An invitation for a Conservative MP to attend a gun lobby dinner near Toronto next month has been withdrawn after a controversy erupted over a handgun being raffled off at the event.
Saskatchewan MP Garry Breitkreuz had been scheduled to attend the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) dinner, where a rare Beretta semi-automatic handgun is being given away as a raffle prize.
Opposition MPs criticized Breitkreuz's choice to attend saying it was an insensitive decision as Toronto faces problems with guns on the streets.
On Thursday, CSSA Executive Director Tony Bernardo told 麻豆影视 that his organization was withdrawing its invitation to Breitkreuz.
Bernardo said the CSSA was sorry that the incident has caused embarrassment to Breitkreuz.
However, he said the handgun would still be given away at the dinner.
Just hours earlier, Bernardo told CTV.ca that he was still expecting Breitkreuz to attend the event.
In that interview, Bernardo said the criticism about the prize is coming from a "bunch of screaming anti-gunners using this as a soapbox to get their name in the paper again."
Bernardo said he understands that there's a guns and gangs problem in Toronto but says it has nothing to do with law-abiding sport shooters.
"I guess if we were a camera club we'd give away a camera, if we were a car club we'd give away a car -- but we're not. We're a shooting association and we're raffling a firearm," Bernardo told CTV.ca in a phone interview. "It's a legal firearm being raffled to legal, licensed owners. What's the problem?"
The gun, a Beretta Px4 Storm pistol is one of only 500 and is used by the Canada Border Services Agency.
Bernardo said the raffle winner must be an attendant at the dinner and must also have a licence to possess the firearm.
"You've got to make a clear distinction here between criminal activity and lawful sport shooters," he said.
"This is not about putting a gun out to the gang bangers or any of that nonsense."
Liberal MP Navdeep Bains, who represents the riding where the dinner will be held, said even though the invitation has been withdraw it shows that the Conservatives are out of touch.
"Frankly, I'm astonished at the lack of sensitivity in attending events where they're offering a handgun as a prize," he told CTV.ca.
Prior to the invitation being withdrawn, Toronto Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone also said Breitkreuz was being "insensitive" and he accused the CSSA of "glorifying guns."
"We all know that 30 to 40 per cent of legal guns end up in the wrong hands and they're used for criminal acts," Pantalone told 麻豆影视net on Thursday.
However, Bernardo called that statistic "absolute nonsense," saying the Toronto's Guns and Gangs Task Force pegged the figure at 5.7 per cent.
A call to the task force to confirm the statistic was not immediately returned.
"To simply have an association and a member of Parliament of the governing party be encouraging this really doesn't make any sense," Pantalone said.
Bernardo said Breitkreuz was invited to the dinner because of his support for gun owners.
In February, Breitkreuz introduced a Bill C-301, which moves to scrap the decade-old Canadian long-gun registry. He has called the registry a "political pacifier" that has cost Canadians billions.
"We think that's a progressive step forward for all Canadians, not just firearms owners, and we applaud him on this," Bernardo said.
Breitkreuz was not available for comment Thursday morning.
